britain

By the time John “Mad Jack” Mytton arrived at his own dinner party riding a live bear — in full hunting costume, naturally — his guests had learned to expect the unexpected. The bear, unimpressed by the formalities, bit him through the calf. Mytton considered it one of the more reasonable evenings that year. Britain…

On the 16th of August 1819, somewhere between 60,000 and 80,000 people gathered peacefully at St Peter’s Field in Manchester to demand parliamentary reform. They brought their families. Some wore their Sunday best. The local magistrates, watching from a nearby house, decided this constituted a threat to public order. Within minutes, cavalry had charged into…