Historical Events on Saturday, 27th September

27/09/2020

Second Nagorno-Karabakh War: Azerbaijan launches an offensive against the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, inhabited predominantly by ethnic Armenians.

The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding occupied territories. It was a major escalation of an unresolved conflict over the region, involving Azerbaijan, Armenia and the self-declared Armenian breakaway state of Artsakh. The war lasted for 44 days and resulted in Azerbaijani victory, with the defeat igniting anti-government protests in Armenia. Post-war skirmishes continued in the region, including substantial clashes in 2022.

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27/09/2019

Over two million people participated in worldwide strikes to protest climate change across 2,400 locations worldwide.

The September 2019 climate strikes, also known as the Global Week for Future, were a series of international strikes and protests to demand action be taken to address climate change, which took place from 20 to 27 September 2019. The strikes' key dates were 20 September, which was three days before the United Nations Climate Summit, and 27 September. The protests took place across 4,500 locations in 150 countries. The event stemmed from the Fridays for Future school strike for climate movement, inspired by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. The Guardian reported that roughly 6 million people participated in the events, whilst 350.org – a group that organised many of the protests – claim that 7.6 million people participated.

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27/09/2014

63 people are killed in an eruption of Mount Ontake in Japan.

A volcanic eruption of Mount Ontake took place on September 27, 2014, killing 63 people. Mount Ontake is a volcano located on the Japanese island of Honshu around 100 kilometres (62 mi) northeast of Nagoya and around 200 km (120 mi) west of Tokyo. It was the first fatal volcanic eruption in Japan since the 1991 eruption at Mount Unzen, and the deadliest volcanic eruption in Japan since Torishima killed an estimated 150 people in 1902.

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27/09/2012

In Minneapolis, a gunman shoots eight people, killing six and injuring 2 and then kills himself.

A mass shooting occurred at a firm in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, on the afternoon of September 27, 2012. The attack took place inside Accent Signage Systems, where a former employee walked into the firm's building and fired a Glock 19 pistol. By the end of the day, five people were dead, including the gunman who committed suicide, and four others were injured, three of them critically. One of those critically injured died the following day, and another man succumbed to his wounds on October 10. It was the deadliest workplace shooting in Minnesota's history.

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27/09/2008

CNSA astronaut Zhai Zhigang becomes the first Chinese person to perform a spacewalk.

Zhai Zhigang is a Chinese major general of the People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force (PLASSF) in active service as a People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps (PLAAC) taikonaut. During the Shenzhou 7 mission in 2008, he became the first Chinese citizen to carry out a spacewalk. He was a People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) fighter pilot.

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27/09/2007

NASA launches the Dawn probe to the asteroid belt.

Dawn is a retired space probe that was launched by NASA in September 2007 with the mission of studying two of the three known protoplanets of the asteroid belt: Vesta and Ceres. In the fulfillment of that mission—the ninth in NASA's Discovery Program—Dawn entered orbit around Vesta on July 16, 2011, and completed a 14-month survey mission before leaving for Ceres in late 2012. It entered orbit around Ceres on March 6, 2015. In 2017, NASA announced that the planned nine-year mission would be extended until the probe's hydrazine fuel supply was depleted. On November 1, 2018, NASA announced that Dawn had depleted its hydrazine, and the mission was ended. The derelict probe remains in a stable orbit around Ceres.

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27/09/2003

The SMART-1 satellite is launched.

SMART-1 was a European Space Agency satellite that orbited the Moon. It was launched on 27 September 2003 at 23:14 UTC from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana. "SMART-1" stands for Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology-1, part of the Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology programme. On 3 September 2006, SMART-1 was deliberately crashed into the Moon's surface, ending its mission.

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27/09/2001

In Switzerland, a gunman shoots 18 citizens, killing 14 and then himself.

The Zug massacre was a mass shooting that took place on 27 September 2001 in the parliament of the Canton of Zug, Switzerland. 57-year-old Friedrich Leibacher shot and killed 14 people in the parliament before killing himself. He was armed with an assault rifle, a pump-action shotgun, two handguns and a homemade bomb and had entered the building disguised as a police officer. All of the weapons used were legally obtained. It was the first time a Swiss politician was killed since the 19th century.

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27/09/1998

The Google internet search engine retroactively claims this date as its birthday.

Google LLC is an American multinational technology corporation focused on information technology, online advertising, search engine technology, email, cloud computing, software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial intelligence (AI). It has been referred to as "the most powerful company in the world" by the BBC, and is one of the world's most valuable brands. Google's parent company Alphabet Inc. has been described as a Big Tech company.

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27/09/1996

The Battle of Kabul ends in a Taliban victory; an Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is established.

The Battle of Kabul was a series of intermittent battles and sieges over the city of Kabul during the period of 1992–1996.

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Confusion on a tanker ship results in the Julie N oil spill in Portland, Maine.

The Julie N oil spill occurred on September 27, 1996, when the Liberian-flagged oil tanker Julie N struck the Million Dollar Bridge in Portland, Maine while carrying over 200,000 barrels (32,000 m3) of heating oil. An estimated 180,000 U.S. gallons of oil was spilled in the incident; about 38,000 U.S. gallons was never recovered.

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27/09/1993

The Sukhumi massacre takes place in Abkhazia.

The Sukhumi massacre took place on 27 September 1993, during and after the fall of Sukhumi into separatist hands in the course of the War in Abkhazia. It was perpetrated against Georgian civilians of Sukhumi, mainly by militia forces of Abkhaz separatists and North Caucasian allies. It became part of a violent ethnic cleansing campaign carried out by the separatists.

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27/09/1992

Palestinian prisoners went on a 15-day hunger strike.

The future of Palestinians detained by Israel in the context of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict is considered central to progress in the Israeli–Palestinian peace process. Cases of prison sentences include the charges of terrorism or being a member of an "illegal terrorist organization", such as Hamas or, prior to the Oslo Accords, the Palestine Liberation Organization, but according to some accounts also the charge of political activism, such as raising a Palestinian flag.

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27/09/1988

The National League for Democracy is formed by Aung San Suu Kyi and others to fight dictatorship in Myanmar.

The National League for Democracy is a deregistered liberal democratic political party in Myanmar. It became the country's ruling party after a landslide victory in the 2015 general election but was overthrown in a coup d'état in February 2021 following another landslide election victory in 2020.

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27/09/1977

Japan Airlines Flight 715 crashes on approach to Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang, Malaysia, killing 34 of the 79 people on board.

Japan Air Lines Flight 715 was a regular scheduled flight that crashed on approach to Subang Airport in Malaysia on 27 September 1977. The aircraft was a McDonnell Douglas DC-8, registration JA8051, on a flight from Haneda Airport in Tokyo, to Singapore, with stopovers at Hong Kong, and Subang Airport, Malaysia. Of the 69 passengers and ten crew on board, 34 died, whilst the other 45 survived with injuries. It was the second-deadliest aviation disaster to occur in Malaysia at the time.

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27/09/1975

The last use of capital punishment in Spain sparks worldwide protests.

The last use of capital punishment in Spain took place on 27 September 1975 when two members of the armed left-wing Basque nationalist and separatist group ETA political-military and three members of the Spanish anti-Francoist Marxist–Leninist group Revolutionary Antifascist Patriotic Front (FRAP) were executed by firing squads after having been convicted and sentenced to death by military tribunals for the murder of police officers and civil guards. Spain was Western Europe's only dictatorship at the time of the executions and had been unpopular and internationally isolated in the post-war period due to its relations with Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s and the fact that its far-right autocratic leader, Francisco Franco, had come to power by overthrowing a democratically elected government. As a result, the executions resulted in substantial criticism of the Spanish government, both domestically and abroad. Reactions included street protests, attacks on Spanish embassies, international criticism of the Spanish government and diplomatic measures, such as the withdrawal of the ambassadors of fifteen European countries.

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27/09/1973

Texas International Airlines Flight 655 crashes into the Black Fork Mountain Wilderness near Mena, Arkansas, killing all 11 people on board.

Texas International Airlines Flight 655 was a scheduled domestic flight within the United States of America. On September 27, 1973, the Convair 600 turboprop aircraft en route from El Dorado to Texarkana, Arkansas crashed into Black Fork Mountain, Arkansas. The eight passengers and three crew members on board were killed.

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27/09/1964

The British TSR-2 aircraft XR219 makes its maiden flight.

The British Aircraft Corporation TSR-2 was a cancelled supersonic strike and reconnaissance aircraft designed by the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). It was under development throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s for the Royal Air Force (RAF); the TSR-2 designation came from "Tactical Strike and Reconnaissance, Mach 2".

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27/09/1962

The Yemen Arab Republic is established.

The Yemen Arab Republic, also known as Yemen (Sanaʽa) and commonly referred to as North Yemen, was a country that existed from 1962 until its unification with the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen in 1990, in the northwestern part of what is now Yemen. Its capital was Sana'a. It bordered South Yemen to the southeast, Saudi Arabia to the north and the Red Sea to the west, sharing maritime borders with Djibouti and the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

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Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring is published, inspiring an environmental movement and the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Silent Spring is an environmental science book by Rachel Carson. Published on September 27, 1962, the book documented the environmental harm caused by the indiscriminate use of DDT, a pesticide used by soldiers during World War II. Carson accused the chemical industry of spreading disinformation, and public officials of accepting the industry's marketing claims unquestioningly.

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27/09/1959

Typhoon Vera kills nearly 5,000 people in Japan.

Typhoon Vera, also known as the Isewan Typhoon , was an exceptionally intense tropical cyclone that struck Japan in September 1959, becoming the strongest and deadliest typhoon on record to make landfall on the country, as well as the only one to do so as a Category 5 equivalent storm. The storm's intensity resulted in catastrophic damage of unparalleled severity and extent, and was a major setback to the Japanese economy, which was still recovering from World War II. In the aftermath of Vera, Japan's disaster management and relief systems were significantly reformed, and the typhoon's effects would set a benchmark for future storms striking the country.

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27/09/1956

USAF Captain Milburn G. Apt becomes the first person to exceed Mach 3. Shortly thereafter, the Bell X-2 goes out of control and Captain Apt is killed.

Milburn Grant "Mel" Apt was a U.S. Air Force test pilot, and the first man to attain speeds faster than Mach 3. He was killed after separating from the Bell X-2 in his escape capsule during the record-setting flight that exceeded Mach 3. Shortly afterwards, Secretary of the Air Force Donald A. Quarles commended Apt, saying he was "flying faster than any human being has been known to fly."

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27/09/1949

Zeng Liansong's design is chosen as the flag of the People's Republic of China.

Zeng Liansong was a Chinese supply chain manager and secret agent of the Chinese Communist Party best known for designing the flag of the People's Republic of China. He also served as the deputy manager of the Shanghai City Daily Necessities Company and a member of the CPPCC Shanghai Committee.

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27/09/1944

World War II: The Kassel Mission results in the largest loss by a USAAF group on any mission during the war.

The Kassel Mission on 27 September 1944 was also known as the air battle over the Seulingswald. The mission aimed to destroy the factories in Kassel of the engineering works of Henschel & Sohn which built tracked armoured vehicles and their associated infrastructure. See bombing of Kassel in World War II.

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27/09/1942

World War II: Last day of the Matanikau action on Guadalcanal as United States Marines barely escape after being surrounded by Japanese forces.

The Actions along the Matanikau—sometimes referred to as the Second and Third Battles of the Matanikau—were two separate but related engagements between the United States and Imperial Japanese naval and ground forces in the Pacific theater of World War II. The actions occurred around the Matanikau River on Guadalcanal Island in the southwestern Pacific during the Guadalcanal campaign. These particular engagements—the first taking place between 23 and 27 September, and the second between 6 and 9 October—were two of the largest and most significant of the Matanikau actions.

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27/09/1941

World War II: The Greek National Liberation Front is established with Georgios Siantos as acting leader.

Georgios Siantos was a Greek politician and prominent figure of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) who served as acting general secretary of the party, and as a leader of the National Liberation Front (EAM)/Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS) Resistance movement during the German occupation of Greece in World War II.

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The SS Patrick Henry is launched, becoming the first of more than 2,700 Liberty ships.

SS Patrick Henry was the first Liberty ship launched. It was built by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation at their Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard in Baltimore, Maryland. She was named after Patrick Henry, an American attorney, planter, and Founding Father as well as the first and sixth post-colonial Governor of Virginia, from 1776 to 1779 and 1784 to 1786.

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27/09/1940

World War II: The Tripartite Pact is signed in Berlin by Germany, Japan and Italy.

World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and aircraft played major roles, the latter enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the only nuclear weapons used in war. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, causing the death of 60 to 75 million people. Millions died as a result of massacres, starvation, disease, and genocides, including the Holocaust. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.

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27/09/1938

The ocean liner Queen Elizabeth is launched in Glasgow.

RMS Queen Elizabeth was a British ocean liner operated by the Cunard Line. Along with the Queen Mary, she provided a weekly transatlantic service between Southampton in the United Kingdom and New York City in the United States, via Cherbourg in France.

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27/09/1930

Bobby Jones wins the (pre-Masters) Grand Slam of golf.

Robert Tyre Jones Jr. was an American amateur golfer who was one of the most influential figures in the history of the sport; he was also a lawyer by profession. Jones founded and helped design the Augusta National Golf Club, and co-founded the Masters Tournament. The innovations that he introduced at the Masters have been copied by virtually every professional golf tournament in the world.

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27/09/1928

The Republic of China is recognized by the United States.

The Republic of China (ROC) established its rule over Mainland China on 1 January 1912 following the Xinhai Revolution, which overthrew the Manchu-led Qing dynasty and ended China's imperial history. The Beiyang government in Beijing was the internationally recognized government of the ROC from 1912 to 1928, with regional warlords occupying parts of the country after the death of Beiyang leader Yuan Shikai in 1916. In 1926, the Kuomintang (KMT) launched the Northern Expedition, which eventually reunified the country in 1928 and the KMT-led Nationalist government ruled the ROC as a one-party state with Nanjing as the capital. In 1949, the KMT was defeated in the Chinese Civil War and lost control of mainland China to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The CCP established the People's Republic of China (PRC) while the ROC was forced to retreat to Taiwan, and it retains rule over Taiwan Area to date. The ROC is recorded as a founding member of both the League of Nations and the United Nations. The ROC claimed 11.4 million km2 (4.4 million sq mi) of territory, and its population of 541 million in 1949 made it the most populous country in the world.

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27/09/1922

King Constantine I of Greece abdicates his throne in favor of his eldest son, George II.

Constantine I was King of Greece from 18 March 1913 to 11 June 1917 and again from 19 December 1920 to 27 September 1922. The eldest son of George I of Greece, he succeeded to the throne following his father's assassination in 1913.

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27/09/1916

Iyasu V is proclaimed deposed as ruler of Ethiopia in a palace coup in favor of his aunt Zewditu.

Lij Iyasu also known as Iyasu V was the designated Emperor of Ethiopia from 1913 to 1916. His baptismal name was Kifle Yaqob. Ethiopian emperors traditionally chose their regnal name on the day they were crowned, and since he was never crowned, he is usually referred to as Lij Iyasu, "Lij" meaning child, especially one born of royal blood.

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27/09/1908

Production of the Model T automobile begins at the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant in Detroit.

The Ford Piquette Avenue Plant is a former automobile factory located within the Milwaukee Junction area of Detroit, Michigan, United States. Built in 1904, it was the second center of automobile production for the Ford Motor Company, after the Ford Mack Avenue Plant. At the Piquette Avenue Plant, the company created and first produced the Ford Model T, the car credited with initiating the mass use of automobiles in the United States. Prior to the Model T, several other car models were assembled at the factory. Early experiments using a moving assembly line to make cars were also conducted there. It was also the first factory where more than 100 cars were assembled in one day. While headquartered at the Piquette Avenue Plant, Ford Motor Company became the biggest U.S.-based automaker, and it remained so until the mid-1920s. The factory was used by the company until 1910, when its car production activity was relocated to the new, larger Highland Park Ford Plant.

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27/09/1903

"Wreck of the Old 97": an American rail disaster, in which 11 people are killed; it later becomes the subject of a popular ballad.

The Wreck of the Old 97 was an American rail disaster involving the Southern Railway mail train, officially known as the Fast Mail, while en route from Monroe, Virginia, to Spencer, North Carolina, on September 27, 1903. Travelling at an excessive speed in an attempt to maintain schedule, the train derailed at the Stillhouse Trestle near Danville, Virginia, where it careened off the side of the bridge, killing 11 on-board personnel and injuring seven others. The wreck inspired a famous railroad ballad, which was the focus of a copyright lawsuit and became seminal in the genre of country music.

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27/09/1875

The merchant sailing ship Ellen Southard is wrecked in a storm at Liverpool.

Ellen Southard was an American full-rigged merchant ship from Bath, Maine, that was built in 1863 by prominent shipbuilder T.J. Southard. She plied international trade routes for twelve years, calling at ports as far away as Sydney.

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27/09/1854

The paddle steamer SS Arctic, owned by the Collins Line of New York, sinks off the coast of Newfoundland, following a collision with a smaller vessel, the SS Vesta. Only 88 of over 300 people on board survive. About a dozen of the occupants of the Vesta are killed when their lifeboat is hit by the Arctic.

SS Arctic was a 2,856-ton paddle steamer, which was one of the few Collins Line liners, which operated a transatlantic passenger and mail steamship service during the 1850s. She was the largest of a fleet of four, built with the aid of U.S. government subsidies to challenge the transatlantic supremacy of the British-backed Cunard Line. During her four-year period of service, the ship was renowned both for her speed and for the luxury of her accommodation.

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27/09/1825

The world's first public railway to use steam locomotives, the Stockton and Darlington Railway, is ceremonially opened with the engine Locomotion pulling wagons with coal and passengers from Shildon to Darlington to Stockton.

The Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) was a railway company that operated in north-east England from 1825 to 1863. The world's first public railway to use steam locomotives, its first line connected collieries near Shildon with Darlington and Stockton in County Durham, and was officially opened on 27 September 1825. The movement of coal to ships rapidly became a lucrative business, and the line was soon extended to a new port at Middlesbrough. While coal waggons were hauled by steam locomotives from the start, passengers were carried in coaches drawn by horses until carriages hauled by steam locomotives were introduced in 1833.

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27/09/1822

Jean-François Champollion officially informs the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres in France that he has deciphered the Rosetta Stone.

Jean-François Champollion, also known as Champollion le jeune, was a French philologist and orientalist, known primarily as the decipherer of Egyptian hieroglyphs and a founding figure in the field of Egyptology. Partially raised by his brother, the scholar Jacques Joseph Champollion-Figeac, Champollion was a child prodigy in philology, giving his first public paper on the decipherment of Demotic in his late teens. As a young man he was renowned in scientific circles, and read Coptic, Ancient Greek, Latin, Hebrew and Arabic.

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27/09/1821

The Army of the Three Guarantees triumphantly enters Mexico City, led by Agustín de Iturbide. The following day Mexico is declared independent.

At the end of the Mexican War of Independence, the Army of the Three Guarantees was the name given to the army after the unification of the Spanish troops led by Agustín de Iturbide and the Mexican insurgent troops of Vicente Guerrero, consolidating Mexico's independence from Spain. The decree creating this army appeared in the Plan de Iguala, which stated the three guarantees which it was meant to defend were religion, independence and unity. Mexico was to be a Catholic empire, independent from Spain, and united against its enemies.

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27/09/1791

The National Assembly of France votes to award full citizenship to Jews.

The history of the Jews in France deals with Jews and Jewish communities in France since at least the Early Middle Ages. France was a centre of Jewish learning in the Middle Ages, but persecution increased over time, including multiple expulsions and returns. During the French Revolution in the late 18th century, on the other hand, France was the first European country to emancipate its Jewish population. Antisemitism still occurred in cycles and reached a high in the 1890s, as shown during the Dreyfus affair, and in the 1940s, under Nazi occupation and the Vichy regime.

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27/09/1777

American Revolution: Lancaster, Pennsylvania becomes the capital of the United States for one day after Congress evacuates Philadelphia.

Lancaster is a city in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 58,039 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth-most populous city in the state. It is a core city within South Central Pennsylvania, with 552,984 residents in the Lancaster metropolitan area.

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27/09/1669

The Venetians surrender the fortress of Candia to the Ottomans, thus ending the 21-year-long Siege of Candia.

In the siege of Candia, Ottoman forces besieged the Venetian-ruled capital city of the Kingdom of Candia. It lasted from 1648 to 1669 and is one of the longest sieges in history. It ended with an Ottoman victory, but the effort and cost of the siege contributed to the decline of the Ottoman Empire, especially after the Great Turkish War.

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27/09/1605

The armies of Sweden are defeated by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the Battle of Kircholm.

The Battle of Kircholm took place during the Polish–Swedish War (1600–1611), on 17 September 1605 near Kircholm, now Salaspils in Latvia. A Swedish expedition was besieging Riga, but was defeated by a smaller Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth relief force and abandoned the attempt.

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27/09/1540

The Society of Jesus (Jesuits) receives its charter from Pope Paul III.

The Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits, is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church. Headquartered in Rome, it was founded in 1540 by Ignatius of Loyola and six companions, with the approval of Pope Paul III. The Society of Jesus is the largest Catholic religious male order and has played a significant role in education, charity, humanitarian acts and global policies. Jesuits are engaged in evangelization and apostolic ministry in 112 countries, including education, research, and cultural pursuits. They also conduct retreats, minister in hospitals and parishes, sponsor direct social and humanitarian works, and promote ecumenical dialogue.

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27/09/1529

The Siege of Vienna begins when Suleiman I attacks the city.

The siege of Vienna, in 1529, was the first attempt by the Ottoman Empire to capture the city of Vienna in the Archduchy of Austria, part of the Holy Roman Empire. Suleiman the Magnificent, sultan of the Ottomans, attacked the city with over 100,000 men, while the defenders, led by Niklas Graf Salm, numbered no more than 21,000. Nevertheless, Vienna was able to survive the siege, which ultimately lasted just over two weeks, from 27 September to 15 October 1529.

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27/09/1422

After the brief Gollub War, the Teutonic Knights sign the Treaty of Melno with Poland and Lithuania.

The Golub War was a two-month war of the Teutonic Knights against the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1422. It resulted in a Polish–Lithuanian–Moldavian victory. The Treaty of Melno officially ended the war, which resolved territorial disputes between the Knights and Lithuania over Samogitia that had dragged on since 1398.

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27/09/1331

The Battle of Płowce is fought, between the Kingdom of Poland and the Teutonic Order. The Poles are defeated but their leaders escape capture.

The Battle of Płowce took place on 27 September 1331 between the Kingdom of Poland and the Teutonic Order.

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27/09/1066

William the Conqueror and his army set sail from the mouth of the Somme river, beginning the Norman conquest of England.

William the Conqueror, sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was Duke of Normandy from 1035 onward. By 1060, following a long struggle, his hold on Normandy was secure. In 1066, following the death of Edward the Confessor, William invaded England, leading a Franco-Norman army to victory over the Anglo-Saxon forces of Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings. He suppressed subsequent English revolts in what has become known as the Norman Conquest. The rest of his life was marked by struggles to consolidate his hold over England and his continental lands, and by difficulties with his eldest son, Robert Curthose.

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