A disease, which was a swelling of the lymph nodes often caused by tuberculosis, that was also called the 'King's Evil'. It was believed that a monarch could cure it by touching the afflicted person. The belief was common throughout the Middle Ages and lasted until the Enlightenment.
Scrofula
Fact of the Day
Since it was first pinpointed in 1831, the magnetic North Pole has moved more than 950 km
Quote of the Day
"One has not great hopes for Birmingham. I always say there is something direful in the sound.
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~ Jane Austen (Emma)
On This Day
1297 Scottish hero William Wallace defeated the English at the Battle of Stirling Bridge.
1649 Cromwell's siege of the Irish town of Drogheda ended with the massacre of about 2,800 soldiers and at least 700 civilians.
1878 268 miners were killed in an explosion at the Prince of Wales Colliery in Abercarn, Wales.
1929 The state of Georgia executed Homer Simpson.
1978 Medical photographer Janet Parker became the last person in the world to die from smallpox after accidental exposure in a lab.
2001 The world stood still as it witnessed attacks on, and the destruction of, the World Trade Center. The attacks resulted in 2,996 immediate deaths.