People
James Lackington Revolutionized the Book Trade
James Lackington revolutionized the book trade because of his innovative book-selling practices. He was born in on 31 August 1746 in Wellington, Somerset to a shoemaker and was one of eleven children. His father had some money and young Lackington was lucky enough to attend a “Dame School,” but it lasted only a short time…
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The boy Jones Who Broke into Buckingham Palace
Edward Jones was nicknamed “the boy Jones” by newspapers and became notorious for breaking into Buckingham Palace multiple times between 1838 and 1841. His first break-in occurred in 1838 when he entered disguised as a chimney sweep having gained admission by squeezing through a hole in the March Arch at the principal entrance of the…
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George Cruikshank the Caricature Artist and Humorist
George Cruikshank, the caricature artist and humorist, was born in London on a Thursday on 27 September. His mother was Mary Macnaughten and his father, Isaac Cruikshank, a leading caricaturist of the late 1790s. Mary and Isaac had five children: two died in infancy and then there was artist Isaac Robert born in 1789, George…
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Margaret Ogilvy: The Daring Escape of Jacobite Lady
Jacobite woman Lady Margaret (Johnstone)* Ogilvy joined with her husband, David Ogilvy, 6th Earl of Airlie, in supporting the Jacobite movement that culminated in the rising of 1745 (the forty-five). She was the daughter of Sir James Johnston of Westerhall and Barbara Murray. Ogilvy was taken prisoner at the Battle of Culloden, along with several other…
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The Eccentric Mr. Martin Van Butchell
Not many people are willing to put a dead spouse on display, but that’s exactly what the eccentric Mr. Martin Van Butchell did. When he began life he was not necessarily eccentric as he developed an interest in medicine from a early age and began healing patients. He studied under Doctor William Hunter, a Scottish…
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Matthias Buchinger – The Wonderful Little Man of Nuremberg
Matthias Buchinger was “little more than the trunk of a man,”[1] but he was also dexterous, talented, and capable, which is why he became known as “the wonderful little man of Nuremberg.” He was born in Ansbach, Germany, on 2 June (or perhaps 3) 1674, without hands, feet, or thighs and was the youngest of…
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