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George Clinton (1739-1812) was elected United States’ vice president in 1808, serving under President James Madison (1751-1836). Why was this strange?

Answer: Clinton only stood as vice-president begrudgingly after the Democratic – Republican Party passed him over for the presidency in favour of Madison. As a result, he offered no support to Madison, he refused to attend his inauguration and openly opposed the new president’s policies.

Source: Maligned Presidents – The Late 19th Century by Max J. Skidmore

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1695 – Mustafa II becomes the Ottoman sultan and Caliph of Islam in Istanbul on the death of Ahmed II. Mustafa rules until his abdication in 1703.

1785 – The University of Georgia is founded, the first public university in the United States. The oldest US university is Harvard established in 1636.

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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’.

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“The newspaper’s function is not to instruct, but to startle.”

19th century US newspaper magnate James Gordon Bennett, founder of the New York Herald, first published in 1835.

Source: Abraham Lincoln by Carl Sandburg

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William Hull (1753-1825)

American military commander. He surrendered United States troops at Detroit to the British during the War of 1812, dealing a severe blow to the American war effort. A court-martial found Hull guilty of cowardice and neglect of duty.

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