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The Textus Roffensis

Wihtred (c. 670 – 725) ruled the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Kent from about 690 or 691 until his death. A son of Ecgberht I and a brother of Eadric, he acceded to the throne after a brief conquest of Kent by Cædwalla of Wessex and subsequent dynastic conflicts in the 680s. His immediate predecessor was Oswine of Kent, who was probably descended from Eadbald of Kent, though not through the same line as Wihtred. Shortly after the start of his reign, Wihtred issued a code of laws that has been preserved in the Textus Roffensis manuscript (pictured). The laws pay a great deal of attention to the rights of the Church, including punishment for irregular marriages and for pagan worship. He may have married three times: to Cynegyth, Æthelburh and, late in life, Wærburh. Wihtred's long reign had few incidents recorded in the annals of the day. He was succeeded in 725 by his sons, Æthelberht II, Eadberht I, and Alric. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

Shannon Evans

... that the mother, grandparents, and great-aunt of basketball player Shannon Evans (pictured) helped him pay for prep school?
... that Singer Presents...Elvis attracted 42 percent of the American television audience when it aired 50 years ago today?
... that Molly Morgan became the mistress of a ship captain so that she could escape from the colony where she lived?
... that Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS veterans formed a 40,000-strong secret army in West Germany in 1949?
... that Hans-Joachim Schulze introduced 226 Bach cantatas in weekly broadcasts on Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk over a five-year period?
... that Mattawa residents opposed to a roundabout on Washington State Route 243 later apologized to the state government for their stance on the project?
... that Mufti Nemat, the commander of a branch of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, surrendered to the Afghan government after a Taliban offensive against his group in 2018?
... that a colony of the arboreal ant Cephalotes atratus used their heads to repel a column of army ants?

In the news

George H. W. Bush

Former U.S. President George H. W. Bush (pictured) dies at the age of 94.
Magnus Carlsen defeats Fabiano Caruana to retain the World Chess Championship.
NASA's InSight successfully lands on Mars.
Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko declares martial law after Russian forces seize three ships in the disputed Kerch Strait near Crimea.
In Canadian football, the Calgary Stampeders defeat the Ottawa Redblacks to win the Grey Cup.

On this day

December 3: First day of Hanukkah (Judaism, 2018)

Freda Du Faur

1800 – War of the Second Coalition: French forces defeated the Austrians and Bavarians in Hohenlinden, near Munich, forcing the Austrians to sign an armistice.
1910 – Freda Du Faur (pictured) became the first woman to climb Mount Cook, the highest peak in New Zealand.
1976 – Jamaican reggae musician Bob Marley survived an assassination attempt by unknown assailants.
1984 – Methyl isocyanate and other toxic chemicals were accidentally released from the Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, causing the world's worst industrial disaster.
1994 – Sony released the PlayStation, the first "computer entertainment platform" to ship 100 million units.

Sheng Shicai (b. 1895) · Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll (d. 1939) · Julianne Moore (b. 1960)

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H. Rider Haggard

Works by the English writer H. Rider Haggard consist largely of adventure fiction, but also of non-fiction. The eighth child of a Norfolk barrister and squire, through family connections he gained employment with Sir Henry Bulwer during the latter's service as lieutenant-governor of Natal, South Africa. Rider Haggard travelled to southern Africa in 1875 and remained in the country for six years, during which time he served as Master of the High Court of the Transvaal and an adjutant of the Pretoria Horse. Rider Haggard's time in Africa proved inspirational for him. He returned to Britain in 1881 and was called to the bar; while studying he wrote his first book, Cetywayo and His White Neighbours, a critical examination of Britain's policies in South Africa. In 1885 he wrote one of his most popular novels, King Solomon's Mines—detailing the life of the adventurer Allan Quatermain—which was followed by She: A History of Adventure (1886), which introduced the female character Ayesha; both characters became the focus of series of books. According to the author Morton N. Cohen, writing for the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, much of Rider Haggard's reputation rests on these two works. (Full list...)

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Abdul Haris Nasution (3 December 1918 – 6 September 2000) was an Indonesian army general. Born into a Batak Muslim family in the North Sumatran village of Hutapungkut, in what was then the Dutch East Indies, he studied teaching and enrolled at a military academy in Bandung. After Sukarno declared Indonesia's independence on 17 August 1945, Nasution joined the war against the Dutch, commanding the Siliwangi Division guerrilla unit in West Java. After the country's internationally recognised independence in 1949, Nasution was appointed Chief of Staff of the army. He remained in post being suspended in 1952 following a failed show of force against the president. He was reappointed Chief of Staff in 1955. In 1965 there was a coup attempt by the 30 September Movement. Nasution's house was attacked, and his daughter killed, but he was able to escape by scaling a wall and hiding in the Iraqi ambassador's residence.

Photograph: Punt / Anefo; restoration: Chris Woodrich

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