Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia, died on 17 November 1796, less than 24 hours after suffering a massive stroke. She was not anywhere near a horse. She was one of the strongest and most capable rulers that Russia, and the world, has ever known. She dragged Russia into its place as a modern European… Read more The Non-Equestrian Death of Catherine the Great
The birth of a baby is incredibly influenced by culture. I know that seems odd, since it is a biological reality that appears to transcend cultural differences, but it is true nonetheless. In modern Western and Westernised culture birth has been centered around the technological achievements of biomedical practitioners, although that is changing as the… Read more The Woman in the Straw
Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales died as a result of complications following the birth of her stillborn son on 6 November 1817. She was only 21, and the darling of Britain. The public mourning over her death would only be matched by the loss of Princess Diana nearly 180 years later. The reasons the public… Read more The Unpreventable Death of Princess Charlotte of Wales
In the 18th and 19th centuries the wives (and sometimes the mistresses) of naval officers would accompany their men aboard ship. One of these stalwart women was Elizabeth “Betsey” Wynne Fremantle, wife of Captain Thomas Francis Fremantle, and she left an amazing 40 volume diary to enrich the historical record. Their marriage was happy, as… Read more Captain Fremantle and Betsey
Henry VIII’s third Queen, Jane Seymour, died on the night of the 24/25 October 1537 as a result of complications from the birth of her son, Edward VI. For the first ten days after Edward’s arrival, all seemed well with both mother and child. Then, on the afternoon of the 23rd, the Queen suffered from… Read more The Death of Queen Jane
Although women and female family members did most of the hands on and practical work of heath care in the Medieval and Tudor period, I have to think that physicians doubtlessly earned their salary. Not only were they excellent astronomers and very competent herbalists, they were also the guys who had to examine, smell, and… Read more P is for Physician
I married the love of my life, my Sweet Babou, 18 years ago today. I know it looks like I snatched him from a high school dance, but he was actually 25. I thought he was just the cutest young man I’d ever seen. Now, after three children and a lot of water under the… Read more Happy 18th Anniversary Sweet Babou!
Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna came into the world on November 2, 1755 – the fifteenth born and the last daughter of the sixteen children of the Holy Roman Emperor Francis I and his empress Maria Theresa. Her life was taken from her, courtesy of Madame Guillotine, at 12:15 p.m. on 16 October 1793. Most people know… Read more Marie Antoinette’s Death
Edward of Westminster (or Lancaster), the only child of king Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou, was born on 13 October 1453 and was the rightful Prince of Wales. He was the touchstone for the War of the Roses and the only heir apparent to the English throne to ever be killed in battle. Edward of… Read more Edward of Westminster, the Lost Lancastrian Prince of Wales
George II was crowned King of Great Britain and Ireland on 11 October 1727 at Westminster Abbey. History hasn’t been kind to the second Georgian monarch, in part because “in the memoirs of contemporaries such as Lord Hervey and Horace Walpole, George is depicted as a weak buffoon, governed by his wife and ministers” and… Read more The Reign of King George II