King John of England

EARLY LIFE

King John of England was born on December 24, 1167 at Beaumont Palace, which had been built outside the north gate of Oxford to serve as a royal palace conveniently close to the royal hunting-lodge at Woodstock.

John was born to Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Neither parent played a part in his very early life.

He was always his father's favorite son, though as the youngest, he could expect no inheritance (hence his nickname, "Lackland").

Henry II had at first intended that John receive an education to go into the Church, which would have meant Henry did not have to give him any land, but in 1171 Henry began negotiations to betroth John to Alais the daughter of Count Humbert III of Savoy. As part of this agreement John was promised the future inheritance of Savoy, Piedmont, Maurienne, and the other possessions of Count Humbert. After that, talk of making John a churchman ceased.

In  the 1968 movie Lion in Winter, Alais complains about the prospect of marrying 16-year-old John, saying, "He smells of compost."

Alais made the trip over the Alps and joined Henry II's court, but she died before marrying John, which left the prince once again without an inheritance.

John enjoyed reading and, unusually for the period, built up a travelling library of books. Some of the books the records show he read included: De Sacramentis Christianae Fidei by Hugh of St. Victor, Sentences by Peter Lombard, The Treatise of Origen, and a history of England—potentially Wace's Roman de Brut, based on Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae.

REIGN 

After his brother Richard I's death there were two potential claimants to the Angevin throne: John, whose claim rested on being the sole surviving son of Henry II, and young Arthur of Brittany, who held a claim as the son of Geoffrey, John's elder brother. John was supported by the bulk of the English and Norman nobility and was crowned at Westminster Abbey on May 27, 1199, backed by his mother, Eleanor.

Many of his English subjects felt that Arthur was the rightful heir to the English throne. However, John had him killed and the prince's wife, Eleanor, the "Fair Maid of Brittany" locked up in Bristol Castle, then sent to a nunnery at Amesbury. She remained there until her death in 1241.

After usurping the throne following his brother's death, John realized he was unpopular among many. Concerned to gain his subject's affection he suggested a second coronation. According to Shakespeare's The Life and Death of King John, the Earl of Salisbury rejected this as utterly futile. To have another crowning would be like "painting the lily", which is where that phrase comes from.

King John once ordered his horsemen to ride down some Cistercian monks in Lincoln. Later the King had a dream ordering him to repent. As a result he gave 10,000 acres of New Forest land to the Cistercian monks at Beaulieu. This became Beaulieu Abbey.

13th-century depiction of John with two hunting dogs

King John refused to sanction the Pope Innocent III 's choice of Simon Langton as the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1207 and expelled the Canterbury monks. In response, the pope suspended all public worship in England, which was a cause of tremendous grief for the pious peasants. The raging king retaliated by confiscating church property and giving the ecclesiastics an almost starvation allowance of food and clothing, leading to many churchmen fleeing abroad. He screamed that if he found any of the pope's clerks in England, he would send them home to Rome with their eyes torn out and their noses split that they might be known there from other people.

The consequence of the king's rage was that he was excommunicated. However, Innocent was concerned about the potential loss of faith so he allowed some English churches to privately hold Mass.

In 1213 King John, under attack from the Barons, agreed to surrender the Kingdom of England to God, received back England as a fief and pay the Pope a handsome annual tribute. In return England got its public worship and the sacraments back.

As far as the administration of his kingdom went, John functioned as an efficient ruler, but he won the disapproval of the English barons by taxing them in ways that were outside those traditionally allowed by feudal overlords. The tax known as scutage, a penalty for those who failed to supply military resources, became particularly unpopular.

In 1215, as a result of the King's demands for excessive feudal taxes, and attacks on the privileges of the church, the Barons forced him to seal the Magna Carta at Runnymede, a broad riverside meadow near Egham, Surrey. This charter gave the Barons more power and is the foundation of England's liberty.

The Magna Carta was basically a restatement of an earlier charter, the 1100 Charter of Liberties. It had 63 clauses including one that the King could not demand taxes without the great council's consent. Copies were sent to every shire. The King never actually signed the Magna Carta, (he just placed his seal on it).

In his own time, King John was known disparagingly as ‘Softsword’ for his shambolic military adventures.

MARRIAGES

John grew up to be around 5 ft 5 in (1.68 m) tall, plump, balding with a clump of curly dark red hair and a full beard. He was said to have possessed a menacing voice.

King John Wikipedia

In 1176, John's father disinherited the sisters of Isabella of Gloucester, contrary to legal custom, and betrothed John to the now extremely wealthy Isabella. (She is given several alternative names by history, including Isabelle, Hawise, Joan, and Eleanor.) They married on August 29, 1189 at Marlborough Castle, Wiltshire.

Their marriage was childless and Isabella would habitually lie in bed until noon reading romances. (John liked getting up late as well.)

When he found out Isabella had taken a lover, the king had him killed and his corpse strung up over Isabella’s side of the bed.

John had their marriage annulled on the grounds of consanguinity, some time before or shortly after his accession to the throne, and Isabella was never acknowledged as queen. (She then married Geoffrey de Mandeville as her second husband and Hubert de Burgh as her third).

On August 24, 1200 King John married Isabella of Angoulême, who was twenty years his junior, in Bordeaux Cathedral. Blonde and blue-eyed 16-year-old Isabella was already renowned by some for her beauty. John had kidnapped her from her fiancee, Hugh IX of Lusignan.

Isabella eventually produced five children, including two sons (Henry and Richard), Joan, Isabella and Eleanor.

In 1220, four years after John's death, Isabella married Hugh X of Lusignan, Count of La Marche, by whom she had another nine children.

Isabella died on June 4, 1246, having outlived her royal husband by 30 years.

Isabella of Angoulême, tomb in the church of Fontevraud Abbey (France)

John is given a great talent for lechery by the chroniclers of his age, and even allowing some embellishment, he did have many illegitimate children.

PERSONAL LIFE

King John was the first English monarch to have a dressing gown.

King John dressed very well in coats made of fur from sable and ermine and other exotic furs such as polar bear.

According to records of payment made to King John's bath attendant, William Aquarius, the king bathed on average about once every three weeks, which cost a considerable sum of 5d to 6d each, suggesting an elaborate and ceremonial affair. Although this may seem barbaric by modern standards, it was civilized compared to monks who were expected to bathe three times a year, with the right not to bathe at all if they so chose.

John owned 72 castles and a dozen hunting lodges, including a royal castle at Rochester.

King John of England, Illuminated manuscript, De Rege Johanne, 1300-1400 {{PD-US}} 

He employed a Royal Head Holder to counter seasickness. Whenever the king took to sea, his servant Solomon Attefeld was on hand to hold the royal head steady.

HOBBIES AND INTERESTS 

The English king enjoyed hunting in the New Forest. John was the first monarch to keep racing horses in his stables.

He traveled unceasingly between his castles and hunting lodges, accompanied by among others several hundred hunting dogs and an officer charged with drying his wet clothes.

King John, finding insufficient game for his personal falconry, issued a proclamation in 1209 forbidding the taking of wild fowl by any means.

King John treasured greyhounds so much that he gladly accepted them instead of money for the payment of fines or the renewal of grants.

He enjoyed gambling, in particular at backgammon.

LAST DAYS AND DEATH 

John lost his treasure whilst fording the Crosskeys Wash in Lincolnshire on October 12, 1216. Among the items lost were his crown and baggage, 52 rings encrusted with rubies and sapphires, 132 silver cups, and plenty of swords and trinkets.

Shortly after losing his treasure, John died at Trent Castle, Newark in the early hours of October 19, 1216 of dysentery, possibly after eating too much. According to some accounts the town’s folk of Lynn in Norfolk were so delighted at being awarded a handsome contract by the king, that they laid on a sumptuous feat in his honor, they rounded it off with his favorite dessert, peaches in cider. But he ate too much, suffered violent stomach pains and died a few days later.

John's body was escorted south by a company of mercenaries and he was buried in Worcester Cathedral in front of the altar of St Wulfstan.

He was succeeded by his nine-year-old son, Henry. As a result of John losing his crown, Henry III had to be crowned with his mother's bracelet.

Johannesburg

Johannesburg was named and established in 1886 following the discovery of gold on what had been a farm. Within ten years, Johannesburg's population was 100,000 inhabitants.

"Jameson's raiders," a group of British mercenaries and Bechuanaland policemen unsuccessfully tried to take over Johannesburg, the capital of Transvaal, over the New Year weekend of 1895–96. They failed, but it was an inciting factor in the Second Boer War and the Second Matabele War.

The Johannesburg Zoo was established in 1904, and historically, it has been owned and run by the city of Johannesburg. It houses the only two polar bears in Africa.

Mohandas Gandhi established a commune near Johannesburg based on Tolstoy's ideas, It was a farm of 1,100 acres where he pitched in with the manual work along with everyone else.

Nelson Mandela studied law at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and opened the nation's first black law firm in the city in 1952.

The first scheduled jet airliner passenger service began with a BOAC Comet flying between London and Johannesburg in 1952.

Johannesburg is the source of a large-scale gold and diamond trade, due to its location on the mineral-rich Witwatersrand range of hills. The city is nicknamed Egoli, which means "place of gold."

Forty percent of all the gold ever mined in the world has been dug up from a 200 mile-long basin that includes the city of Johannesburg.

In 2011, the population of the city of Johannesburg was 4,434,827, making it the largest city in South Africa.

Johannesburg houses the tallest office block in Africa, the Carlton Centre (50 stories) and the tallest tower, the Hillbrow Tower (270 metres, or 90 stories).

In Johannesburg, the average car will be involved in an accident once every four years. 

Jockey

The jockey's cap dates back to the head covering of Roman charioteers. Their fast motion along the racing track, with its repeated turns around the pillars at either end, in itself could cause vertigo. In addition, the rays of the burning sun reflected by the sands of the arena could easily blind them. To avoid this, the Romans added to their bronze head cover the peak. It was this peaked cap which became the modern jockey's headgear.

Alicia Meynell became Britain's first woman jockey in 1804. She rode the odds-on favorite Vingarillo in a race at York, but lost because she was obliged to ride side-saddle.

Frank Hayes (1888–1923) had never won a race before and in fact by profession was not actually a jockey but a horse trainer and longtime stableman. On June 4, 1923 he rode a 20-1 outsider called Sweet Kiss in a steeplechase at Belmont Park in New York State, USA. Hayes suffered a fatal heart attack somewhere in the middle of the race, but his body remained in the saddle throughout. Sweet Kiss eventually crossed the finish line, by a head with Hayes technically still atop her back, making him the first, and thus far only, deceased jockey to win a race.

The longevity of John Faulkner, the world’s oldest jockey, was nothing short of extraordinary. While jockeys retiring in their 30s or 40s wasn't uncommon, he defied the odds, his saddle seemingly welded to his frame. Even in his twilight years, his competitive spirit remained undimmed. Faulkner rode his last race at the age of 74, a steeplechase in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England. He died on January 25, 1933 aged 104 having fathered 32 children, many of whom were successful jockeys, trainers and stablemen.

On May 8, 1936 jockey Ralph Neves was involved in a racing accident at Bay Meadows Racetrack in San Mateo, California and mistakenly pronounced dead by three different doctors. After a minute’s silence from the spectators his body was removed to a morgue in the nearest town. Neves revived however, shortly after and wearing only a hospital gown took a taxi back to the racetrack where he alarmed the crowd with his miraculous reappearance. He was not allowed to compete in any of the remaining races because of his 'death,'  but rode again on the next day's racing card.

Penny Ann Early (born May 30, 1943) became the first licensed female jockey in the United States in 1968. In protest, male jockeys unanimously refused to ride in the first few races in which Early was slated to appear at the Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky to prevent her from competing.

Barbara Jo Rubin became the first female jockey to win a horse race in the US on February 22, 1969. She rode Cohesian to victory at Charlestown Racetrack in West Virginia.

Bill Shoemaker's 6,033rd victory on September 7, 1970 set the record for most lifetime wins as a jockey (passing Johnny Longden). Win number 8,833, Shoemaker's last, came at Gulfstream Park, Florida on January 20, 1990 aboard Beau Genius. Shoemaker's own record of 8,833 career victories was broken by Panamanian-born Laffit Pincay Jr.; the record is currently held by Russell Baze.

Bill Shoemaker Photograph by Mike Powell, 1986. Wikipedia Commons.

Charlotte Brew, at the age of 21, became the first woman to compete in the Grand National on April 2, 1977.  Her ride, Barony Fort, was an eighteenth birthday gift from her parents. She didn't finish the course as her horse was hampered and refused four fences from home.

Frankie Dettori won all seven races that were on the card at Ascot Racecourse on September 28, 1996, including the prestigious Queen Elizabeth II Stakes. This was a remarkable feat, especially considering the quality of the racing at Ascot. The odds of Dettori winning all seven races were 25,051-1, and his achievement cost the bookmakers millions of pounds. The feat that was previously regarded as unachievable and may never be repeated.

When Michelle Payne won the 2015 Melbourne Cup on November 3, 2015, riding the 100-1 outsider Prince of Penzance, she became the first female jockey to win the event. She was also the fourth woman to ride in the race and was coincidentally wearing the colours of the suffragette movement: purple, green and white.

Source Europress Encyclopedia

Steve Jobs

EARLY LIFE

Steve Jobs was born on February 24 1955, in San Francisco, California.

Jobs was half Arab by his biological father, Abdulfattah "John" Jandali, who grew up in Homs, Syria. His mother, Joanne Carole Schieble was Swiss-German.

Jobs was adopted at birth by the Bay Area blue collar couple Paul and Clara Jobs, neither of whom had a college education. Schieble refused to sign the adoption papers, as she wanted Steve to be brought up by college graduates. She only consented to releasing the baby to Paul and Clara after they promised that he would attend college.

As an adult, Jobs often went to his biological father's Mediterranean restaurant in San Jose and even shook his hand. At the time, his papa didn't know that Jobs was the baby he gave away for adoption, and Jobs didn't know that he was his dad.

During his high school years, Jobs worked summers at Hewlitt-Packard.

He first met his future business partner Steve Wozniak at Homestead High through a mutual friend, Bill Fernandez.

Steve Jobs had a high school GPA of 2.65.

Jobs started studying physics, literature, and poetry, at Reed College, Oregon. However, he only formally attended one semester before dropping out.

As a college student, Steve Jobs stopped showering because he believed he could eliminate his body odor by only eating fruit

He spent 18 more months dropping in on more creative classes, including a calligraphy class, which he attributes as being the reason Apple computers had such elegant typefaces.

Jobs spent one summer picking apples at the All One Farm apple orchard commune in Oregon, which was how his company's name originated.

CAREER

After returning to California, Steve Jobs started working for Atari , an early pioneer manufacturer of personal computers. Jobs' close personal friend Steve Wozniak was also working for Atari, and the future founders of Apple teamed together to design games for Atari computers.

When Steve Jobs started working at Atari, he was assigned the night shift because his strong odor disturbed his colleagues.

In 1976, Steve Wozniak invented the Apple I computer. Wozniak showed it to Steve Jobs, who suggested that they sell it, after which they and Ronald Wayne formed Apple Computer in the garage of Jobs's Los Altos home on Crist Drive. The company was founded on April 1, 1976, and incorporated as Apple Computer, Inc. on January 3, 1977.

In the early 1980s, still at Apple, Jobs was one of the first to see the commercial potential of using a mouse to use with the graphical user interface.

In 1984, Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs, and others co-invented the Apple Macintosh computer, the first successful home computer with a mouse-driven graphical user.

Apple's Board of Directors fired Jobs from his position with the company the following year. He then started NeXT, a computer platform development company which dealt with higher education and business markets.

In 1986, Jobs purchased the computer graphics division of Lucasfilm — George Lucas's production company — for $10 million and incorporated it as an independent company called Pixar Animation Studios. 

Apple's 1997 buyout of NeXT brought Jobs back to the company he co-founded where he worked as the CEO of Apple. He returned to Apple Inc. as a consultant on February 7, 1997.

Only 1 dollar was annually withdrawn by Steve Jobs from Apple's accounts as his annual salary when he was CEO.

In 2006, Disney acquired Pixar in an all-stock deal worth approximately $7.4 billion, making Jobs the single largest individual shareholder in The Walt Disney Company with around 7% of its stock, and earning him a seat on the Disney board of directors.

On January 9, 2007, Jobs unveiled the iPhone, calling it a "revolutionary and magical product that is literally five years ahead of any other mobile phone."

Jobs holding an iPhone 4 in 2010. By Matthew Yohe, Wikipedia

Steve Jobs did not let his kids use iPads and limited their use of technology to a minimum.

When once asked what market research went into the iPad, Jobs' response was: "None. It's not the consumers' job to know what they want."

The original iPad in its black case. By Yutaka Tsutano Wikipedia

When a secretary at Apple was late because of car trouble, Steve Jobs gave her a Jaguar and said, "Don't be late anymore."

On August 24, 2011, Jobs retired as CEO of Apple. He suggested Tim Cook as his successor. Following Jobs' request, Jobs continued as the chairman of the Apple Inc.'s Board of Directors.

PERSONAL LIFE

Steve Jobs discovered a loophole that allowed a 6-month grace period before requiring a license plate on a leased car, He would lease the same Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG every six months in order to avoid having a plate.

Steve Jobs believed that his commitment to vegan diets meant his body was flushed of mucus and he was free from body odor, so he didn't need to wear deodorant or shower regularly. His former coworkers quote that he was "very, very wrong."

Steve Jobs held important business meetings while walking, knowing that brains worked better while the body was physically active.

Jobs was a fruitarian, which meant that he ate mostly fruit, along with certain nuts and grains.

A 1983 typed letter signed by Steve Jobs where he politely declines an autograph request sold for almost $479,939 at auction. The letter humorously included his signature at the bottom, despite refusing the request.

LAST YEARS AND DEATH

Steve Jobs had health problems for his last few years and had a liver transplant.

Jobs refused to wear his oxygen mask while sick because he did not like the way it was designed.

Before his death, Steve Jobs was listed as the inventor and/or co-inventor on 342 United States patents. His last patent was issued for the Mac OS X Dock user interface and was granted the day before he died.

Steve Jobs died at his Palo Alto, California, home around 3 p.m. on October 5, 2011, due to complications from a relapse of pancreatic cancer, resulting in respiratory arrest. His last words were "Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow."

File:ProjectRED Grouppicture.jpg: Steve Jurvetson from Menlo Park, USA

When Jobs died he was worth $8.3 billion.

Most of Steve Jobs' wealth was from his shares in Disney, not Apple.

Bill Gates wrote Steve Jobs a letter as he was dying—Jobs was touched and kept it by his bed.

Steve Job may have survived if he had sought scientifically proven medical treatments earlier rather than the alternative remedies and juice cleanses that he tried first. It was one of his most notable regrets.

Steve Jobs is buried in an unmarked grave and unknown location at the only non-denominational cemetery in Palo Alto. His parents and tech royalty like David Packard were also buried there.

Walter Isaacson's best-selling authorized biography on the Apple co-founder, titled simply Steve Jobs, was released 19 days after his death. He encouraged people to speak honestly about him and asked for no control over its content other than the book's cover. Jobs waived the right to read it before it was published.

'Steve Jobs' is the name of an Italian clothing company created in 2012 when the creators realized that Apple never trademarked Jobs' name.

Source About,com

Saint Joan of Arc

EARLY LIFE

Joan of Arc was born on January 6, 1412 in the village of Domrémy, located in the valley of the Meuse, East France.

Only the English call her Joan. The French say Jeanne; she wrote her own name as Jehanne.

Joan's father was Jacques,  a well to do but illiterate, peasant farmer. Her mother was Isabelle Romee.

Joan of Arc wasn't actually from a place called "Arc", because there is no such place. Her name came from later attempts to discover her father’s name which may have been Darc, Dars, Dart, Day or other spellings.

Joan's parents owned about 50 acres of land and her father supplemented his farming work with a minor position as a village official, collecting taxes and heading the local watch.

Like her father, Joan never learned to read or write.

Joan's birthplace in Domrémy has been preserved for over six hundred years and is now a museum.

Joan's birthplace in Domrémy 

EVERYDAY LIFE 

Before she responded to her call, Joan worked in harvest fields and guarded the animals at pasture.

Skilled in sewing and spinning, Joan had woven wreaths for a statue of Mary.

She would have ate bread, made from barley, rye or beanflour, soaked in inferior wine. Joan of Arc was a highly competent cook.

According to a contemporary report, Joan was "A young woman of robust flesh and healthy looking".

Joan was strong-willed. At 16, she refused to marry a local man. He sued Joan for breach of promise and she defended herself in court, saying she had made no such promise.

CALLING

A good pious girl who took Communion monthly, Joan of Arc started hearing the voices of Saints Michael, Margaret and Catherine in her father's garden in 1425 when she was 13. They told her that it was God's will that the English should be thrown out of France.

Three years later, Joan of Arc was taken by her Cousin Durand Laxat to Count Robert de Baudricourt. She convinced the originally dubious Count to take her to the Dauphin Charles, who had been deprived of his rights as heir to the French throne by the Treaty of Troyes eight years earlier.

After a searching examination by churchmen, the teenager persuades the uncrowned King Charles VII that she had a divine mission to expel the English from France, to anoint him with holy oil and secure his coronation.

On one occasion the Dauphin complained to Joan that he never heard the voice of God. She replied "You must listen, then you will hear."

MILITARY CAMPAIGN 

Within a few months of persuading the Dauphin Charles of her callings, Joan of Arc was leading a spiritually revived army into war, which had renounced swearing and prostitutes.

The city of Orleans on the River Loire was the northernmost city that remained loyal to the French, The English began laying siege to it on October 12, 1428 and appeared to be winning until the entry of Joan of Arc. She initiated several attacks gaining victory on May 8, 1429 by taking the southern approach to the bridge, nine days after her arrival.

Joan of Arc subsequently defeated the English at Patay and persuaded Charles VII to be crowned King of France at Rheims.

Joan of Arc at the Siege of Orléans by Jules Lenepveu

Joan was hit in the thigh by a crossbow bolt during the attempted recapture of Paris,

Before Joan helped restore the Dauphin Charles' fortunes. He had sold his last jewels, was forced to have sleeves patched onto his old doulet, could not afford new shoes and only had four crowns in his purse. At his coronation after defeating the English at Patay, Joan was given the place of honor beside the King.

In 1429, King Charles VII exempted the village of Domrémy from paying taxes "forever", after a promise to Joan of Arc. Taxes were imposed again during the French Revolution.

A companion-in-arms of Joan in the French arm was the infamous Captain Gilles de Rais. He was later convicted for torturing and killing over 200 children at the urging of the devil. De Rais is believed to be the inspiration for the 1697 fairy tale Bluebeard (Barbebleu) by Charles Perrault.

The slightly built teenager unattractively wore her hair short to blend in with the male soldiers.

The Maid of Orleans wore men's clothes when mixing with the male soldiers to protect her modesty.

She was clad in white armor when fighting and carried a white banner that represented God's blessing.

Joan had surprisingly racy humor. She apparently used the word "goddam" frequently as a sarcastic reference to the English soldiers favorite oath.

CAPTURE AND TRIAL 

Having failed to capture Paris and seeing the French were not pressing home their advantage, Joan of Arc went off to relieve Compiègne in 1430. Her success had made her enemies amongst the Burgundians, English and church officials. She fell into the English hands, via the Burgundians (who delivered her for ten thousand French Francs).

Joan of Arc was imprisoned for nine months before being bought before the Court of the Bishop of Beavais in 1431. In fifteen sessions she defended herself, standing up to the charges with good nature, majoring on her devotion to her country and her purity.

During Joan of Arc's trial, the prosecution, headed by Pierre Cauchon, sent an agent to France to collect dirt on her life in her home village. Cauchon was enraged when the agent "had found nothing concerning Joan that he would not have liked to find about his own sister."

She was charged, found guilty of witchcraft and heresy and originally sentenced to life imprisonment. However  Joan was forced to continue to wear male apparel, (because that was all she was given). This strengthened the prosecution's case, and she was condemned by the pro-English judge, Pierre Cauchon. to be burnt at the stake as a heretic and a cross-dresser.

DEATH AND LEGACY 

The execution of Joan of Arc by burning took place in Rouen, France on May 30, 1431. The peasant teenager asked for a cross to be held in front of her that she could see through the flames.

Joan's last words were " Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Blessed be God." As she died, the spectators, including the soldiers, wept.

After Joan's clothes had burnt away her naked, charred body were shown to the public to show she wasn't immortal. Her ashes are thrown into the River Seine.

By burning Joan, the English alienated the French public opinion and soon treaties were being made with the Burgundians. Within 20 years England had lost all of France, bar Calais.

"They should not have burnt her but they did, " wrote a promising young author called Jane Austen in her The History of England.

After she was burned at the stake, two of Joan’s brothers, Jean and Pierre passed off an imposter as their sister, claiming that she’d escaped death. Between 1434 and 1440, they received lavish gifts and travelled from one festive reception to the next, until finally admitting their deception to the King of France.

King Charles VII of France appointed three Bishops to hear the evidence of Joan of Arc's case and the defense, including Joan's family, were allowed to produce new material. The court annulled the previous verdict on July 7, 1456 and condemned an atrocious miscarriage of justice.

Joan's elderly mother lived to see the final verdict announced, and was present when the city of Orleans celebrated her exoneration.

Theologians from the University of Paris were involved in the trial of Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc had asked King Charles VII to exempt her home village of Domrémy from taxes "forever." This was upheld for over 300 years until the French Revolution happened and the promise was forgotten.

There is more contemporary material on Joan) than any other medieval figure, mainly from records of her trial. In 1921 Pierre Champion published a text of the actual trial.

Centuries later, her iconic hairstyle was the inspiration for the 'bob' - a haircut that became all the rage in the Roaring Twenties.

Joan of Arc was beatified in Rome on April 18, 1909 and canonized in 1920, for her faithfulness for promoting to God's grace.

Jeanne d'Arc, by Eugène Thirion (1876). 

Saint Joan of Arc's feast day is 30th May. She is the only Catholic saint to have been burnt as a heretic.

Source Daily Express 

Jigsaw puzzle

Jigsaw puzzles were invented by the English mapmaker and geographer John Spilsbury in 1760. He used a marquetry saw to produce maps of the British Empire cut in pieces.

Pixiebay

Early jigsaws were known as dissections. They were produced by mounting maps on sheets of hardwood and cutting along national boundaries, creating a puzzle useful for the teaching of geography. Such puzzles were used to teach the children of King George III and Queen Charlotte by royal governess Lady Charlotte Finch.

After completing in January 2001 a jigsaw given to him for his birthday, English widower Stuart Spencer noticed that the puzzle showed a picture of his late wife, who'd died back in 1997, when they were on holiday. The couple never knew that her picture had been taken.

The world's largest jigsaw puzzle in size is the 54,000 piece Travel Around Art puzzle by Grafika. It measures 864 x 204 cm (28 ft 3.37 in x 6 ft 8.11 in) and weighs 49.6 kg (109.3 lb). It was created in 2022 and features a collage of famous paintings from different artists, including Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, and Gustav Klimt. 

The world record for the largest-sized jigsaw (most pieces) puzzle comprised 551,232 pieces. It was compiled by 1,600 students at the University of Economics of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam in 2011.

The world's largest commercially available jigsaw puzzle is produced by Czech company MartinPuzzle and contains 52,110 pieces showing a collage of animals.

English craftsman Dave Evans spent weeks making a hand-cut 40,000-piece jigsaw puzzle for a world record attempt, using photographs of the Queen's diamond jubilee. Just a day after adding the final piece in April 2013, it collapsed on the floor of his workshop in Weymouth.

There is a jigsaw puzzle designer that specifically targets the wealthy with his extremely difficult high-quality wooden puzzles. His name is Steve Richardson but people call him the 'Chief Tormentor' and his puzzle can go as high as $8,000.

Most Jigsaw Puzzle companies use the same cutouts for Puzzle pieces, which can be mashed up to create brilliant surreal art creations. 

Jingle Bells

The words and music for this Christmas classic were written by James Pierpont, a popular American composer with the title of "One Horse Open Sleigh." It was copyrighted on September 16, 1857.

Pierpont was a member of a staunch Unitarian Church family, and his father was a minister. "Jingle Bells" was originally written for a local Sunday school entertainment on Thanksgiving Day in Savannah, Georgia. Its catchy tune was soon taken up by Christmas revelers.

James Lord Pierpont was the uncle of the financier and banker  J. P. Morgan.

Some of the many artists to record versions of this song include Jim Reeves, The Brian Setzer Orchestra, Lawrence Welk, Andy Williams, Michael W. Smith and Kimberley Locke.

One of the more unusual versions is by The Singing Dogs, which was created by a Danish man named Don Charles and featured four dogs barking out the tune. It was originally released in 1955 as a medley with "Pat-A-Cake" and "Three Blind Mice," but in 1970 the song got some attention and was re-released with just "Jingle Bells."

"Jingle Bells" was the first song to be sung in space, On December 16, 1965 the Astronauts Tom Stafford and Wally Schirra crooned the tune accompanied by a harmonica to Mission Control during a pre-Christmas mission aboard Gemini 6.

Originally written for Songfacts.com