On 11 May 1812, Spencer Perceval, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, was shot and killed in the lobby of the House of Commons in London. His assailant, John Bellingham, a Liverpool merchant, was tried and convicted, and on 18 May was hanged at Newgate Prison. Despite initial fears that the assassination might be linked to a general uprising, Bellingham had in fact acted alone, as a protest against the government's failure to compensate him for his imprisonment in Russia for a trading debt. After Perceval's death, parliament made generous provision to his widow and children, but his ministry was soon forgotten and his policies reversed. He had led the Tory government during a critical phase of the Napoleonic Wars, and his determination to prosecute the war using the harshest of measures had caused widespread poverty and unrest. He is generally better known for the manner of his death than for any of his achievements. Later historians have characterised Bellingham's hasty trial and execution as contrary to the principles of justice.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Spencer_Perceval
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
868:
A copy of the Diamond Sutra was printed in China, making it the world's oldest dated printed book. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond_Sutra
1745:
War of the Austrian Succession: French forces defeated the Anglo-Dutch-Hanoverian "Pragmatic Army" at the Battle of Fontenoy in the Austrian Netherlands in present-day Belgium. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fontenoy
1813:
William Lawson, Gregory Blaxland and William Wentworth departed westward from Sydney on an expedition to become the first Europeans confirmed to cross the Blue Mountains. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Mountains_(New_South_Wales)
1946:
The United Malays National Organisation, today Malaysia's largest political party, was founded, originally to oppose the constitutional framework of the Malayan Union. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Malays_National_Organisation
1996:
A severe blizzard on Mount Everest caused the deaths of eight climbers, helping make that year the deadliest in the mountain's history at the time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Mount_Everest_disaster
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
dudess: 1. A female dude. 2. (dated) A cowgirl. 3. A woman, generally a younger woman, especially one who is perceived to be cool or hip. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dudess
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
I maintain that Truth is a pathless land, and you cannot approach it by any path whatsoever, by any religion, by any sect. That is my point of view, and I adhere to that absolutely and unconditionally. Truth, being limitless, unconditioned, unapproachable by any path whatsoever, cannot be organized; nor should any organization be formed to lead or to coerce people along any particular path. If you first understand that, then you will see how impossible it is to organize a belief. A belief is purely an individual matter, and you cannot and must not organize it. If you do, it becomes dead, crystallized; it becomes a creed, a sect, a religion, to be imposed on others. --Jiddu Krishnamurti https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jiddu_Krishnamurti