A court of law's final order officially ending a marriage, enabling either party to remarry.
Decree absolute
Fact of the Day
Robert Plot, Professor of Chemistry at Oxford, devised a cunning plan to enable James II to permanently rid the country of parliaments: he advised James to found a hermetic college for the alchemical creation of gold, thus making the need for parliamentary subsidies redundant.
Quote of the Day
"One has not great hopes for Birmingham. I always say there is something direful in the sound.
"
~ Jane Austen (Emma)
On This Day
1914 The Panama Canal opened to commercial traffic.
1941 Josef Jakobs, a Luxembourg-born German spy, became the last person to be executed at the Tower of London, by firing squad.
1945 The Japanese announced their intention to surrender unconditionally in the Second World War. It came into effect on 2 September 1945.
1947 India gained independence from the British Empire.
1969 The first Woodstock Music and Art Fair opened in upstate New York.