On This Day
919 – Battle of Islandbridge: High King Niall Glúndub is killed while leading an Irish coalition against the Vikings of Uí Ímair, led by King Sitric Cáech.
The Battle of Islandbridge, also called the Battle of Áth Cliath, took place on 14 September 919, between a coalition of native Irish, led by Niall Glúndub, overking of the Northern Uí Néill and High King of Ireland, and the Dublin-based Vikings of the Uí Ímair, led by Sitric Cáech. It was one in a series of battles initiated by the native Irish to attempt to drive the Vikings of the Uí Ímair from Ireland. The battle was a decisive victory for Sitric Cáech and the Uí Ímair, with Niall Glúndub and five other Irish kings dying in the battle.
1440 – Gilles de Rais, one of the earliest known serial killers, is taken into custody upon an accusation brought against him by Jean de Malestroit, Bishop of Nantes.
Gilles de Rais (c. 1405 – 26 October 1440),[1] Baron de Rais, was a knight and lord from Brittany, Anjou and Poitou,[2] a leader in the French army, and a companion-in-arms of Joan of Arc. He is best known for his reputation and later conviction as a confessed serial killer of children.
1701 – James Francis Edward Stuart, sometimes called the “Old Pretender”, becomes the Jacobite claimant to the thrones of England and Scotland.
James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 1688 – 1 January 1766), nicknamed the Old Pretender by Whigs, was the son of King James II and VII of England, Scotland and Ireland, and his second wife, Mary of Modena. He was Prince of Wales from July 1688 until, just months after his birth, his Catholic father was deposed and exiled in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. James II’s Protestant elder daughter (the prince’s half-sister) Mary II and her husband (the prince’s cousin) William III became co-monarchs. The Bill of Rights 1689 and Act of Settlement 1701 excluded Catholics such as James from the English and British thrones.
The Battle of Myriokephalon (also known as the Battle of Myriocephalum, Greek: Μάχη του Μυριοκέφαλου, Turkish: Miryokefalon Savaşı or Düzbel Muharebesi) was a battle between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Turks in Phrygia in the vicinity of Lake Beyşehir in southwestern Turkey on 17 September 1176. The battle was a strategic reverse for the Byzantine forces, who were ambushed when moving through a mountain pass.
It was to be the final, unsuccessful effort by the Byzantines to recover the interior of Anatolia from the Seljuk Turks.
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Born On This Day
768 – Al-Ma’mun, Abbasid caliph, 7th (d. 833)
Abu al-Abbas Abdallah ibn Harun al-Rashid (Arabic: أبو العباس عبد الله بن هارون الرشيد, romanized: Abū al-ʿAbbās ʿAbd Allāh ibn Hārūn ar-Rashīd; 14 September 786 – 9 August 833), better known by his regnal name al-Ma’mun (Arabic: المأمون, romanized: al-Maʾmūn), was the seventh Abbasid caliph, who reigned from 813 until his death in 833. He succeeded his half-brother al-Amin after a civil war, during which the cohesion of the Abbasid Caliphate was weakened by rebellions and the rise of local strongmen; much of his domestic reign was consumed in pacification campaigns. Well educated and with a considerable interest in scholarship, al-Ma’mun promoted the Translation Movement, the flowering of learning and the sciences in Baghdad, and the publishing of al-Khwarizmi’s book now known as “Algebra”. He is also known for supporting the doctrine of Mu’tazilism and for imprisoning Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, the rise of religious persecution (mihna), and for the resumption of large-scale warfare with the Byzantine Empire.
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1254 – Marco Polo, Italian merchant and explorer (d. 1324)[13]
Marco Polo (/ˈmɑːrkoʊ ˈpoʊloʊ/ i, Venetian: [ˈmaɾko ˈpolo], Italian: [ˈmarko ˈpɔːlo] i; c. 1254 – 8 January 1324)[1] was an Italian merchant, explorer and writer from the Republic of Venice[2][3] who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in The Travels of Marco Polo (also known as Book of the Marvels of the World and Il Milione, c. 1300), a book that described to Europeans the then-mysterious culture and inner workings of the Eastern world, including the wealth and great size of the Mongol Empire and China in the Yuan Dynasty, giving their first comprehensive look into China, Persia, India, Japan and other Asian cities and countries.[4]
508 – Yuan Di, emperor of the Liang dynasty (d. 555)
Emperor Yuan of Liang (Chinese: 梁元帝; pinyin: Liáng Yuándì) (16 September 508 – 27 January 555), personal name Xiao Yi (蕭繹), courtesy name Shicheng (世誠), childhood name Qifu (七符), was an emperor of the Chinese Liang Dynasty. After his father Emperor Wu and brother Emperor Jianwen were successively taken hostage and controlled by the rebel general Hou Jing, Xiao Yi was largely viewed as the de facto leader of Liang, and after defeating Hou in 552 declared himself emperor. In 554, after offending Yuwen Tai, the paramount general of rival Western Wei, Western Wei forces descended on and captured his capital Jiangling (江陵, in modern Jingzhou, Hubei), executing him and instead declaring his nephew Xiao Cha (Emperor Xuan) the Emperor of Liang.
1433 – James of Portugal, Portuguese prince and cardinal (d. 1459)[13]
Jaime or James of Portugal (17 September 1433 – 27 August 1459), also known as James of Coimbra, James of Lusitania, was a Portuguese infante (prince) of the House of Aviz, and a bishop and cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church.
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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 Clark: 3-2-1: How to do hard things, being resourceful, and the value of simplicity
By Ian Lender, Mental Floss: How Cereal Transformed American Culture
On The Wing Photography: Young Song Sparrow at Farmington Bay WMA
Ernie Smith, Tedium: The Cash Machine Is Blue And Green Selling people on the idea of a machine that spits out money was obviously not easy. But then a freak weather event happened, and everything began to click.
Wickersham’s Conscience: Return of Bird of the Week: Red-faced Warbler
Rare Historical Photos: Gina Lollobrigida: Italy’s Gift to Hollywood That Was Dubbed the World’s Most Beautiful Woman;
Army Ranger K9 Police Officer Jon Lindsey Part Two | Mike Ritland Podcast Episode 151
Recipes
Food Network Recipe: 2-Ingredient Bagels
Whole Food Bellies: Spicy Cauliflower Grilled Tacos with Nectarine Chipotle Salsa
My Recipe Treaures: Zucchini Pizza Casserole
Taste of Home: 78 One-Pot Meals That Only Require a Slow Cooker
My Recipe Treasures: Sunflower Twinkie Cake
the kitchn: I Tried “Texas Mayo Cake” and I’ll Never Make Chocolate Cake Another Way
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
- Rump Cap Roast (Picanha) November 12, 2025Rump cap is arguably the best cut for roast beef – prime rib quality without the price tag! But cook it wrong and it’s a chewy disaster. This recipe uses the reverse-sear method which is straightforward, safe and guarantees edge-to-edge pink perfection and a golden, crackly fat cap. Roast beef bliss! Bonus: two new steak... […]Nagi
- Chimichurri Butter November 12, 2025Chimichurri Butter is an enriched butter version of classic Argentinian Chimichurri Sauce which is considered to be one of the best steak sauces in the world! Especially brilliant with steak and roast beef, though this will be great with any cooked protein or steamed vegetables. This is a “quick flick” recipe – a new style of... […]Nagi
wikimedia
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for November 14 November 14, 2025Picture of the day View on Val Montanaia (Montanaia Valley), with the Cima Both (2,437 m) on the left and the "Campanile" (2,173 m) in the middle; both are peaks of the Spalti di Toro group, in the Friulian Dolomites Natural Park, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy.
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for November 13 November 13, 2025Picture of the day A macro shot of a red-and-green macaw's (Ara chloropterus) eye, Serra da Capivara National Park, Piauí state, Brazil.
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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.
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