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On This Day in December

A selection of events either directly or indirectly connected with the Tower which have happened during the month of December

Oliver Cromwell - Stuart times

16th 1653 Parliamentarian general Oliver Cromwell becomes 'Lord protector' of England, Scotland and Ireland http://www.olivercromwell.org/

Pilgrimage of Grace - Tudor times

5th Dec 1536 The 'Pilgrimage of Grace' against Henry VIII's Reformation is persuaded to disband by the duke of Norfolk http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/pilgrimage_grace.htm

Bill of Rights - Stuart times

16th 1689 The 'Bill of Rights', establishing the supremacy of parliament over the monarch, becomes law in England. http://www.constitution.org/bor/eng_bor.htm

Thomas Becket Archbishop of Canterbury

29th Dec 1170 Henry II's soldiers murder Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, at the altar of his cathedral http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/becket.htm

Jesuit Priest Edmund Campion

1st December 1581 - Edmund Campion, was taken from the Tower of London where he had been imprisoned and tortured, to Tyburn where he was Hanged, Drawn and Quartered for High Treason. http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/CAMPION.HTM

King James II

10th December 1688 - King James II flees London - he is caught later and put on trial - he leaves England never to return. His elder daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange take the throne jointly as Queen Mary II and King William III. http://www.royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/KingsandQueensoftheUnitedKingdom/TheStuarts/JamesII.aspx

Sir Francis Drake

13th December 1577 - Sir Francis Drake sets sail from England with two ships to go around world. One of the ships is called the Pelican which he changes to Golden Hind half way through is journey. A full scale replica of the Golden Hind can be seen moored in London on the Southside. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/drake_francis.shtml

Mary, Queen of Scots

14th December 1542 - Princess Mary Stuart succeeds her father James V and becomes Queen Mary I of Scotland at 6 days old http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/people/mary_queen_of_scots

King Henry II

19th December 1154 - King Henry II is crowned http://www.britroyals.com/kings.asp?id=henry2

William Duke of Normandy

25th December 1066 - Duke William of Normandy ('William the Conqueror) crowned king of England in Westminster Abbey http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/william_i_king.shtml

Sir Isaac Newton

25th December 1642 – Sir Isaac Newton, the physicist, mathematician; astronomer (Gravity, Laws of Motion) and Constable of the Tower of London is born http://www.biography.com/people/isaac-newton-9422656

Edmund Earl of Rutland

31st December 1460 - Edmund, Earl of Rutland, brother of Kings Edward IV of England and Richard III of England was killed in the Battle of Wakefield; he was 17 years old. http://war_of_roses.enacademic.com/267/Plantagenet,_Edmund,_Earl_of_Rutland

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