Hopetoun Blunder: Australia's Governance Crisis Begins
Australia's first Governor-General committed what became known as the Hopetoun Blunder by appointing Sir William Lyne as prime minister designate, only for Lyne to fail to assemble a cabinet. The embarrassing miscalculation forced the Governor-General to turn to Edmund Barton, who successfully formed Australia's first federal government within days.
December 19, 1900
126 years ago
What Else Happened on December 19
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Henry Plantagenet was 21 years old and already controlled more of France than the French king did. His coronation made him ruler of an empire stretching from Sc…
Nineteen cardinals locked themselves in the Lateran Palace for three days. When they finally emerged on December 19, 1187, they'd chosen Paolo Scolari—a Roman n…
Anne of Brittany was 13. Her duchy was Europe's last independent region between France and the Empire, and everyone wanted it. So her advisors married her to Ma…
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