Two great Americans died today, 76 years apart. The first was Sitting Bull, spiritual leader of the Lakota whose victory over Custer's 7th Cavalry has passed into legend. He spent some years in prison and travelled with Bill Cody's Wild West Show, spoofing the Indian Wars. By the year of his death (1890) however he had joined the Ghost Shirt movement dedicated to the restoration of the Plains Indians' way of life. He was shot and killed in a skirmish with troops sent to suppress the cult.
The other was Walt Disney.
In other news ...
The body of Napoleon Bonaparte was reburied in Les Invalides in Paris today in 1840. He had died in 1821 on St Helena, poisoned either by the British or the wallpaper, whichever version you choose to believe and it took nearly twenty years for the body to be transferred.
You would think the French could have built a more fitting tomb for their greatest son (yes, I know, he wasn't exactly French, but you can't have everything). The tomb is a huge, ugly slab of marble - yeuch!
And finally ...
A very happy birthday to Penny Collins, daughter and granddaughter in a squillion - three years old today and getting more gorgeous with every minute.
Showing posts with label St Helena. Show all posts
Showing posts with label St Helena. Show all posts
Saturday, 15 December 2012
Saturday, 5 May 2012
5th May
As live television goes, it was pretty spectacular. On this day in 1980 a terrorist gang was holding hostages in London's Iranian Embassy and started shooting hostages one by one. As we all watched agog, black-clad SAS commandos abseiled in through the upper storey windows with tear-gas and guns and killed four of the rive terrorists, releasing all 19 of the hostages inside.
Fantastic!
In other news ...
Napoleon Bonaparte died today in 1821 on the rocky, volcanic island of St Helena. Rumours that he was bored to death by Hudson Lowe, the island's governor and effectively Bonaparte's gaoler are exaggerated. There was talk of murder by poisoning, especially in 1840 when his body was exhumed and shipped to Paris to its current resting place in Les Invalides. He probably already had stomach cancer or at least serious ulcers by the time of his final defeat at Waterloo, but it may also be that he died from arsenic poisoning as a result of breathing in the pigmentation from his bedroom wallpaper. He had once written to the Prince Regent asking to be allowed to retire to Cheltenham which he'd heard was rather nice. On balance, he was better off on St Helena - if he was bored there, what would he have found to do in Cheltenham?
PS - Napoleon's penis, black and one inch long, was offered for sale in a London auction house recently. There were no takers.
Fantastic!
In other news ...
Napoleon Bonaparte died today in 1821 on the rocky, volcanic island of St Helena. Rumours that he was bored to death by Hudson Lowe, the island's governor and effectively Bonaparte's gaoler are exaggerated. There was talk of murder by poisoning, especially in 1840 when his body was exhumed and shipped to Paris to its current resting place in Les Invalides. He probably already had stomach cancer or at least serious ulcers by the time of his final defeat at Waterloo, but it may also be that he died from arsenic poisoning as a result of breathing in the pigmentation from his bedroom wallpaper. He had once written to the Prince Regent asking to be allowed to retire to Cheltenham which he'd heard was rather nice. On balance, he was better off on St Helena - if he was bored there, what would he have found to do in Cheltenham?
PS - Napoleon's penis, black and one inch long, was offered for sale in a London auction house recently. There were no takers.
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