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The Claimant in the Tichborne case

The Tichborne case concerned the claim by an individual known as "the Claimant" (pictured) to be the missing heir to the Tichborne baronetcy and fortune. Roger Tichborne disappeared after a shipwreck in 1854; rumours later surfaced that he had survived and made his way to Australia. In 1866 a butcher called Thomas Castro from Wagga Wagga came forward claiming to be Tichborne; he travelled to England where, despite his unrefined manners and bearing, he was accepted by Lady Tichborne as her son. Although other family members were unconvinced, the Claimant gained considerable public support. By 1871 evidence suggested that Castro was actually Arthur Orton, a butcher's son from Wapping in London, who had gone to sea as a boy. A civil case ended with charges of perjury against him, and in 1874 a criminal court jury decided that he was Orton. He was sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment. Released in 1884, he confessed in 1895 to being Orton, only to recant immediately. He died destitute in 1898. (Full article...)

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In the news

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Did you know...

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On this day...

October 2: International Day of Non-Violence; Gandhi Jayanti in India

Thurgood Marshall

1766 – As part of wider food riots, citizens in Nottingham, England, looted large quantities of cheese; one man was killed during attempts to restore order.
1879 – Qing China signed the Treaty of Livadia with the Russian Empire, but the terms were so unfavorable that the Chinese government refused to ratify the treaty.
1913 – The Shubert Theatre opened on Broadway with a production of Hamlet.
1967 – Thurgood Marshall (pictured) was sworn in as the first African-American justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
2005 – Typhoon Longwang made landfall in China as the deadliest tropical cyclone in that year to impact the country.

William Drury (b. 1527)
Thomas Ellison (d. 1904)
Jack Parsons (b. 1914)
Priya Cooper (b. 1974)

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Today's featured picture

The Australasian shoveler (Spatula rhynchotis) is a species of dabbling duck in the family Anatidae. It is native to southwestern and southeastern Australia, including Tasmania, and New Zealand. It ranges in length from 46 to 53 centimetres (18 to 21 inches) and lives in heavily vegetated swamps. This male Australasian shoveler was photographed in the Goulds Lagoon Wildlife Sanctuary in Granton, Tasmania.

Photograph credit: John Harrison

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