The murder of Julia Martha Thomas was one of the most notorious crimes in Britain in the late 19th century. Thomas, a widow who lived in Richmond in west London, was killed on 2 March 1879 by Kate Webster, her Irish maid (pictured). Webster dismembered the body, boiled the flesh off the bones, and threw most of it into the River Thames, allegedly offering the fat to neighbours as dripping and lard. Part of Thomas's remains were soon recovered but her severed head was only found in October 2010 during building works being carried out for the naturalist Sir David Attenborough. After the murder, Webster posed as Thomas for two weeks but was exposed and fled to her family home at Killanne, Ireland. She was arrested on 29 March and stood trial in London at the Old Bailey in July 1879, where she was convicted and sentenced to death. She confessed to the murder the night before she was hanged on 29 July at Wandsworth Prison. The case attracted considerable interest from the public and press in Great Britain and Ireland.
Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Julia_Martha_Thomas
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1444:
Skanderbeg organised the League of Lezhë, an alliance of Albanian Principalities that is regarded as the first unified Albanian state. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Lezh%C3%AB
1484:
The College of Arms, one of the few remaining official heraldic authorities in Europe, was established by royal charter in London. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_of_Arms
1776:
American Revolutionary War: Patriot militia from Georgia and South Carolina attempted to resist the British action to seize and remove supply ships anchored at Savannah, Georgia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Rice_Boats
1919:
Communist, revolutionary socialist, and syndicalist delegates met in Moscow to establish the Communist International. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Founding_Congress_of_the_Comintern
1933:
The film King Kong made its premiere at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Kong_%281933_film%29
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
leapling (n): Someone born on a 29th of February http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/leapling
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
I believe in the cosmos. All of us are linked to the cosmos. Look at the sun. If there is no sun, then we cannot exist. So nature is my god. To me, nature is sacred. Trees are my temples and forests are my cathedrals. --Mikhail Gorbachev http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mikhail_Gorbachev