- I was an Italian patriot born in Genoa.
- I was outraged at the absorption of the Genoese republic into the kingdom of Sardinia in 1815.
- As a result I joined revolutionary university students.
- In 1829 I became a member of the Carbonari, a secret republican society.
- I was one of the leaders of the Risorgimento – the Reawakening – during which I strove to unite Italy and free her from Austrian rule.
- My work of Italian unification was largely completed by Giuseppe Garibadi.
- I was greatly admired by Woodrow Wilson, Lloyd George and Gandhi.
On This Day
1865 – Abraham Lincoln dies after being shot the previous evening by actor John Wilkes Booth. Vice President Andrew Johnson becomes President. Between 1860 and 1960 four US presidents elected in years ending in a zero will be assassinated. Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley and Kennedy.
More at: History
HistoryWow’s Quick Shot Videos
A short, sharp hit of history in video format. Acclaimed Irish playwright and novelist Oscar Wilde was the toast of London society in the 1890s until things came decidedly unstuck through an association with a young British aristocrat, Lord Alfred Douglas, known as ‘Bosie’.
The source for this HistoryWow video is: Oscar and Bosie - A Fatal Passion by Trevor Fisher; General Historical Texts.
More Quick Shot Videos on HistoryWow's YouTube Channel: 
Who Am I?
- I was born in Walthamstow, Greater London, in 1834.
- Educated at Marlborough College, I studied for holy orders at Oxford, but renounced the Church, studied architecture and then became a professional painter (1857-1862).
- In 1861, after designing and furnishing my marital home, I founded a design firm which revolutionised the art of house decoration and furniture in England.
- I believed that the excellence of mediavel arts and crafts were destroyed by Victorian mass-production, a view which led me to join the Social Democratic Foundation in 1883.
- I was also a writer, with my most famous work The Story of Sigurd the Volsung and the Fall of the Nibelungs inspired by trips to Iceland.
Last week’s answer:
Darius I, King of Persia
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HistoryWow’s Highlighted Historical Quotation
“Let a fool hold his tongue and he will pass for a sage.”
Publilius Syrus (85BC to 43BC) Syrian writer, best known for his sententiae. Brought as a slave to Italy, by his wit and talent he won the favour of his master, who freed and educated him.Source: Dictionary of Quotable Definitions edited by Eugene E Brussell
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HistoryWow’s Featured Historical Figure of Note
Lavr Kornilov (1870-1918)Russian general. He acted as general for both the Imperial Russian Army and the counter-revolutionary army fighting the Bolsheviks. He is most famous for attempting a military coup against the Russian Government while serving as its commander-in-chief.
More at: History
