Introduction Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organisations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase capo corporale (“head of a body”). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally… Read More
On This Day … 17 October [2022]
Events 1346 – The English capture King David II of Scotland at Neville’s Cross and imprison him for eleven years (refer to Wars of Scottish Independence). 1448 – An Ottoman army defeats a Hungarian army at the Second Battle of Kosovo. 1660 – The nine regicides who signed the death warrant of Charles I of… Read More
On This Day … 16 October [2022]
Events 456 – Ricimer defeats Avitus at Piacenza and becomes master of the Western Roman Empire. 690 – Empress Wu Zetian ascends to the throne of the Tang dynasty and proclaims herself ruler of the Chinese Empire. 955 – King Otto I defeats a Slavic revolt in what is now Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. 1780 – American Revolutionary… Read More
On This Day … 15 October [2022]
Events 1066 – Following the death of Harold II at the Battle of Hastings, Edgar the Ætheling is proclaimed King of England by the Witan; he is never crowned, and concedes power to William the Conqueror two months later (refer to Norman Conquest of England). 1211 – Battle of the Rhyndacus: The Latin emperor Henry… Read More
What was the Austrian Declaration of Neutrality (1955)?
Introduction The Declaration of Neutrality (German: Neutralitätserklärung) was a declaration by the Austrian Parliament declaring the country permanently neutral. It was enacted on 26 October 1955 as a constitutional act of parliament, i.e. as part of the Constitution of Austria. Pursuant to resolution of the Federal Assembly of Parliament following the Austrian State Treaty, Austria… Read More
On This Day … 14 October [2022]
Events 1066 – The Norman conquest of England begins with the Battle of Hastings. 1322 – Robert the Bruce of Scotland defeats King Edward II of England at the Battle of Old Byland, forcing Edward to accept Scotland’s independence. 1586 – Mary, Queen of Scots, goes on trial for conspiracy against Queen Elizabeth I of… Read More
What is the Budapest Memorandum (1994)?
Introduction The Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances comprises three substantially identical political agreements signed at the OSCE conference in Budapest, Hungary, on 05 December 1994, to provide security assurances by its signatories relating to the accession of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). The three memoranda were… Read More
