Painful or hard effort. It can also refer to a woman in childbirth.
Travail
Fact of the Day
Entrance to the Tower of London used to be free if you took a cat or dog to feed the lions.
Quote of the Day
"...the unequal division of property and of labour, the difference of rank and condition amongst mankind, are the sources of power in civilized life, and its moving causes, and even its very soul.
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~ Renowned C19 inventor and chemist Humphrey Davy
On This Day
43 BCE The assassination of Cicero, requested by Marc Antony. When his head was delivered to Anthony, his wife, Fulvia, spat on it and jabbed hairpins into his tongue.
1732 The Theatre Royal, now known as the Covent Garden Opera House, opened with a performance of the Beggar's Opera.
1787 Delaware became the first state of the modern United States.
1817 Rear-Admiral William Bligh died. He had been captain of HMS Bounty during the mutiny.
1941 The Japanese launched a surprise attack on the American naval base a Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, killing 2,403.
1982 Charles Brooks Jr became the first person to be executed by lethal injection, with a huge dose of 'truth serum'
