POLITICIAN

Penda of Mercia

606 - 655

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Penda (died 15 November 655) was a 7th-century king of Mercia, the Anglo-Saxon kingdom in what is today the Midlands. A pagan at a time when Christianity was taking hold in many of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, Penda took over the Severn Valley in 628 following the Battle of Cirencester before participating in the defeat of the powerful Northumbrian king Edwin at the Battle of Hatfield Chase in 633. Nine years later, he defeated and killed Edwin's successor, Oswald, at the Battle of Maserfield; from this point he was probably the most powerful of the Anglo-Saxon rulers of the time, laying the foundations for the Mercian Supremacy over the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. He repeatedly defeated the East Angles and drove Cenwalh the king of Wessex into exile for three years. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Penda of Mercia is the 7,626th most popular politician (down from 6,968th in 2019), the 1,686th most popular biography from United Kingdom (down from 1,373rd in 2019) and the 294th most popular British Politician.

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Among POLITICIANS

Among politicians, Penda of Mercia ranks 7,626 out of 19,576. Before him are Uija of Baekje, Frederick Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, José Maria Neves, Marie-Claire Alain, Aslan Abashidze, and Mette Frederiksen. After him are Infanta María de la Paz of Spain, Elena Stasova, Enomoto Takeaki, Carlo Sforza, Richard Bassett, and John Albert I, Duke of Mecklenburg.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 606, Penda of Mercia ranks 4. Before him are Rothari, Chintila, and Abbad ibn Bishr.  Among people deceased in 655, Penda of Mercia ranks 2. Before him is Pope Martin I. After him is Lubaba bint al-Harith.

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, Penda of Mercia ranks 1,686 out of 8,785. Before him are Ealhswith (852), Edward Wilson (1872), David Chipperfield (1953), Emilia Clarke (1986), Zara Tindall (1981), and Orlando Gibbons (1583). After him are John Gurdon (1933), Paddy Roy Bates (1921), John Vanbrugh (1664), David Rose (1910), Frederick Delius (1862), and John Farey Sr. (1766).

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Among POLITICIANS In United Kingdom

Among politicians born in United Kingdom, Penda of Mercia ranks 294. Before him are Henry Campbell-Bannerman (1836), Katharine, Duchess of Kent (1933), Spencer Perceval (1762), Fletcher Christian (1764), Joan of Kent (1328), and Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom (1783). After him are Edward Balliol (1283), Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool (1770), Prince William, Duke of Cumberland (1721), Paul Radmilovic (1886), Blanche of Lancaster (1345), and Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin (1766).

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