Today is ‘Jury Rights Day’. It is celebrated annually on September 5 to commemorate the 1670 trial of William Penn (future founder of Pennsylvania) and William Mead and the subsequent establishment of jurors’ right to conscientious acquittal.
Penn was a devout Quaker. In 1668, Penn published the first of many pamphlets, Truth Exalted: To Princes, Priests, and People. He was a critic of all religious groups, except Quakers, which he saw as the only true Christian group at that time in England. He branded the Catholic Church “the Whore of Babylon”, defied the Church of England, and called the Puritans “hypocrites and revelers in God”.
Penn’s religious views effectively exiled him from English society; he was expelled from Christ Church, a college at the University of Oxford, for being a Quaker, and was arrested several times. In 1670, he and William Mead were arrested. Penn was accused of preaching before a gathering in the street, which Penn deliberately provoked to test the validity of the 1664 Conventicle Act which denied the right of assembly to “more than five persons in addition to members of the family, for any religious purpose not according to the rules of the Church of England”.
During the trial, Penn pleaded for his right to see a copy of the charges laid against him and the laws he had supposedly broken, but the chief judge, refused, although this was a right guaranteed by law. Furthermore, the Recorder directed the jury to come to a verdict without hearing the defense.
Despite heavy pressure from the judge to convict Penn, the jury returned a verdict of “not guilty”. When invited by the Judge to reconsider their verdict and to select a new foreman, they refused and were sent to a cell over several nights to mull over their decision. The Lord Mayor of London, Sir Samuel Starling, also on the bench, then told the jury, “You shall go together and bring in another verdict, or you shall starve”, and not only had Penn sent to jail in Newgate Prison (on a charge of contempt of court for refusing to remove his hat), but the full jury followed him, and they were additionally fined the equivalent of a year’s wages each.
The members of the jury, fighting their case from prison in what became known as Bushel’s Case, managed to win the right for all English juries to be free from the control of judges. This case was one of the more important trials that shaped the concept of jury nullification and was a victory for the use of the writ of habeas corpus as a means of freeing those unlawfully detained.
A plaque memorialising Penn’s trial at Old Bailey
between Tucson and Phoenix…
Today is the birthday, in 1946, of Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara), British singer, songwriter, record producer with Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of rock music, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and four-octave vocal range. Queen had had the 1975 UK No.1 single ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, plus over 40 other UK Top 40 singles. And the 1980 US No.1 single ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’. As a solo artist he scored the 1987 UK No. 4 single ‘The Great Pretender’. Mercury died of bronchio-pneumonia on November 24th 1991 aged 45, just one day after he publicly announced he was HIV positive. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO6D_BAuYCI
Today is the birthday, in 1846, of Daniel Hudson Burnham FAIA (September 4, 1846 – June 1, 1912) was an American architect and urban designer. A proponent of the Beaux-Arts movement, he may have been “the most successful power broker the American architectural profession has ever produced.”
A successful Chicago architect, he was selected as Director of Works for the 1892–93 World’s Columbian Exposition, colloquially referred to as “The White City”. He had prominent roles in the creation of master plans for the development of a number of cities, including the Plan of Chicago, and plans for Manila, Baguio and downtown Washington, D.C. He also designed several famous buildings, including a number of notable skyscrapers in Chicago, the Flatiron Building of triangular shape in New York City, Washington Union Station in Washington D.C., London’s Selfridges department store, and San Francisco’s Merchants Exchange.
Washington Union Station in Washington, D.C., (1908)
How???
Clowning around…
Today is the birthday, in 1981, of Beyoncé, American singer, songwriter, dancer and actress. With Destiny’s Child she had the 2000 US No.1 single with ‘Say My Name’ and the 2001 US & UK No.1 single and album ‘Survivor’. Beyonce scored the 2003 US & UK No.1 single ‘Crazy In Love’ from the world-wide No.1 album Dangerously In Love. Throughout her career, she has sold an estimated 100 million records as a solo artist and a further 60 million records with the group Destiny’s Child. She has won 22 Grammy Awards and is the most nominated woman in the award’s history. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViwtNLUqkMY
On this day in 1783, the Treaty of Paris was signed by representatives of King George III of Great Britain and representatives of the United States on September 3, 1783, officially ended the War of American Independence and recognized the Thirteen Colonies, which had been part of colonial British America, to be free, sovereign and independent states. The treaty set the boundaries between British North America, later called Canada, and the United States, on lines the British labeled as “exceedingly generous. Details included fishing rights and restoration of property and prisoners of war.
This treaty and the separate peace treaties between Great Britain and the nations that supported the American cause, including France, Spain, and the Dutch Republic are known collectively as the Peace of Paris.
The Congress of the Confederation, operating as the legislative body of the newly established United States, ratified the Treaty of Paris on January 14, 1784, in Annapolis, Maryland, in the Old Senate Chamber of the Maryland State House.
Today is the birthday, in 1766, of James Forten, an American abolitionist and businessman in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. An early Black Patriot and advent supporter of American independence, he was perhaps one of the most prominent wealthy Black Americans of the post colonial era.
James Forten was born free on September 2, 1766, in Philadelphia, one of two children of Thomas and Margaret Forten; a Philadelphia sailmaker, Thomas Forten was the grandson of a slave who had “freed himself.” At the age of 14, during the Revolutionary War, Forten served on the privateer Royal Louis, commanded by Captain Stephen Decatur Sr. The Royal Louis was captured by a Royal Navy warship. Captain John Beazley, who had captured the privateer, was impressed with Forten and offered Forten the opportunity to be educated in Great Britain with his son, Henry, but Forten replied, “I have been taken prisoner for the liberties of my country, and never will prove a traitor to her interest.” Beazley instead saw to it that he was treated as a prisoner of war along with the rest of the crew of the Royal Louis.
When Forten returned to Philadelphia in 1790, he became apprenticed to sail-maker Robert Bridges, his father’s former employer and a family friend. Forten learned quickly in the sail loft. This was where the large ship sails were cut and sewn. Before long, the young man was promoted to foreman. At Bridges’ retirement in 1798, Forten bought the sail loft. By developing a tool to help maneuver the large sails, by 1810, Forten had built up one of the most successful sail lofts in Philadelphia. He created the conditions he worked for in society, employing both black and white workers. Because of his business acumen, Forten became one of the wealthiest Philadelphians in the city, black or white.
in 1801, he was among the signers of a petition to the U.S. Congress calling for the abolition of the slave trade and the modification of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1793.” In 1813 he wrote a pamphlet called Letters From A Man of Colour, published anonymously. He denounced a bill under consideration in the Pennsylvania legislature that required all black emigrants to Pennsylvania to be registered with the state, and protested treating free blacks any differently than whites.
In the early 19th century, some black and white Americans supported movements to “resettle” free blacks on the African continent, in Canada, or in Haiti, which achieved independence from France in 1804. The American Colonization Society (ACS) was formed in December 1816, organized to found the colony of Liberia in West Africa. It offered to help blacks to go there voluntarily, with provisions of aid for supplies, housing and other materials. Made up of abolitionists, slaveholders, and missionaries, its members supported voluntary relocation of free blacks and newly freed slaves to Africa, to solve the “problem” of blacks in American society.
To address community concerns and discuss the potential for colonization in Liberia, James Forten worked with Bishop Richard Allen of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the first independent black denomination in the United States; Absalom Jones, and James Gloucester to organize a meeting on this topic in Philadelphia. Their announced meeting in January 1817 at Bethel AME Church drew 3,000 attendees from Philadelphia. Hearing the strong views of this public forced a dramatic turning point for these leaders. At the meeting, Forten called for a vote, asking who favored colonization. Not one man said yes. When he asked who was against it, the crowd resounded with “No!” that made the hall ring. All claimed the US as their own, and wanted to gain their full civil rights there as citizens.
Forten helped William Lloyd Garrison start up his newspaper, The Liberator, in 1831, supporting it financially. He frequently published letters in it, as “A Colored Man of Philadelphia.” Garrison also wrote articles against colonization, describing the poor living conditions in Liberia. They wanted others to know that the ACS was not necessarily working in the best interest of black Americans.
Forten’s family carried on his work. Harriet Forten Purvis formed the first biracial women’s abolitionist group, the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society. She hosted anti-slavery events at her home and with her husband Robert Purvis ran an Underground Railroad station. His grandson, Charles Burleigh Purvis was a physician in Washington, D.C. He was among the founders of the medical school at Howard University. He was the first African-American physician to attend a sitting president of the United States when he attended President James Garfield after he was shot by an assassin in 1881. Granddaughter Hattie Purvis was an African-American abolitionist, suffragist and a member of the temperance movement. She was part of the second generation of American suffragists. Purvis worked closely with Susan B. Anthony.
Watercolor of abolitionist James Forten (1766-1842) believed to have been painted during his lifetime.
Someone’s having a party!!!
It’s rollin’ in!!!
Welcome to Scotland!!
2025 is playing…
Hope you had a good Labor Day!
BADA BING!
My toxic trait is telling people I’m down for anything, when in reality I mean not after 8pm. Food should be involved, and it also depends on the weather, the parking situation, and how tired I am.
Unaware of the importance of dryer sheets, the starship Enterprise embarrassingly warps through space with static Klingons.
I don’t repeat gossip. So listen carefully.
I was supposed to get older and wiser, but I’m just getting older and wider. (Bilbo) (me too)
I’ve started joining Google Meet 30 seconds early. It seems that everyone’s virtual note takers join early also. I spend the first few seconds screaming about how I’m on the Titanic, we’ve just hit an iceberg, the end is near, and I need immediate assistance. Then I do the rest of the meeting normally. When the meeting ends, everyone gets an emailed transcript where the AI summery is: “Chris hit an iceberg, is trapped on a sinking ship, and general Q2 pricing updates.”
I’m of the age when I go by a medical supply store I go in and browse.
Technical IT work… Drove 300 miles round trip to push a plug in a little bit further.
I miss the days when shouting out, “Not it” was an effective way of getting out of things you didn’t wanna do.
National Guard refuses to go to Chicago, citing bone spurs.
I’m bored today so I thought I would go hide dildos at peoples yard sales.
They say ‘the machines of the future’ will be as smart as people. OK, but WHICH people? Because it kinda matters quite a bit.
Our best hope is that tRUMP is taking medical advice from Robert Kennedy Jr.
Proud to say my wife really spoils me. I married her for her personality, and she has thrown in five more for free. Sometimes, if I’m lucky, I get to experience them all in one day.
I switched all the labels on my wife’s spice rack. I’m not in trouble yet, but the thyme is cumin.
Him: “Let’s play doctor, Sally. I’ll go first. You owe me $30,000.” Sally: …
A 309 credit score protects you from identity theft. Follow me for more security advice.
Today is the birthday, in 1951, of Mik Kaminski, violin, with Electric Light Orchestra, who had the 1979 UK No.3 & US No.4 single ‘Don’t Bring Me Down’ plus 26 other Top 40 hits. ELO have sold over 50 million records worldwide. Here’s ELO with some shuffle girls. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuiMQPc5aKA
Today is Individual Right Day, celebrated on the birthday of John Locke who argued that a human being has basic rights and that people are not slaves of their government but that their human rights should be protected by their government. Locke is considered the ‘Father of Liberalism’, the political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law.
Locke’s writings influenced Voltaire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and many Scottish Enlightenment thinkers, as well as the American Revolutionaries. His contributions to classical republicanism and liberal theory are reflected in the United States Declaration of Independence. It has been argued that Locke launched liberalism by tempering Hobbesian absolutism and clearly separating the realms of Church and State. He had a strong influence on Voltaire, who called him “le sage Locke”. His arguments concerning liberty and the social contract later influenced the written works of Thomas Jefferson. One passage from the Second Treatise is reproduced verbatim in the Declaration of Independence.
John Locke’s portrait by Godfrey Kneller, National Portrait Gallery, London
Food in the fifties…
Curry was a surname.
A takeaway was a mathematical problem.
A pizza was something to do with a leaning tower.
All potato chips were plain; the only choice we had was whether to put the salt on or not.
Rice was only eaten as a milk pudding.
Calamari was called squid and we used it as fish bait.
A Big Mac was what we wore when it was raining.
Brown bread was something only poor people ate.
Oil was for lubricating, fat was for cooking.
Tea was made in a teapot using tea leaves and never green.
Sugar enjoyed a good press in those days, and was regarded as being white gold. Cubed sugar was regarded as posh.
Fish didn’t have fingers in those days.
Eating raw fish was called poverty, not sushi.
None of us had ever heard of yoghurt.
Healthy food consisted of anything edible.
People who didn’t peel potatoes were regarded as lazy.
Indian restaurants were only found in India.
Cooking outside was called camping.
Seaweed was not a recognized food.
“Kebab” was not even a word, never mind a food.
Prunes were medicinal.
Surprisingly, muesli was readily available, it was called cattle feed.
Water came out of the tap. If someone had suggested bottling it and charging more than petrol for it, they would have become a laughing stock!!
Can Opener Sound…
ENJOY THE WEEKEND!!
Today is the birthday, in 1958, of Michael Jackson singer, songwriter, Jackson 5, The Jacksons, and solo. Jackson is recognised as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records. The music videos for ‘Beat It’, ‘Billie Jean’, and ‘Thriller’ are credited with breaking down racial barriers and transforming the medium into an art form and promotional tool. His 1982 album Thriller, is the best-selling studio album of all time. Jackson died on 25th June 2009 at the age of 50, after suffering heart failure at his home in Beverly Hills. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zi_XLOBDo_Y
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