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In 1847, a group led by Charles Dickens (1812-1870) successfully stopped the American showman P.T. Barnum (1810-1891) from doing what?

Answer: Purchasing the birthplace of William Shakespeare. Barnum wanted to move the house, brick by brick, to New York City. Luckily, Dickens and others raised the £3,000 required to purchase the property and keep it at its original site in Stratford upon Avon.

Source: Shakespeare on the Global Stage by Paul Prescott and Erin Sullivan

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1908 – 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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“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

Source: The Wicket Wit of Winston Churchill by Dominique Enright

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Marcus Porcius Cato (234-149BCE)

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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