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At Ford’s Theatre in Washington on 14 April 1865, Abraham Lincoln was shot in the back of the head by John Wilkes Booth.After shooting President Lincoln, Booth jumped down to the stage and shouted, ‘Sic temper tyrannis’ (‘thus always to tyrants’).Wilkes Booth was a member of one of America’s most famous acting families and was also fanatical in his support for the Confederacy.To mark the sad day, here are two early reports of the assassination, as carried by English…

In Warm Springs, Georgia, on 12 April 1945, President Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States, died after suffering a stroke – he was aged 63.To mark the day, here are two historical newspaper articles that report on the death of ‘4-term Roosevelt’.Western Morning News – Friday 13 April 1945Image © Northcliffe Media Limited. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000329/19450413/052/0003Dundee Courier – Saturday 14 April 1945Image © D.C.Thomson & Co. Ltd. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000564/19450414/001/0002…

As towns in Britain continued to grow, especially from the mid-eighteenth century onwards, street lighting at night became important. In the days before the invention of electricity and all of the systems that support street lighting today, it can be hard for us to imagine how much effort was needed to create lights in streets. Once installed, street lights had to be turned on at dusk and off again at dawn. There are numerous reports of lamplighters in British newspapers.…

‘Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?’On 6 April 1895, Oscar Wilde was arrested at the Cadogan Hotel, London, after losing a libel case against the Marquess of Queensberry.How we wish he’d fled the country, instead of waiting to be arrested! But, no; instead, he took the Socratic route and that ultimately led to his ‘hard labour’ imprisonment (‘Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?’) and early death – but that was a very brave act.John Betjeman was so moved…

At Brussels Railway Station on 4 April 1900, the 16-year-old Belgian anarchist, Jean-Baptiste Sipido, attemped to shoot Edward, Prince of Wales, the son of Queen Victoria and heir to the UK throne.Sipido fired two shots at Prince Edward and Princess Alexandra, while the royal couple were sitting in a train, with one of the bullets grazing Prince Edward’s head.Sipido said he tried to kill Prince Edward because he held him responsible for the many deaths suffered in the Boer War.…

Jesse James, outlaw, bank robber, train robber and murderer, was gunned down at his home in St Joseph, Missouri, on 3 April 1882.Aged only 34, James was shot in the back of the head by Bob Ford, who was a fellow member of the James’ Gang – Ford was looking to claim the $5,000 reward that had been set on James (interestingly, there was a massive reward on Ford, too)The story of the trial, conviction, sentence and full pardon of Bob Ford is…

The Boat Race takes place in London today and, once again, Oxford University and Cambridge University have both battled their way through the qualifying rounds to make it to the cup final.But, well, unless you’re a keen follower of it, it’s really the quirky stories about the race that capture the interest of the mildly interested fan (a ‘mildly interested fan’ being defined as: well, I’ve seen both versions of ‘Ben Hur’ a few times, so I know a…

Blog 10 William Randolph HearstIn four previous visits to the USA, we had never travelled down the coast of southern California, south of San Francisco. We were determined to remedy the matter on this trip. So, we hired the car and set off from San Francisco accompanied by February winter sunlight with cold mornings and chilly, watery sunsets. We stopped overnight at Monterey, Pismo Beach, Santa Barbara, finally ending at Venice Beach, before motoring inland to Desert Hot Springs.  We…

To celebrate Good Friday, or God’s Friday, here are three newspaper stories – and an advert – that report on the history, culture and traditions of the day…remember to get those seed potatoes planted today!Exeter and Plymouth Gazette – Friday 19 April 1895Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000510/18950419/039/0010Tamworth Herald – Saturday 24 March 1934Image © Northcliffe Media Limited. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000484/19340324/123/0008Edinburgh Evening News – Friday 19 April 1878Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000452/18780419/066/0004Gloucestershire…

‘The Eighth Wonder of the World!’ and ‘Paradise Lost’During the Easter period in 1933, ‘King King’ received its premiere in London, before being released to the other cinemas outside London. Judging by the reviews, it received a ‘wow!’ reaction from the audiences in the UK.It’s also interesting to note the reaction to the way the film was marketed. We can well imagine that the massive film poster of ‘Kong’ that adorned cinemas would have looked very dramatic in the…