Happy Birthday to Two Traitors & a Queen

Happy 2107^th Birthday to Marc Antony

(I think! Is there a Year Zero?) 

“A denarius of Marcus Antonius struck in 42 BC.”

Born: January 14, 83 BC

Birthplace: Ancient Rome

Died: 30 BC in ancient Alexandria (53 years old)

 

After Julius Caesar was assassinated, Marc Antony and two other generals formed what’s often referred to as the Second Triumvirate. In this way, the Roman Republic transformed from an autocratic empire into an oligarchy. 

 

Antony may be best known for his relationship to Cleopatra, an Egyptian queen. Eventually, he was considered a traitor to Rome. Cleopatra was one of Antony’s five wives and the mother to three of his children, the twins Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene, and their younger brother, Ptolemy Philadelphus.

 

“My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar” ~ attributed to Mark Antony

 

Happy 751^st Birthday to Joan I of Navarre

 

Born: January 14, 1273

Birthplace: Bar-Sur-Seine, France

Died: April 2, 1305 in Vincennes, France (32 years old)

This remarkable woman married her husband, Philip IV of France, when she was only eleven and he was sixteen. As the only living child of King Henry I of Navarre, she was the rightful heir to the throne. However, after her marriage, she rarely if ever returned to Navarre. Because of this, she is sometimes referred to as the Invisible Queen.

Her husband had great respect for her administrative abilities and enjoyed having her with him. They had seven children. In her short lifetime, she founded the College of Navarre in Paris and "as a countess of Champagne, she even led an army against Henry III of Bar upon the latter rebelling against her kingdom" (Joan).

Happy 283^rd Birthday to Benedict Arnold

 

Born: January 14, 1741

Birthplace: Norwich, Connecticut 

Died: June 14, 1801 in London, England (60 years old)

 

His name is practically synonymous with the word “traitor.” But before disillusionment and greed led him to betray the young America, he was an accomplished soldier who achieved the rank of general and who was severely wounded in more than one battle.

 

Before then, he was a pharmacist, bookseller, and merchant. He was also a member of the secretive Sons of Liberty and participated in several important military campaigns. 

 

Arnold "revealed to the British the secret of a proposed American invasion of Canada" (Arnold).

He also offered to betray the post at West Point for a considerable sum of money. "However, his scheme of betrayal was thwarted when [his British contact] was captured by the Americans with some secret papers in September 1780" (Arnold).

“Let me die in this old uniform in which I fought my battles. May God forgive me for ever having put on another.” [“Unverified, but reportedly said by Arnold on his deathbed in 1801, requesting to wear the uniform of the Colonial Army from before his defection to the British, as quoted in The Picturesque Hudson (1915) by Clifton Johnson” (WikiQuote).]

Johnnie Alexander writes award-winning stories in multiple genres. A fan of classic movies, stacks of books, and road trips, she shares a life of quiet adventure with Griff, her happy-go-lucky collie, and Rugby, her raccoon-treeing papillon. Visit her at johnnie-alexander.com.

Photos ~ each photo is in the public domain; modified with Canva.

Mark Antony ~ From Wikipedia: “A denarius of Marcus Antonius struck in 42 BC.”

Joan I of Navarre ~ From Wikipedia: “Exhibit in the Bode-Museum, Berlin, Germany. This work is in the public domain because the artist died more than 100 years ago. Photography was permitted in the museum without restriction. File: Joan I of Navarre, Queen of France as Benefactress, from a portal in the College de Navarre, Paris, c. 1305, limestone - Bode-Museum.”

Benedict Arnold ~ From Wikipedia: “This is a color mezzotint of American Revolutionary War General Benedict Arnold, captioned as follows: Colonel Arnold who commanded the Provincial Troops sent against Quebec, through the wilderness of Canada and was wounded in that city, under General Montgomery. London. Published as the Act directs 26 March 1776 by Thos. Hart.”

Sources ~ all websites accessed on January 8, 2024.

Marc Antony ~ https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/marc-antony-3990.php

 

Joan I of Navarre ~ https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/joan-i-of-navarre-39176.php

 

Benedict Arnold ~ https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/benedict-arnold-6645.php