To a general outcry from people who didn't like the idea of being descended from apes as they saw it.

There are plenty of people still who are offended by the theory.

‍Is it still considered a "theory?"

One of the great unsung figures in natural history is Alfred Wallace who was independently developing the same theories as Darwin and actually put them into print a year before Darwin. 

One of the great unsung figures in natural history is Alfred Wallace who was independently developing the same theories as Darwin and actually put them into print a year before Darwin. 

‍Any relation to William Wallace & was Alfred a Scot? How come neither he nor Darwin are a "Sir?"  Seems as if "Sir" titles are given out like couch candy these days. Rock stars, actors & the like.

There have been a few progs on Alfred Russel Wallace in the last couple of years, giving the man his rightful place amongst the greats.

One of the great unsung figures in natural history is Alfred Wallace who was independently developing the same theories as Darwin and actually put them into print a year before Darwin. 

‍Any relation to William Wallace & was Alfred a Scot? How come neither he nor Darwin are a "Sir?"  Seems as if "Sir" titles are given out like couch candy these days. Rock stars, actors & the like.

I don't know about Wallace's ancestry, he was born in Wales, his father however did claim descent from Sir William but without direct evidence.

I suspect they were overlooked for honours due to the Church's rejection of their views.

75 years ago today, on 27 November 1944, the largest (at the time) non-natural explosion in the world took place at RAF Fauld in Staffordshire. Fauld was an underground bomb store, the blast, which killed 71, was an accident. Around 7400 tons of bombs and munitions blew up in a single explosion. The crater remains today and is HUGE, I've walked around it about 10 times over the years. 

There are plenty of people still who are offended by the theory. The part that stands out to me is that unless you are a descendant of Africa you probably have Neanderthal DNA in yours. They now think it was disease pasted on by the new comers to their area that killed them off. The new comers had built up a bit of resistance before they showed up but the Neanderthals had none. There was cross breeding going on so they must have gotten along a bit better than we have always been taught or thought. Was there any sailors around during these times I wonder?

On 28 November 1290 Eleanor of Castile, the wife of King Edward I died at Harby, Nottinghamshire. The couple were on a tour of the Midlands and north when she died suddenly aged 49.

King Edward ordered that at every point her coffin rested overnight on its way south to London for burial a cross would be erected in her memory - the Eleanor Crosses.

There were 12 in total of which three remain today. Of the other nine six have disappeared entirely and fragments of three survive in local museums. The best preserved of the three survivors is at Geddington, Northamptonshire.

On 28 November 1290 Eleanor of Castile, the wife of King Edward I died at Harby, Nottinghamshire. The couple were on a tour of the Midlands and north when she died suddenly aged 49.

King Edward ordered that at every point her coffin rested overnight on its way south to London for burial a cross would be erected in her memory - the Eleanor Crosses.

There were 12 in total of which three remain today. Of the other nine six have disappeared entirely and fragments of three survive in local museums. The best preserved of the three survivors is at Geddington, Northamptonshire.

‍Mark, another royal who died suddenly eh? Circumstances, rumors as to the cause?

49 was a decent age back then, even for a Royal. No official cause of death other than "a fever" which could have been any Mediaeval ailment. King Edward lived to 68 a great age for the time.

29 November 1330 - Roger Mortimer, Earl of March, executed. 

Roger the 3rd Baron Mortimer was one of the nobles who opposed the ineffectual King Edward II in the 1320s, but he took it one step further, he became the lover of Edward's wife Queen Isabella. Together the conspired to overthrow the King and in January 1327 Edward was forced to abdicate in favour of his 14 year old son who became King Edward III under the control of his mother and Mortimer. Eight months later the deposed King was murdered. 

The young Edward III bided his time until October 1330 when, a few weeks short of his 18th birthday, he was in a position to strike. Isabella and Mortimer, who by now had been created Earl of March, were at Nottingham Castle. With his supporters inside the young King entered the castle via a gate at the base of the cliff which led up through some circuitous passages to the Royal apartments. Both were arrested and after a brief trial Roger Mortimer was executed. Queen Isabella was treated remarkably leniently allowed to live comfortably at Castle Rising in Norfolk and attend Court. She died in 1358.

The gate through which the young King entered Nottingham Castle and the tunnels leading into the castle itself survive and you can walk the route yourself, I did it a few years ago.   

29 November 1330 - Roger Mortimer, Earl of March, executed. 

Roger the 3rd Baron Mortimer was one of the nobles who opposed the ineffectual King Edward II in the 1320s, but he took it one step further, he became the lover of Edward's wife Queen Isabella. Together the conspired to overthrow the King and in January 1327 Edward was forced to abdicate in favour of his 14 year old son who became King Edward III under the control of his mother and Mortimer. Eight months later the deposed King was murdered. 

The young Edward III bided his time until October 1330 when, a few weeks short of his 18th birthday, he was in a position to strike. Isabella and Mortimer, who by now had been created Earl of March, were at Nottingham Castle. With his supporters inside the young King entered the castle via a gate at the base of the cliff which led up through some circuitous passages to the Royal apartments. Both were arrested and after a brief trial Roger Mortimer was executed. Queen Isabella was treated remarkably leniently allowed to live comfortably at Castle Rising in Norfolk and attend Court. She died in 1358.

The gate through which the young King entered Nottingham Castle and the tunnels leading into the castle itself survive and you can walk the route yourself, I did it a few years ago.   

‍I always thought the Sicilians were a despicable bunch for murdering their own brothers mafia style. But this royal lot has em beat by a longshot.

Apart from the desire to avenge his father the 17 year old King Edward III feared for his own life. Earlier that year 1330 his half-uncle Edmund, Earl of Kent had been executed for treason. He tried to overthrow Mortimer and his sister-in-law by entering into a conspiracy that his half-brother Edward II had not been murdered in 1327 and that he was still alive. With his death the young King felt he could no longer rely on his mother to protect him, Mortimer was becoming too strong.  

Apart from the desire to avenge his father the 17 year old King Edward III feared for his own life. Earlier that year 1330 his half-uncle Edmund, Earl of Kent had been executed for treason. He tried to overthrow Mortimer and his sister-in-law by entering into a conspiracy that his half-brother Edward II had not been murdered in 1327 and that he was still alive. With his death the young King felt he could no longer rely on his mother to protect him, Mortimer was becoming too strong.  

‍Mark, if "Randy Andy" was alive way back then, would he have been in peril or perhaps feted for his "transgressions?"

Eddy 1 & 3 were great warrior kings, whereas Eddy 2 was ineffectual, a sure fire death sentence for a king. They shoved a red hot poker up his arse to kill him, which I suspect would do the job nicely.

Prince Andrew's "indiscretions" would not be considered such as far back as the 14th century. 

The story of Edward II's grisly death is almost certainly a later invention, there's no mention at the time of it in those terms. It's more likely he was killed in a more conventional manner. The tale we know today is a commentary on his alleged lifestyle rather than actual fact. 

Yeh, I believe homophobia was a bit of an issue back then.

It's one of those historical tales that I've always had doubts about, so I looked into it and came to the conclusion it was a fantasy. Rather like the story that Edmund Ironside was stabbed to death in 1016 from beneath whilst on the toilet.  

Now if they had said bitten by a rat from below the story would have made more sense. Underneath those toilet holes was usually a great drop down a couple of floors or more so it would be a nasty climb just getting up to the height of toilet seat and by that time your hands would be such a mess you wouldn't be able to even hold a knife or sword. Not that I have any experience in doing such a thing but just saying. The Major is the only one here that might have had to do it in his trade so let's ask him.

It's 1003 years ago today, 30 November 1016, that Edmund II, King of England (known as Ironside) was killed "whilst on the toilet". His death is one of the most mysterious in English history. 

He only became King the previous April following the death of his father Ethelred "the Unready" in the middle of an fight for survival with Danish invaders. Over the summer the English and the Danes under King Canute fought four inconclusive battles culminating in a clash at Ashingdon in October in which the English were defeated and Edmund wounded. 

In the consequent peace treaty Canute was given control over the north leaving Edmund with half a Kingdom. The plan for both Kings was to see out the winter and resume the fight in the spring, but within weeks Edmund was dead. 

Even the location of his death is unclear, it was most likely London, but some sources give Oxford. The fanciful version is that an assassin secreted himself in the cesspit and stabbed the King as he sat on the toilet (no more than a wooden board with a hole in it over the cesspit) while he was, to put it mildly, vulnerable and defenceless. In my opinion it is extremely unlikely such a thing took place, it's possible that someone rushed in and killed him and the fact that the toilet features so heavily in the tale of his death would indicate that. Alternatively it's more likely he died "on the toilet" from disease, poison or from the wounds he sustained six weeks earlier. 

His death left Canute as King of all England, Edmund left two infant sons far too young to take up the fight, so the assembled nobles reluctantly accepted Canute as King.  

It's 1003 years ago today, 30 November 1016, that Edmund II, King of England (known as Ironside) was killed "whilst on the toilet". His death is one of the most mysterious in English history. 

He only became King the previous April following the death of his father Ethelred "the Unready" in the middle of an fight for survival with Danish invaders. Over the summer the English and the Danes under King Canute fought four inconclusive battles culminating in a clash at Ashingdon in October in which the English were defeated and Edmund wounded. 

In the consequent peace treaty Canute was given control over the north leaving Edmund with half a Kingdom. The plan for both Kings was to see out the winter and resume the fight in the spring, but within weeks Edmund was dead. 

Even the location of his death is unclear, it was most likely London, but some sources give Oxford. The fanciful version is that an assassin secreted himself in the cesspit and stabbed the King as he sat on the toilet (no more than a wooden board with a hole in it over the cesspit) while he was, to put it mildly, vulnerable and defenceless. In my opinion it is extremely unlikely such a thing took place, it's possible that someone rushed in and killed him and the fact that the toilet features so heavily in the tale of his death would indicate that. Alternatively it's more likely he died "on the toilet" from disease, poison or from the wounds he sustained six weeks earlier. 

His death left Canute as King of all England, Edmund left two infant sons far too young to take up the fight, so the assembled nobles reluctantly accepted Canute as King.  

‍In my experience of the "check the welfare" calls, many people die on the toilet. Must be a natural thing, perhaps a heart attack from passing a hard stool.

We call it a log here, so he would have died logging.

We call it a log here, so he would have died logging.

‍Gotta drop Howard off at the pool.

Gotta drop Howard off at the pool. Never heard of a Howard. Another name commonly used here is dropping a Richard, which is short for Richard the third, which is Cockney rhyme slang for turd. I love history.

In my experience of the "check the welfare" calls, many people die on the toilet. Must be a natural thing, perhaps a heart attack from passing a hard stool.

Like Elvis. 

We got to get off of this toilet talk as I have to start my clean out medicine and I almost die every time I have to take it.

In 1859 Darwin published Origin of the Species. Darwin was a devout Christian before he embarked upon his travels but after observing nature in action and following the death of his young daughter, he became an agnostic.

King George II died on the toilet too in 1760.

Edmund II was only 26, so any of the scenario's are possible - stabbing, poison, disease, infected wounds etc. 

2 December 1981 - Britney Jean Spears born in McComb MS. Brought up in Kentwood LA.