On This Day
1458 – Matthias Corvinus is elected King of Hungary.[4]
Matthias I, or Matthias Corvinus (Hungarian: Hunyadi Mátyás; Romanian: Matia/Matei Corvin; Croatian: Matija/Matijaš Korvin; Slovak: Matej Korvín; Czech: Matyáš Korvín; 23 February 1443 – 6 April 1490), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. After conducting several military campaigns, he was elected King of Bohemia in 1469 and adopted the title Duke of Austria in 1487. He was the son of John Hunyadi, Regent of Hungary, who died in 1456. In 1457, Matthias was imprisoned along with his older brother, Ladislaus Hunyadi, on the orders of King Ladislaus the Posthumous. Ladislaus Hunyadi was executed, causing a rebellion that forced King Ladislaus to flee Hungary. After the King died unexpectedly, Matthias’s uncle Michael Szilágyi persuaded the Estates to unanimously proclaim the 14-year-old Matthias as king on 24 January 1458. He began his rule under his uncle’s guardianship, but he took effective control of government within two weeks.
750 – In the Battle of the Zab, the Abbasid rebels defeat the Umayyad Caliphate, leading to the overthrow of the dynasty.[2]
The Battle of the Zab (Arabic: معركة الزاب), also referred to in scholarly contexts as Battle of the Great Zāb River, took place on January 25, 750, on the banks of the Great Zab River in what is now the modern country of Iraq. It spelled the end of the Umayyad Caliphate and the rise of the Abbasids, a dynasty that would last from 750 to 1517.
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1564 – The Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeats the Tsardom of Russia in the Battle of Ula during the Livonian War.[5]
The Battle of Ula or Battle of Chashniki was fought during the Livonian War on 26 January 1564 between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Tsardom of Russia on the Ula River [be] (tributary of the Daugava River) north of Chashniki in the Vitebsk Region.[1] The Russian troops, unarmed and moving in a loose formation, were taken by complete surprise and defeated, losing their large wagon train.
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1759 – Spanish forces clash with indigenous Huilliches of southern Chile in the battle of Río Bueno.[5]
The Battle of Río Bueno in 1759 was a military engagement between Spanish colonial forces and local Huilliche in the Bueno River of south-central Chile. The battle was fought on January 27 with the Spanish forces led by Juan Antonio Garretón.[1] The battle of 1759 was an exception to the overall policy of befriending indigenous communities on behalf of the Spanish authorities in Valdivia.[2]
Born On This Day
1287 – Richard de Bury, English bishop and politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (d. 1345)[15]
Richard de Bury (24 January 1287[a] – 14 April 1345), also known as Richard Aungerville or Aungervyle,[3] was an English priest, teacher, bishop, writer, and bibliophile. He was a patron of learning and one of the first English collectors of books. He is chiefly remembered for his Philobiblon, written to inculcate in the clergy the pursuit of learning and the love of books. The Philobiblon is considered one of the earliest books to discuss librarianship in-depth.
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1408 – Katharina of Hanau, German countess regent (d. 1460)
Catherine of Hanau also known as Katharina (25 January 1408 – 25 September 1460) was a German regent. She was the regent of the County of Rieneck during the minority of her son from 1431 until 1434. She was the eldest daughter of Reinhard II, who would become the first Count of Hanau in 1429, and Catherine of Nassau-Beilstein (d. 6 September 1459).
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1541 – Florent Chrestien, French poet and translator (d. 1596)[55]
Florent Chrestien (January 26, 1541 – October 3, 1596) was a French satirist and Latin poet.
Chrestien was the son of Guillaume Chrestien, an eminent French physician and writer on physiology, was born at Orléans. A pupil of Henri Estienne, the Hellenist, at an early age he was appointed tutor to Henry of Navarre, afterwards Henry IV, who made him his librarian. Brought up as a Calvinist, he became a convert to Catholicism. He died on 3 October 1596 in Vendôme.[1]
Chrestien was the author of many good translations from the Greek into Latin verse, amongst others, of versions of the Hero and Leander attributed to Musaeus, and of many epigrams from the Greek Anthology. In his translations into French, among which are remarked those of George Buchanan’s Jephtha (1567), and of Oppian’s De Venatione (1575), he is not so happy, being rather to be praised for fidelity to his original than for excellence of style. His principal claim to a place among memorable satirists is as one of the authors of the Satire Ménippée, the famous pasquinade in the interest of his old pupil, Henry IV, in which the harangue put into the mouth of cardinal de Pelve is usually attributed to him.[1]
1443 – Albert III, Duke of Saxony (d. 1500)
Albert III (German: Albrecht) (27 January 1443 – 12 September 1500) was a Duke of Saxony. He was nicknamed Albert the Bold or Albert the Courageous and founded the Albertine line of the House of Wettin.
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FYI
NASA: Astronomy Picture of the Day
EarthSky News
This Day in Tech History
This Day In History
Interesting Facts
Word Genius: Word of the Day
James Clear: 3-2-1: A recipe for unhappiness, the most valuable items in my home, and managing limiting beliefs
James Clear: 3-2-1: On endless pursuits, the value of courage, and how to buy back your time
After reading about BTO being disappointed that the working man footed the bill for their performance I did some research. I wanted to know how many artists performed for incarcerated people and, most importantly, if they donated their time. Well, I wasn’t able to find out about payment but was suprised to see the following performers:
Californa Departmetn of Corrections and Rehabilitation: Artists have long helped rehabilitate incarcerated
In 1961, Sammy Davis Jr. performed for those incarcerated at Folsom State Prison, the first major performer to do so.
Congratulations and thank you to Genesee County Sheriff Christopher R. Swanson!
Exposed 2.0 Jelly Roll went to Flint Michigan Jail to preform
By Cath Virginia, The Verge: The Mac turns 40 — and keeps on moving
By Ernie Smith, Tedium: The YouTube Boogie A livestreaming pianist accidentally steps into an international incident—and nobody ends up looking particularly good.
By Erne Smith, Tedium: Locked Up In Regions The history of region-locking, a once-unintentional process of keeping devices built for one region from being used in another. (Now Apple’s doing it.)
By Ernie Smith, Tedium: Self-Checkout Game Theory
By Sam Becker, BBC: ‘It hasn’t delivered’: The spectacular failure of self-checkout technology
By Julia Gomez, USA Today: 6-legged dog abandoned at grocery store successfully undergoes surgery to remove extra limbs
By Lily Muir, Wildlife Photographer of the Year 59: People’s Choice Shortlist
By Mark Dent, The Hustle: The curious case of the disappearing Hydrox cookies
Brainerd Dispatch: Bourke’s Bookshelf: A novel of murder, mystery and monkey business This week’s featured read is “The Old Crocodile Man Theory” by Brainerd author Philip Hunsicker.
BRAINERD — It’s always a joy to meet local authors.
My favorite emails and calls to get are those from Brainerd area writers asking if I’d be interested in reading their book.
Spoiler: The answer is always yes.
My latest local connection is with Philip Hunsicker, a Brainerd author who called upon his time as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Central African Republic for his 2021 murder mystery, “The Old Crocodile Man Theory.” Hunsicker’s stint as a fisheries biologist in Alaska plays into the story, too, as does his environmentalist background.
Cleared Hot Podcast: Rising from the Ashes – Reinventing Yourself After Adversity
Jack CarrUSA: UNSEALED with Mark Greene – Danger Close with Jack Carr
Recipes
By Lisa Kaminski, Hannah Pugh: Taste of Home: 24 Cream Cheese Dip Recipes No One Can Resist
By Kelsey Rae Dimberg, Taste of Home: 35 Easy Appetizer Recipes Ready in 15 Minutes
Just the Recipe: Paste the URL to any recipe, click submit, and it’ll return literally JUST the recipe- no ads, no life story of the writer, no nothing EXCEPT the recipe.
DamnDelicious
RecipeTinEats
- Easy Slow Cooker BBQ Shredded Beef June 16, 2026Slow Cooker BBQ Shredded Beef is what you make when you want a big batch of crowd-pleasing food with relatively little effort. The succulent pulled beef is smothered in an incredible homemade barbecue sauce, and there’s so many ways to serve it – pile into sliders, heap onto plates or stuff into baked potatoes! Easy... […]Nagi
- Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Streusel June 12, 2026Firstly, thank you for the Jaffle love. 🥰 Hit the Jaffle button above to see what he got up to today! Secondly – cake. Specifically, Coffee Cake! A classic crumb cake with a jammy cinnamon ribbon, loaded with lots and lots of nubbly, extra crunchy cinnamon streusel. Outrageously good. Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Streusel This... […]Nagi
wikimedia
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for June 18 June 18, 2026Picture of the day Red-headed weaver (Anaplectes rubriceps leuconotus) male building nest in the Soysambu Conservancy, Kenya.
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for June 17 June 17, 2026Picture of the day Lt. Col. Nick Rutgers preparing his F-15 Eagle for flight
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Welcome to the Stump the Bookseller blog!
Stump the Bookseller is a service offered by Loganberry Books to reconnect people to the books they love but can’t quite remember. In brief (for more detailed information see our About page), people can post their memories here, and the hivemind goes to work. After all, the collective mind of bibliophiles, readers, parents and librarians around the world is much better than just a few of us thinking. Together with these wonderful Stumper Magicians, we have a nearly 50% success rate in finding these long lost but treasured books. The more concrete the book description, the better the success rate, of course. It is a labor of love to keep it going, and there is a modest fee. Please see the How To page to find price information and details on how to submit your Book Stumper and payment.
Thanks to everyone involved to keep this forum going: our blogging team, the well-read Stumper Magicians, the many referrals, and of course to everyone who fondly remembers the wonder of books from their childhood and wants to share or revisit that wonder. Isn’t it amazing, the magic of a book?