{"id":11982,"date":"2022-03-18T07:05:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-18T06:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.historyextra.com\/?p=204047"},"modified":"2022-03-18T07:21:09","modified_gmt":"2022-03-18T06:21:09","slug":"18-march-on-this-day-in-history","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/rss_feed\/18-march-on-this-day-in-history\/","title":{"rendered":"18 March: On this day in history"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Elinor Evans\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 18 March 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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18 March 978:\u00a0King Edward is murdered at Corfe<\/h3>\n

The teenage monarch is viciously stabbed in the back<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

On 18 March 978, a brutal murder was committed at Corfe in Dorset \u2013 and the victim was Edward, king of the English. \u201cNo worse deed for the English race was done than this,\u201d the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle<\/em><\/a> lamented.<\/p>\n

The main suspect for the assassination was Edward\u2019s stepmother, \u00c6lfthryth, widow of his father, King Edgar. Certainly she had a motive: with Edward dead, his younger half-brother \u2013 her son, \u00c6thelred \u2013 would inherit the English throne. It has been suposed that she invited the young king to Corfe to participate in a hunt, with murder in mind.<\/p>\n

That March evening, as the hunters gath- ered, mounted and ready to ride out, \u00c6lfth- ryth offered Edward a cup of wine. Turning to sip from the cup, he was stabbed in the back by her servants. As he fell from his steed, bloodied but still alive, Edward\u2019s foot became caught in the stirrup \u2013 and, when the horse fled, he was dragged to his death.<\/p>\n

The murdered king was buried quickly and unceremoniously at Saint Mary\u2019s Church in nearby Wareham; soon afterwards, though, his remains were disinterred and moved to\u00a0the more-prestigious Shaftesbury Abbey. Following reports of various miracles at his tomb, he was then canonised \u2013 becoming known as Edward the Martyr. | Written by Dominic Sandbrook<\/strong><\/p>\n

18 March 1809<\/h3>\n

Frederick, Duke of York, resigns as commander-inchief of the British Army. It had been revealed that his mistress, Mary Anne Clarke, had been making money by offering to use her influence on behalf of officers wishing to gain promotion.<\/p>\n

18 March 1861<\/h3>\n

After a year and a day\u2019s hostilities the first Taranaki War was brought to an end when a truce was signed between the New Zealand government and their Maori opponents.<\/p>\n

18 March 1882<\/h3>\n

HMS Edinburgh<\/em> is launched at Pembroke Dockyard.<\/p>\n

18 March 1913<\/h3>\n

King George I of Greece was assassinated by anarchist Alexander Schinas while walking in the streets of Greece\u2019s second city, Thessaloniki.<\/p>\n

18 March 1940<\/h3>\n

Adolf Hitler<\/a> and Benito Mussolini met in the Alps at the Brenner Pass and discussed Italy\u2019s participation in the war against France and Great Britain.<\/p>\n

18 March 1962<\/h3>\n

The Algerian War of Independence was brought to an end when representatives of the French government and the Front de Liberation Nationale signed the \u2018Evian Accords\u2019 at Evian-les-Bains.<\/p>\n

Browse more On this day in history<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n