On This Day In History - Rodrigo Borgia Is Born

Starting off the year as I mean to go on, I thought I'd drop in with a little "On This Day In History" post for you all.

On 1st January 1431, Rodrigo Borgia was born in Xatvia Spain. His birth name wasn't actually "Borgia" but "Lanzol", and only took his mother's surname in 1455 after the elevation of his maternal uncle to the Papacy (Calixtus III).

As we know, Rodrigo Borgia would go down in history as one of history's most depraved Popes (Alexander VI) and as the father of history's most infamous individuals; Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia. Was he that bad? No, not really. He was simply a man of his time and actually less depraved than many of his predecessors.

Happy birthday Rodrigo Borgia. I'll be writing a lot more about you in the coming months.