1 A king of spin, Octavian had two thousand documents destroyed after Cleopatra’s death that didn’t support his version of events.
2 The Iceni kingdom covered an area that roughly encompasses modern-day Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, and northern Suffolk in England.
3 Possibly referring to Charles VII’s mother, Isabeau of Bavaria, who signed a treaty basically giving France to England after Agincourt.
4 It was Voltaire who introduced the spelling Châtelet, which became the standard.
5 Louis François Armand de Vignerot du Plessis, third duc de Richelieu, was a French soldier and statesman. A notorious womanizer, he is considered the model for Valmont in Choderlos de Laclos’ novel Les liaisons dangereuses.
6 Her children were given the surname Fitzroy. The current Duke of Grafton still carries that surname to this day.
7 When the king caught them in flagrante delicto, he said to Churchill, “I forgive you, for you do it for your bread.”
8 Sir William left Emma an annuity of eight hundred pounds, her known debts paid, and a lump sum of three hundred pounds but she was dependent on his heir, Charles Greville, who doled it out sparingly.
9 “Gossipings,” as they were called, were the only accepted way for women in the colony to talk about spiritual matters while doing embroidery and quilting. Like a coffee klatch for God.
10 Sir Harry Vane became a moderate in the English Parliament after his return in August 1637. He led the Independent Party with Oliver Cromwell but later broke with him over the execution of Charles I. Vane argued for religious tolerance and a constitutional monarchy. Although he was for the restoration of the monarch, in 1662 he was convicted of high treason and executed.
11 Roger Williams went on to found the Providence Plantation, where he welcomed Anne after her banishment from Massachusetts.
12 After his third imprisonment, Francis Marbury decided it would be prudent to keep his mouth shut, something Anne never learned. He was rewarded with a London parish near St. Paul’s, where he died in 1611, no doubt from the strain of not speaking his mind.
13 Dissenters were Quakers, Baptists, Methodists, and Unitarians, basically anyone who wasn’t Church of England. Barred from universities and many professions, they started their own schools.
14 She was born either in 1813 or 1814; her birth was not recorded, and no one is sure exactly when she was born. The family later dropped the e from their last name.
15 Kansas had passed a prohibition amendment to the state constitution in 1880, only the second state after Maine to do so.
16 The Northern Paiutes’ territory encompassed southwest Oregon, western Nevada, and northeast California. They shared a name but little else with the Southern Paiutes, who had different customs and language.
17 Although Martha’s birth year has been given as 1852 in some biographies, James D. McLaird writes in his definitive biography Calamity Jane: The Woman and the Legend that 1860 census records for Mercer County, Missouri, state that she was born in 1856.
18 Martha was not the only one to carry the nickname Calamity Jane. Several other women, including Mattie Young, Annie Fillmore, and Mrs. Opie, were also known as Calamity Jane. Ironically all three women were alcoholic and prostitutes and known for their eccentric behavior.
19 Born in New York, Edward L. Wheeler (1855-1885?) wrote over one hundred dime novels during his short career, including thirty-three in the Deadwood Dick series. He started his career in 1877 with his first novel, Hurricane Nell. At the height of his career, he was making $950 a year. His other series included titles with colorful names like Rosebud Bob, Sierra Sam, and Kangaroo Kit. Like Calamity Jane, Wheeler’s heroines defied society’s conventions by smoking, drinking, dressing, and cussing like men. Unlike Calamity, they became submissive when it came to relationships with men.
20 Years later, a woman named Jane Hickok claimed to be the illegitimate daughter of Calamity and Wild Bill. As evidence, she said that she had letters that Calamity had written to her. Despite the fact that Calamity was illiterate, many people believed that the evidence was legitimate, adding yet another note to the legend of Calamity Jane. To add to the mystery, Calamity’s real daughter claimed at first that Calamity was her grandmother and then that her real mother was the outlaw Belle Starr, whom she claimed was Calamity’s sister.
21 McCall shot Wild Bill during a card game.
22 At the time, senators were appointed by state legislatures, not elected.
23 Letters between Camille and Rodin, donated by their mutual friend Mathias Morhardt, are missing from the Rodin Museum. There is speculation that some wellmeaning person destroyed them.
24 The design of the skull and crossbones on Rackham’s Jolly Roger flag contributed to the popularization of the design and its association with piracy in popular culture.
25 William Hogarth (1697-1764) was a major artist, printmaker, and cartoonist most famous for A Harlot’s Progress and A Rake’s Progress.
26 William Pitt the Younger (1759-1806) became the youngest prime minister in British history in 1783, when he was twenty-four; he held office until 1801 when he resigned over the question of Catholic emancipation. His father, William Pitt the Elder, had also been prime minister and was awarded the title of Earl of Chatham for his services to the crown.
27 Anna was not the only one in her family to become famous. Her great-nephew William Henry Pratt took up acting and changed his name to Boris Karloff. Unfortunately they never met.