Henry VII

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530 years ago,  today, Henry VII's coronation took place in Westminster Abbey and 2 months after he defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth.  After 14 years in exile and two invasion attempts, he was King of England at the age of 28. 

His fiancée, Elizabeth of York, who remained officially illegitimate, did not attend the ceremony but his mother Margaret Stanley (née Beaufort) had pride of place. 

Her conspiracies on behalf of her son had resulted in her house arrest and confiscation of her lands under Richard - she must have feared Henry's cause, and her own, was lost forever. 

Now, in a dramatic turn of fortune, she was Regina, mother of the King, and First Lady of his coronation. They became close after their long separation and Margaret maintained an active political role until Henry's death, as the new King's grandmother. (edited/ Philippa Gregory)

Image: King Henry VII by an unknown Netherlandish artist, 1505, National Portrait Gallery 416

Halloween History

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

The idea of Halloween as a festival of supernatural evil forces is an entirely modern invention...

10 things you didn’t know about the history of Halloween

With the ‘trick or treat’-ing nearly season upon us, Dr David Clarke of Sheffield Hallam University, an expert on British folklore, investigates the origins of this eerie autumn festival…

HISTORYEXTRA.COM

Hendrix’s London apartment opened to public

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

The apartment where rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix lived and died in London will be open to the public starting next year.

He lived at 23 Brook Street in London’s posh Mayfair section, adjacent to the home where composer George Frideric Handel had lived two centuries earlier.

The Handel House Trust that owns both properties has spent two years and 2.4 million pounds ($3.7 million) restoring Hendrix’s apartment. read on ...

awesome Japanese invention:

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

The origins of the kotatsu can be traced to the 14th century Japanese irori, or cooking hearth. By the 17th century, irori dug into the ground, called hori-gotatsu, resembled a fixed kotatsu. 

Never Leave Your Bed Again With This Awesome Japanese Invention

The kotatsu consists of a blanket placed between a low table-frame and table-top, with a heat source placed underneath the blanket. With your legs placed under…

BOREDPANDA.COM

Draft Of King James Bible

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Handwritten Draft Of King James Bible Discovered: Reveals No ‘Divine Powers’

This is one of the biggest finds of the last several decades.

ADDICTINGINFO.ORG

humble wooden chair gift from Abraham Lincoln

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A wooden chair gifted to a photographer by Abraham Lincoln and used to snap five U.S. presidents is on sale for $250,000 (£160,000).  Presidents Andrew Johnson, Rutherford Hayes, James Garfield and Ulysses S. Grant all were photographed seated on the carved oak chair in Mathew Brady's studio.

Lincoln was relatively unknown when he commissioned Mr Brady, a distinguished Civil War photographer, to take his portrait ahead of the race to become the 16th President of the United States in 1860.

A wooden chair gifted to a photographer by Abraham Lincoln and used to snap five U.S. presidents is on sale for £160,000

During the shoot Mr Brady suggested Lincoln pop his collar to disguise his long neck. The future president was so pleased with the results, he used the photograph during his campaign.  After Lincoln was elected he declared Mr Brady's photograph one of the key factors that won him the presidency. continue

Billy the Kid playing croquet was $2 junk shop find

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Henry McCarty, known in Wild West lore as Billy the Kid, lived a brief and violent life, stealing and killing before his death in a gunfight aged 21. He lived with a gun in his hand – and sometimes, it seems, a croquet mallet.

In a surprising historical twist, the second photo of McCarty ever to be authenticated shows him and his posse, the Regulators, playing the sport in New Mexico in 1878. continue ...

doctored photo of Ulysses S. Grant

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A Very Weird Photo Of Ulysses S. Grant

More than 80 years before Photoshop was introduced, a clever photographer doctored this picture — and tampered with history.

NPR.ORG

Long Lost Celebrity Scandals

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Long Lost Celebrity Scandals at the link ...

• Lana Turner and mobster Johnny Stompanato in the late 50s ...

Tonight on TCM:

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Tonight on TCM: Spooky Disney Classics

Tonight, in celebration of the Halloween season, TCM will show several Disney classics, most of which (kind of) have a spooky angle. Disney never allows itself to get TOO dark, but there are defini...

TRAVSD.WORDPRESS.COM

Suzanne Pleshette

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

Suzanne Pleshette 

January 31, 1937 – January 19, 2008

Confederate Memorial at Stone Mountain

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Photo of the carving on the Confederate Memorial at Stone Mountain, Georgia.

Related Coverage

• Stone Mountain Confederate Flag To Remain In Place

• Only on 6: Aiken Man Starts Petition to Put Confederate Flag Back at State House

• South Carolina’s Confederate Flag Is Gone, But Others Remain

• Governor Nikki Haley Answers Questions About Confederate Flag’s Removal

• Confederate Flag Down, but What Happens Now?

• Confederate Flag’s Pole Removed

The Atlanta chapter of the NAACP officially called for the removal of Stone Mountain’s iconic Confederate Memorial carving on Monday. The carving features confederate Generals “Stonewall” Jackson and Robert E. Lee, as well as Jefferson Davis, who served as President of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War. read on

Marvin Gaye

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

Musical icon: Marvin Gaye wrote Got To Give It Up, released in 1977 that became a worldwide hit. He died in 1984 at age 44 after being shot by his father in Los Angeles

Guy Madison

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

Guy Madison born Robert Ozell Moseley (January 19, 1922 – February 6, 1996) appeared in 85 films. 

Best remembered for his role as James Butler Hickock in the television series Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok from 1951- 1958.

Historians insist Mass Murder of Jews in Europe Started Months Before Hitler Met Mufti

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sparked public and historical uproar on Tuesday when he claimed that the Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini, was the one who planted the idea of the extermination of European Jewry in Adolf Hitler’s mind. The Nazi ruler, Netanyahu said, had no intention of killing the Jews,...read on

Remembering China’s role in World War II

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Chinese recruits learn to use Zhongzheng rifles, also known as Chiang Kai-shek rifles, 1930s. © ww2db.org

This year China celebrated “Victory Day,” the 70th anniversary of the defeat of Japanese invaders in World War II. 

For decades China has downplayed the war because most of the troops who fought were Nationalists, led by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, whom the Communists defeated in a civil war a few years later. China’s Cold War rivals, the US and Britain also had no reason to highlight its role in the war. And as China built economic ties with Japan, it ignored past conflicts. continue

The War Within: Vietnam Vets Fighting Heroin Addiction

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A look at the harrowing effects of heroin.

The War Within: Portraits of Vietnam Veterans Fighting Heroin Addiction

Remembering the intensely personal war that afflicted so many who returned from Vietnam

TI.ME

Original Irish Jack-o-Lanterns

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Original Irish Jack-o-Lanterns were truly terrifying and made of turnips.

Named for Jack O’Lantern of the Irish myth, these carved turnips and beets were pretty scary.

Original Irish Jack-o-Lanterns were truly terrifying and made of turnips

IRISHCENTRAL.COM

Simple Speaks His Mind ~ Langston Hughes

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"Not this man,' said Simple. 'I would have stayed in that garden making grape wine, singing like Crosby, and feeling fine! I would not be scuffling out in this rough world, neither would I be in Harlem. If I was Adam I would just stay in Eden in that garden with no rent to pay, no landladies to dodge, no time clock to punch -- and my picture on a Sunday school card. I'd be a real gone guy even if I didn't have but one name -- Adam -- and no initials."
--from "Simple Speaks His Mind"

Prince Vittorio Amedeo

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

Prince Vittorio Amedeo was born at the Royal Palace of Turin, he was a son of Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia and his first wife Anne Christine of Sulzbach. He was styled as the Duke of Aosta from birth until he succeeded to his father's throne.

He was the eldest son of his parents and the heir apparent at birth, which was greeted with much celebration. He died the 11 August 1725, at the age of 2.

The Duke of Aosta (1723-1725) by Maria Giovanna Clementi, c 1725

historical distortion

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"It is a sad day in history when the leader of the Israeli government hates his neighbor so much that he is willing to absolve the most notorious war criminal in history."

Netanyahu Says Muslims Leader Convinced Hitler To Exterminate Jewish People

"Hitler didn't want to exterminate the Jews at the time, he wanted to expel the Jews," Netanyahu said.

HUFF.TO

Netanyahu says Palestinian gave Hitler idea for the Holocaust

Israelis stunned: A "historical distortion" that ignores Hitler's guilt.

WASHINGTONPOST.COM|BY WILLIAM BOOTH

Bette Davis

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

Rare photos of Bette

.... died October 6, 1989, aged 81

Ziegfeld Girl

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

Lillian Lorraine was a controversial Ziegfeld girl who fought with her costars and had an affair with Florenz Ziegfeld.