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The First Treaty of London was formally agreed on 8 May 1358 at Windsor Castle in England. Its terms ended the then 21-year-old Anglo-French conflict now known as the Hundred Years' War. It was sealed by Edward III, king of England, and John II, king of France; the latter was a prisoner, having been captured at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356. The treaty set John's ransom at four million écus, the equivalent of the peacetime income of the English Crown for about 20 years. In addition, France was to transfer to England approximately a quarter of its territory, while Edward was to give up his claim to the French throne. The first instalment of the ransom was due to be paid on 1 November, but with the French government collapsing into anarchy it proved impossible to raise. Edward refused to accept less than full payment and so the treaty lapsed. Subsequent negotiations led to the Second Treaty of London but its terms were so harsh that the French government repudiated it. Hostilities resumed in October 1359, when Edward again invaded France. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Banquet at the Lenox Lyceum in 1892

... that the U.S. Supreme Court and Grover Cleveland presided over the centennial celebration of the federal judiciary of the United States at the Lenox Lyceum (pictured) in 1890?
... that the oldest known sexually reproducing organism emerged during the Stenian period?
... that György Kurtág dedicated his second opera, Die Stechardin, to his wife Márta and attended its premiere a day after turning 100?
... that Abdulhussain Abdulredha was nearly assassinated for his depiction of Saddam Hussein in Saif al-Arab?
... that the City University of New York's SEEK program was funded after Black New York state legislators demanded it in exchange for supporting the re-election of the state assembly speaker?
... that golfer Hannah Green helped Australia win the International Crown for the first time?
... that Pier Paolo Pasolini used recordings of Romanian ritual songs to the dead as on-screen music in his film Oedipus Rex?
... that Hise Austin was working as a substitute teacher when he signed to play for an NFL team?
... that explosives were used in an attempt to aid salmon in Salt Creek?

In the news

MV Hondius

A hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius (pictured) forces most of the remaining passengers to quarantine on board.
American media proprietor and philanthropist Ted Turner dies at the age of 87.
Wu Yize defeats Shaun Murphy to win the World Snooker Championship.
An explosion at a fireworks factory in Liuyang, Hunan, China, kills 26 people.
American low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines ceases operations after entering Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

On this day

May 8: Anniversary of the birth of Miguel Hidalgo in Mexico (1753); Victory in Europe Day (1945)

Pope Leo XIV

1373 – Julian of Norwich experienced religious visions, later recorded in Revelations of Divine Love, the earliest surviving English-language work attributed to a woman.
1821 – Greek War of Independence: At the Battle of Gravia Inn, a 120-man Greek force led by Odysseas Androutsos repulsed an Ottoman army of 8,000 soldiers.
1976 – Great American Revolution, the first steel coaster with a vertical loop, opened at Six Flags Magic Mountain, California.
2025 - Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected as Pope Leo XIV (pictured), making him the first pope born in the United States, the first to hold either U.S. or Peruvian citizenship, the first from the Order of Saint Augustine, and the second from the Americas after his immediate predecessor, Pope Francis.

Barbara Radziwiłł (d. 1551)
Ludvig Karsten (b. 1876)
David Attenborough (b. 1926)
Ian "H" Watkins (b. 1976)

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From today's featured list

North Shields celebrating their 1969 FA Amateur Cup win

The FA Amateur Cup final was staged 71 times and 36 different clubs won the Cup. The Football Association Amateur Cup, commonly known as the FA Amateur Cup, was a national knockout cup competition for English amateur football clubs, which was organised by, and named after, the FA (The Football Association). It was staged for the first time in the 1893–94 season, in response to the increasing domination of the sport by professional teams. The first tournament was won by Old Carthusians, who beat Casuals in a match held at the Richmond Athletic Ground. The competition was discontinued after the 1973–74 season, when the FA abolished their policy whereby all clubs were officially considered to be either professional or amateur in status. The record for the most wins is held by Bishop Auckland, with ten victories, followed by Clapton and Crook Town with five wins each. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

American women in World War II became involved in many tasks they rarely had before; as the war involved global conflict on an unprecedented scale, the absolute urgency of mobilizing the entire population made the expansion of the role of women inevitable. Their services were recruited through a variety of methods, including posters and other print advertising, as well as popular songs. This photo by Esther Bubley shows a woman being trained by the Capitol Transit Company (in Washington D.C.) to operate a streetcar.

Photograph credit: Esther Bubley; restored by Adam Cuerden

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