The most widely used medicine deployed in the American Civil War (1861-1865) was ‘calomel’, used to treat ailments ranging from headaches to syphilis. What was its main ingredient?
Answer: Mercury. When one leading Union army physician, William Hammond, correctly noted that mercury was poisonous, he was deemed a quack and speedily removed from his post.
Source: The Army Medical Department by Mary C. Gillett
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Back Home1908 – King Carlos I of Portugal and his heir, Prince Luis Filipe are assassinated by Republican sympathizers in Lisbon.
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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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Last week’s answer:
Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536)
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“In Russia a man is a called reactionary if he objects to having his property stolen and his wife and children murdered.”
Winston Churchill (1874-1965), British statesman
Roman statesman, soldier and writer of virtue, simplicity and wisdom. He condemned the luxury of his time and was nicknamed “the censor”. He became Consul in 195BCE, took part in the defeat of Hannibal at Zama, held command in Sardinia and Spain, and in 191 BCE assisted the Greeks in overthrowing Antiochus III at Thermopolyae.
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