On This Day: January 18

1486 - Henry VII of England marries Elizabeth of York

The Tudor Rose - a symbol of the marriage of Henry and Elizabeth

     This marriage united the rival royal houses of Lancaster and York, symbolized the end of the Wars of the Roses, and marked the birth of the Tudor dynasty.

     More information, including the back story to the marriage can be found at this link.

1903 - King Edward VII of the United Kingdom and President Theodore Roosevelt communicate for the first time via radio

The Marconi station in Poldhu, Cornwall

     
     The message was sent as part of an experiment orchestrated by Guglielmo Marconi, the Italian inventor who pioneered long-distance radio transmission and wireless telegraphy. He had been successful in sending a wireless signal from Poldhu, Cornwall along Britain's southwest coast to St. John's, Newfoundland in Canada, and had sent the first radio message across the Atlantic from Nova Scotia in 1902. This message from the President to the King was tapped out in Morse Code from Marconi's station in Wellfleet, Massachusetts and was the first transatlantic radio message originating from the United States. President Roosevelt's message of greetings read as follows: 

His Majesty, Edward VII,
   London, England.

     In taking advantage of the wonderful triumph of scientific research and ingenuity which has been achieved in perfecting a system of wireless telegraphy, I extend on behalf of the American People most cordial greetings and good wishes to you and to all the people of the British Empire.

                                               THEODORE ROOSEVELT 

     King Edward responded to President Roosevelt in kind from Sandringham via the Pondhu station: 

The President,
  White House, Washington, America.

     I thank you most sincerely for the kind message which I have just received from you, through Marconi's trans-Atlantic wireless telegraphy.  I sincerely reciprocate in the name of the British Empire the cordial greetings and friendly sentiment expressed by you on behalf of the American Nation, I heartily wish you and your country every possible prosperity.

                                               EDWARD R. AND I.*

     In fact, the Pondhu station was having transmission difficulties that night, and the King's reply may have been delivered via the conventional undersea telegraph cable. Nevertheless, it was a momentous occasion in which the practical use of wireless telegraphy had been demonstrated between two heads of state, and the radio age was under way.

1919 - John, the Forgotten Prince, dies at the age of 13

     Prince John was the fifth son and the youngest child of King George V and Queen Mary. Born in 1905 when his parents were the Prince and Princess of Wales, he showed signs of mental retardation or autism by the time of his fourth birthday, and suffered an epileptic seizure that year. He was not attendant at the coronation of his father and mother in 1911, and was sent to live at Sandringham, the Royal family's private estate in Norfolk, where he was cared for by his nanny, Charlotte "Lala" Bill. Members of the family continued to spend time with John whenever possible, and the King and Queen were especially close to him. 

     However, as his condition deteriorated, it was decided to end his formal education, and he was slowly withdrawn from the public eye. With the outbreak of World War I, John saw less of his family since they were either at boarding school, in the military, or conducting other royal duties. In 1917, he was sent to live at Wood Farm, a cottage in a secluded corner of Sandringham, where he was under the sole care of Lala Bill, it was around this time that physicians warned the family that John might not survive to adulthood. Queen Mary brought in local schoolchildren to be playmates for John, and he developed a close companionship with Winifred Thomas, and girl from West Yorkshire who was sent to live with her aunt and uncle (who was in charge of the stables on the estate) in the hopes that the warmer climate would improve her asthma.

     Nevertheless, John's seizures got worse, and though he was able to be with his family for Christmas in 1918, the epilepsy and possible autism were taking its toll, and he died in the following year. It was only then that news about his epilepsy was released to the public. He was buried at St. Mary Magdalene Church on the Sandringham Estate.

     To this day, John's treatment and seclusion has been held as an example of heartlessness on the part of Royal family, but the diary entries of Queen Mary and personal accounts from people around John and the family depict them has having concern for John. His seclusion from the public had more to do with his personal safety and to keep him from large public settings due to his condition. The British Epileptic Association has stated that John's treatment was not different from that of epileptics at the time, and that it would take a generation and further studies of epileptics to conclude that such people need not be secluded or locked away.


*R and I stand for Rex Imperator, which is Latin for King Emperor.


Photo Credit: Sodacan via Wikimedia Commons cc