Lands used by a wife to support herself after the death of her husband.
Dower lands
Fact of the Day
Henry I kept lions, leopards and camels at Woodstock in the 12th century.
Quote of the Day
"People in high or in distinguished life ought to have a greater circumspection in regard to their most trivial actions. For instance, I saw Mr [Alexander] Pope...to the best of my memory, he was picking his nose.
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~ William Shenstone
On This Day
193 Roman emperor Didius Julianus was executed by his successor, Septimius Severus. He had been emperor for a mere nine weeks, having bought the position when it was auctioned off by the Praetorian Guard.
1533 Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII, was crowned Queen of England.
1939 Naval submarine HMS Thetis sank during trials in Liverpool Bay. Ninety-nine of her crew suffocated and there were just four survivors.
1962 Adolf Eichmann, organiser of the Holocaust, was executed at midnight (between 31 May and 1 June) for crimes against the Jewish people. He had evaded capture and justice for 15 years.