The Trial of Oscar Wilde
On 3 April 1895, the trial of Oscar Wilde on charges of libel against the Marquess of Queensberry began. By the end of it, Wilde would be bankrupt and facing...
The Trial of Lady Chatterley
Score one for literary porn! On November 2, 1960 a jury in London found Penguin Books not guilty of obscenity for publishing the full, unedited version of D.H. Lawrence’s novel...
Freedom for (Almost) Everyone!
On 1 August 1834, the Slavery Abolition Act passed by Parliament the previous year came into effect, abolishing slavery throughout the British Empire, with the exceptions of the East India...
Lesson Learned: Just Let it Go!
Spencer Perceval is not one of Britain's better known prime ministers. In fact, he's really only notable for one reason: the poor man holds the dubious distinction of being the...
Killing Cousins
On 16 January 1572, Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk and cousin of Queen Elizabeth, went on trial for his part in the Ridolfi Plot, a scheme to overthrow the...
With a Friend Like This, Who Needs Enemies?
It probably wasn’t considered very remarkable that the Marchioness of Queensberry gave birth to her third son on October 22, 1870. But that third boy, Lord Alfred “Bosie” Douglas, would...
Character Assassination
On May 23, 1701, Captain William Kidd was hanged after being convicted of murder and piracy during a sensational trial before the Admiralty. Although he’s gone down in history as...