almanac of Absurdities 1/18

On this date in AD 474, 7-year-old Flavius Leo Junior, Grandson of Byzantine Emperor Leo I takes his late grandfather's throne. He dies in November of the same year of a mysterious and sudden ailment. Historians suspect he may have been poisoned by his mother in order that his non-imperial father might finally ascend the throne, which is how it turned out. 1944 The 3-year seige of Leningrad is finally broken. Birthdays: Cary Grant, Oliver Hardy, Ray Dolby.