The Tichborne case, a Victorian legal cause célèbre, concerned the claim by an individual known as "the Claimant" (pictured) to be the missing heir to the Tichborne baronetcy and fortune. The real Roger Tichborne disappeared after a shipwreck in 1854; later, rumours surfaced that he had survived and made his way to Australia. In 1866 a butcher called Thomas Castro from Wagga Wagga came forward claiming to be Roger Tichborne; he travelled to England where, despite his unrefined manners and bearing, he was accepted by Lady Tichborne as her son. Although other family members were unconvinced, the Claimant gained considerable public support. However, by 1871 evidence suggested that Castro was actually Arthur Orton, a butcher's son from Wapping in London, who had gone to sea as a boy. A civil case ended with charges of perjury against him, and in 1874 a criminal court jury decided that he was indeed Orton. He was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment. He was released in 1884; in 1895 he confessed to being Orton, only to recant immediately. He died destitute in 1898. While most commentators accept that the Claimant was Orton, for some a slight possibility exists that, after all, he was Roger Tichborne.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1495:

An entry in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland made the first recorded mention of Scotch whisky (bottle pictured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotch_whisky

1676:

The Swedish warship Kronan, one of the largest ships in the world of its time, sank at the Battle of Öland with a loss of around 800 men. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_%C3%96land

1831:

British naval officer and explorer James Clark Ross successfully led the first expedition to reach the North Magnetic Pole. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Magnetic_Pole

1916:

Louis Brandeis became the first Jew to be appointed to the United States Supreme Court. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Brandeis

1943:

Eight German Junkers Ju 88s shot down British Overseas Airways Corporation Flight 777 over the Bay of Biscay off the coast of Spain and France, killing actor Leslie Howard and several other notable passengers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BOAC_Flight_777

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

progeny: 1. (uncountable) Offspring or descendants. 2. (countable) Result of a creative effort. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/progeny

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Beauty cannot be defined by abscissas and ordinates; neither are circles and ellipses created by their geometrical formulas.   --Carl von Clausewitz https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_von_Clausewitz