On This Day
1812 – Claude François de Malet, a French general, commences a conspiracy to overthrow Napoleon Bonaparte, claiming that the emperor died in Russia and that he, de Malet, is now the commandant of Paris.
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 Berlin, Prussia in 1769.
- I was educated at Frankfurt, Göttingen and Hamburg Universities where I studied a range of subjects including botany and the natural sciences. In 1790 I travelled abroad and published my first works in botanical and chemical journals.
- In 1796, on the death of my mother, I received a large inheritance. This allowed me to travel considerably. Significant expeditions I took during my life included spending five years in the Americas from 1799 and a journey to Russia and Central Asia in 1829.
- I used these journeys to make several stunning observations in disciplines such as botanic geography, meteorology and even climate change.
- I am considered one of the great speculative scientific travellers of the nineteenth century.
Last week’s answer:
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723)
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HistoryWow’s Highlighted Historical Quotation
“Strike against war, for without you no battles can be fought. Strike against manufacturing shrapnel and gas bombs and all other tools of murder. Strike against preparedness that means death and misery to millions of human beings. Be not dumb, obedient slaves in an army of destruction. Be heroes in an army of construction.”
Helen Keller (1880-1968), American social activist, calling for strikes to prevent US involvement in the First World War (1914-1918)Source: Voices of a People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove
More at: History
