Boulton and Park, two Victorian homosexuals from upper-middle-class English families, were cross-dressers and enjoyed playing the women's roles in theatrical performances. Lord Arthur Clinton, Member of Parliament for Newark, entered into a relationship with Boulton. Boulton and Park were arrested in 1870 after leaving a London theatre in drag. They were still in women's dresses the next morning when they appeared in court, where hundreds had gathered. Boulton and Park were charged with conspiracy to commit sodomy, a crime that carried a maximum prison sentence of life with hard labour. They were found not guilty after the prosecution failed to establish that they had anal sex. The judge, Sir Alexander Cockburn, was highly critical of the police investigation. Boulton and Park admitted to appearing in public dressed as women, which was "an offence against public morals and common decency". They were bound over for two years. The case was reported in all the major newspapers, much of it in lurid terms.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boulton_and_Park

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1223:

Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus': Mongol forces defeated a Kievan Rus' army at the Kalka River in present-day Ukraine. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Kalka_River

1468:

Cardinal Bessarion announced his donation of 746 Greek and Latin codices to the Republic of Venice, forming the Biblioteca Marciana. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblioteca_Marciana

1935:

An earthquake registering 7.7 Mw struck Balochistan in the British Raj, now part of Pakistan, killing between 30,000 and 60,000 people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1935_Quetta_earthquake

2013:

A tornado struck Central Oklahoma killing 8 people and injuring more than 150. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_El_Reno_tornado

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

unctuous: 1. Of a liquid, semisolid, or other substance: having the nature or properties of an unguent or ointment; greasy, oily. 2. Having fat or oil present; fatty, greasy, oily. 3. Of an aroma or taste, or a beverage (such as coffee or wine) or food (such as gravy, meat, or sauce): having layers of concentrated, velvety flavour; lush, rich. 4. Of soil: soft and sticky. 5. (figuratively) Of a person: 6. Complacent, self-satisfied, smug. 7. Profusely polite, especially in an insincere and unpleasant manner. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/unctuous

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The sum of all known reverence I add up in you whoever you are, The President is there in the White House for you, it is not you who are here for him, The Secretaries act in their bureaus for you, not you here for them, The Congress convenes every Twelfth-month for you, Laws, courts, the forming of States, the charters of cities, the going and coming of commerce and malls, are all for you.   --Leaves of Grass https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Leaves_of_Grass