Death Anniversary Thread

[Gooseberry Crumble 5,341]

On 22/04/2022 at 19:42, msc said:

 

- Brought in the 8 hour work day.

- Advocated for free trade which became a Liberal (and later a Tory) pillar.

- Backed education reform, protection of trade union members, and brought in basic sick pay/pension guarantees/compensation for work injuries.

- Was pro-female suffrage. 

- Won a landslide by doing a deal with the Labour Party about not standing in each others target seats

 

He was already an ill man when he took office, only lasted 2 years, and Asquith and Lloyd George took the credit for many of his plans after he died, but there is a genuine argument for Campbell-Bannerman having the most influential legacy of our less remembered PMs. Certainly his attempts to avoid WW1 (foiled by his disdain for the French!) and wishes to reform the House of Lords (seemingly ahead of its time in 2022, let alone 1906) were ahead of their time. 

 

And the last point is useful if say, you are a current leader wanting to get rid of a Tory government...

I meant to put in a political historians quote that he is arguably the only Prime Minister who could be regarded as true radical  but forgot!

But you explained it so much better! It's strange to think of a Liberal  Prime Minister and governor as the thought of a Liberal  governor ever being the majority party and government in the UK seems inconceivable  in my lifetime  although some would argue their current incarnation are not truly a Liberal party or Liberal in characters  but that's a whole new can of  worms!

 

PS Totally irrelevant now and you properly already figured out it was a typo autocorrect  @msc but  this post should have read historians   viewed  him as the only Prime minister who arguably   COULD  be regarded as a true radical  NOT  couldn't. 

[msc 18,439]

4 minutes ago, Gooseberry Crumble said:

I meant to put in a political historians quote that he is arguably the only Prime Minister who couldn't be regarded as true radical  but forgot!

But you explained it so much better! It's strange to think of a Liberal  Prime Minister and governor as the thought of a Liberal  governor ever being the majority party and government in the UK seems inconceivable  in my lifetime  although some would argue their current incarnation are not truly a Liberal party or Liberal in characters  but that's a whole new can of  worms!

 

It's hard to really judge where the Lib Dems want to be on the political spectrum, in the last 25 years or so they've had leaders who were genuine centrists (Paddy Ashdown, Ming Campbell), outright lefties (Charles Kennedy), the Orange Bookers (Clegg, Davey, Cable, the latter of whom was more of a Brownite type), the Christian auton (Farron) and the lunatic (Jo "I could be Prime Minister" Swinson). They currently try to be the opposition to everyone at once, when their best periods since 1918 (hell before 1918 too of course) were as an anti-Tory alternative. (There are on the ground rumblings of Lib/Lab pact in target seats, so they may do surprisingly well at the next election, but not to Ashdown/Kennedy levels imo.)

[Gooseberry Crumble 5,341]

5 minutes ago, msc said:

 

It's hard to really judge where the Lib Dems want to be on the political spectrum, in the last 25 years or so they've had leaders who were genuine centrists (Paddy Ashdown, Ming Campbell), outright lefties (Charles Kennedy), the Orange Bookers (Clegg, Davey, Cable, the latter of whom was more of a Brownite type), the Christian auton (Farron) and the lunatic (Jo "I could be Prime Minister" Swinson). They currently try to be the opposition to everyone at once, when their best periods since 1918 (hell before 1918 too of course) were as an anti-Tory alternative. (There are on the ground rumblings of Lib/Lab pact in target seats, so they may do surprisingly well at the next election, but not to Ashdown/Kennedy levels imo.)

Sounds like there could be some interesting developments  ahead but one potential  spoiler risk is there is a significant chunk of the labour party that would object to a formal  pact. That's why there wasn't one in 1997  but more an informal pact were there was an understanding that there were certain seats they shouldn't campaign too hard in.

I agree the Liberal Democrats have an identity  crisis of sorts.

[msc 18,439]

5 minutes ago, Gooseberry Crumble said:

Sounds like there could be some interesting developments  ahead but one potential  spoiler risk is there is a significant chunk of the labour party that would object to a formal  pact. That's why there wasn't one in 1997  but more an informal pact were there was an understanding that there were certain seats they shouldn't campaign too hard in.

I agree the Liberal Democrats have an identity  crisis of sorts.

 

Yes, Informal ie they don't campaign in each others targets rather than formal. 

[Gooseberry Crumble 5,341]

Just now, msc said:

 

Yes, Informal ie they don't campaign in each others targets rather than formal. 

OK thanks for clarifying! I thought you meant formal which in my opinion has risks attached to it.

[Toast 16,133]

54 minutes ago, msc said:

 (There are on the ground rumblings of Lib/Lab pact in target seats, so they may do surprisingly well at the next election, but not to Ashdown/Kennedy levels imo.)

 

In my constituency they are the only credible opposition to the Conservatives, and they have held the seat in the fairly recent past.

[Hell 1,334]

American landscape photographer and environmentalist known for his black-and-white images of the American West Ansel Adams died on this day 38 years ago, aged 82.

 

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Ethelred II "the Unready", Anglo-Saxon king of England, died on this day 1006 years ago, aged 49.

Ethelred reportedly earned his epithet (based on the old English word "Unraed"- "ill-advised) due to either urinating or defecating in the holy water during his baptism.

 

Ethelred became king at the age of 12 following the assassination of his teen brother Edward the Martyr. The Danish began to raid England more and more frequently- this came to a climax in 1002, when Ethelred ordered genocide on all Danish settlers in his kingdom. Enraged, King Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark invaded England the following year, though was driven out by 1005. Sweyn eventually led a successful invasion in 1013, forcing Ethelred to abdicate, and he was exiled to Normandy in what is now France.

 

After Sweyn died in 1014, Ethelred saw this as a chance to regain the throne- he managed to get Sweyn's heir Cnut to leave, without much opposition. Cnut returned in 1016, and Ethelred died soon after. His younger brother Edmund Ironside became king, was assassinated (while on the toilet) in November of that year, leaving Cnut to become king (he would reign until his death in 1035, and it wouldn't be until 1042 that an Anglo-Saxon (Edward the Confessor) would be crowned king again).

[Gooseberry Crumble 5,341]

On this day in 1915  english poet Rupert  Brooke died aged 27 from sepsis as a result of a mosquito bite whilst on military service. 

Brooke was known for his idealistic  war sonnets especially 'The Soldier '.

[The Ashes Urn 1,355]

Russian politician Boris Yeltsin, who served as the first president of Russia from 1991 to 1999, died on this day 15 years ago, aged 76.

 

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On this day in 2014 british conservationist and travel writer Mark Shand died aged 62 in New York after suffering a head injury after a fall.

He was the brother of  Camilla  the Duchess of Cornwall .

 

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Satyajit Ray, Indian filmmaker, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher and music composer died on this day 30 years ago aged 70.

 

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American labor leader and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez died on this day 29 years ago, aged 66.

 

 

English actor who is best remembered as the First Doctor in BBC Television’s Doctor Who, which he played from 1963 to 1966 William Hartnell died on this day 47 years ago, aged 67.

 

 

American banker, general, diplomat, composer, and Republican politician who was the 30th vice president of the United States from 1925 to 1929 under Calvin Coolidge Charles G. Dawes died on this day 71 years ago, aged 85.

 

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Estee Lauder, founder of the cosmetics company of the same name, died on this day 18 years ago, aged 95.

I honestly can't think of anything interesting to say about her- except for her history on the list.

Lauder first appeared on DeathList in 2001 in the number 11 spot, and made four consecutive appearances before her death, caused by "the extravagantly described" cardiopulmonary arrest. Her age was also mistaken to have been 97 at the time. 

Her obituary headline was "Estee Lauder: Fashion Victim"- in 2020, Pierre Cardin's was "Another Fashion Victim", making some sort of continuity between the two.

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American actor, comedian and film producer Bud Abbott died on this day 48 years ago, aged 76.

 

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German racing driver Rolf Stommelen died on this day 39 years ago, aged 39. Successful in both single seater and endurance racing, his career was marred by a lot of unfortunate circumstances. The most notable of these are a horrible crash in the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix in which his rear wing failed on his car, which then flew into the crowd, killing 5 spectators as well as Stommelen's own death in a racing accident during an IMSA race.  

[The Ashes Urn 1,355]

Canadian author Lucy Laud Montgomery died on this day 80 years ago, aged 67.

 

[Gooseberry Crumble 5,341]

On this day in 1964  german pathologist and bacteriologist Gerhard Domagk  died aged 68.

He is credited with discovering and having a central key role in the creation of the first antibiotic being made widely available  commercially that was marketed as Prontosil.

[Drewsky1211 4,734]

Novelty singer and one-hit wonder Bobby Pickett died on this day 15 years ago, aged 69.

Pickett's only charting hit was 1962's "Monster Mash"- a perennial Halloween classic. Pickett also went by the name Boris Pickett, after horror actor Boris Karloff, whose voice he emulated in the song.

Pickett would later create sequels to his song, which included 1985's "Monster Rap", and 1993's "It's Alive".

 

Another song Pickett made was a Star Trek parody called "Star Drek" in 1975, which was frequently featured on Dr. Demento's radio show.

 

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American singer and rapper Lisa Lopes died on this day 20 years ago, aged 30.

 

 

American actress and comedian Bea Arthur died on this day 13 years ago, aged 86.

 

 

American actress, dancer, and singer during the Golden Age of Hollywood Ginger Rogers died on this day 27 years ago, aged 83.

 

 

British actor whose career spanned over 40 years George Sanders died on this day 50 years ago, aged 65.

 

[Gooseberry Crumble 5,341]

On  this day in 1566 french  courtier  and royal mistress of King Henry  II of France Diane de  Poitiers died aged 66 after suffering a fall  while horse riding. She was thought to wield a lot of influence over him as an adviser  behind the scenes on matters of  state but alas  this did not secure her an invitation to his funeral from which she was banished. 

 

 

[The Ashes Urn 1,355]

American announcer and actor in radio and television Don Wilson died on this day 40 years ago, aged 81.

 

[Drewsky1211 4,734]

On this day 157 years ago, John Wilkes Booth was fatally shot in a burning barn after an 12-day manhunt, at the age of 26.

Booth was from a family of theater actors, which included his father Junius, and brothers Edwin and Junius Jr. How did he go from a famous actor to an infamous assassin?

 

Booth was a staunch anti-abolitionist, and he was in attendance of the hanging of John Brown- in disguise as a militia man to prevent protestors from saving Brown's life. He despised his brother Edwin's pro-Union stances (coincidentally, Edwin Booth rescued Abraham Lincoln's son Robert after he fell from a train platform). While on tour, he wished that Lincoln and the government "would go to Hell", and was charged and fined for "treasonous remarks".

 

Nearing the 1864 presidential election, Booth began a plot to kidnap Abraham Lincoln, which is where he met some of the other co-conspirators in the assassination. On March 17, 1865, they learned that Lincoln would be attending a performance of the play Still Waters Run Deep at a hospital- they waited on a stretch of road near the hospital in hopes of kidnapping Lincoln, who did not show up (he changed his plans and was at a reception at the National Hotel- where Booth was staying).

 

Finally, on April 14, 1865, Booth became aware that Lincoln would attend the comedic play Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre. As he was a popular actor, he had free entry. He entered the theatre at 10:10 PM, and snuck into Lincoln's theater box four minutes later. Once the line "you sockdologizing old man-trap" generated loud laughter from the audience, Booth shot Lincoln in the back of the head, and the rest is history.

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American actress, comedian, and producer Lucille Ball died on this day 33 years ago, aged 77.

 

 

American musician, singer, and songwriter George Jones died on this day 9 years ago, aged 81.

 

 

American burlesque entertainer, stripper and vedette famous for her stripease act Gypsy Rose Lee died on this day 52 years ago, aged 59.

 

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On this day in 1981  american actor  Jim Davis died aged 71. He was best known for playing  Jock Ewing the patriarch of the wealthy powerful oil family  in glitzy US primetime soap Dallas from 1978 until 1981. The shows producers faced with a problem and dilemma at Jims unexpected death kept his character of Jock alive offscreen for a good while afterwards before eventually writing the characters death offscreen into the soap after it was decided the role was not appropriate to recast in the circumstances.