Wikipedia:Main Page history/2019 March 2

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The Battle of Auberoche was fought during the Gascon campaign of 1345 on 21 October between a 1,200-strong force composed of English and local Gascons under Henry, Earl of Derby, and a French army of 7,000 commanded by Louis of Poitiers. It was fought at the village of Auberoche near Périgueux in northern Aquitaine. At the time, Gascony was a territory of the English Crown. The battle resulted in a heavy French defeat and they suffered very high casualties, with their leaders killed or captured. The battle took place during the early stages of the Hundred Years' War. Along with the Battle of Bergerac earlier in the year, it marked a change in the military balance of power in the region after the French position collapsed. It was one of a series of victories which would lead to Henry of Derby being called "one of the best warriors in the world" by a contemporary chronicler. (Full article...)

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In the news

George Pell

The military confrontation between India and Pakistan escalates after both countries conduct airstrikes.
Muhammadu Buhari is re-elected President of Nigeria.
Cardinal George Pell (pictured) becomes the highest ranking member of the Catholic Church to be convicted of child sexual abuse.
Green Book wins Best Picture and Bohemian Rhapsody wins in four categories at the Academy Awards.

On this day

March 2: The Nineteen-Day Fast begins (Bahá'í Faith, 2019)

Vladimír Remek

1484 – The College of Arms, one of the few remaining official heraldic authorities in Europe, was established by royal charter in London.
1877 – The U.S. Electoral Commission awarded twenty disputed electoral votes to Rutherford B. Hayes, thus assuring his victory in the 1876 presidential election.
1919 – Communist, revolutionary socialist, and syndicalist delegates met in Moscow to establish the Communist International.
1949 – The B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II landed in Fort Worth, Texas, after completing the first non-stop around-the-world airplane flight in 94 hours and 1 minute.
1978 – As a cosmonaut on Soyuz 28, Czechoslovak military pilot Vladimír Remek (pictured) became the first person from outside the Soviet Union or the United States to go into space.

William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield (b. 1705) · Alexander Bullock (b. 1816) · Dusty Springfield (d. 1999)

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John Biddle (March 2, 1792 – August 25, 1859) was an American military officer, politician, and businessman. He served as a delegate to the United States Congress from the Michigan Territory, as the speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives, and as mayor of Detroit.

Painting: Thomas Sully

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