Today in 1170, four knights led by Reginald FitzUrse (the name means, literally, bastard bear) crashed into the cathedral at Canterbury and sliced off the top of the head of the Archbishop, Thomas Becket. They almost certainly operated on the orders of the king, Henry II, who was rather miffed that his old friend Thomas had gone all religious on him (even though he'd given him the Archbishop's gig in the first place).
It is a reflection on the times, perhaps, that today, saying that Rowan Williams isn't very good as the A of C is about as vicious as it gets.
In other news ...
William Gladstone was born today in 1809. Despite spending most of his life in England, he retained an irritating Lowland Scots accent to the end (much to the annoyance of Queen Victoria, he didn't die until 1898). We actually have him taped (they all did!) on phonograph.
