Husband just came in from walking the dog, during which meander he listens
to the radio.
He told me that it was 200 years ago tonight, i.e 11th May 1812, that the
only British PM ever was assassinated.
I flippantly said that was because Tchaichovski's 1812 Overture was being
played, and drowned out the noise of the shot.
This is the info I found on the internet:
Spencer Perceval, the son of the 2nd Earl of Egmont, was born in 1762. After
being educated at Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge, he became a lawyer.
In 1796 Perceval was elected MP for Northampton. In the House of Commons
Perceval became a strong supporter of William Pitt and the Tory group in
Parliament. When Henry Addington became Prime Minister in 1801 he appointed
Perceval as his solicitor-general. The following year he was promoted to
attorney-general.
When Lord Portland became Prime Minister in 1807 he appointed Perceval as
his Chancellor of the Exchequer. Perceval got on well with George III and
loyally supported the king's opposition to Catholic Emancipation.
When Portland died in 1809, Spencer Perceval accepted the king offer to
become Prime Minister. Perceval's period of power coincided with an economic
depression and considerable industrial unrest. This resulted in his
government introducing repressive methods against the Luddites. This
included the Frame-Breaking Act which made the destruction of machines a
capital offence.
Perceval held the post until 1812 when he became the only British Prime
Minister in history to be assassinated. Spencer Perceval was shot when
entering the lobby of the House of Commons by John Bellingham, a failed
businessman from Liverpool. Bellingham, who blamed Perceval for his
financial difficulties, was later hanged for his crime.
Nothing has really changed since then, so beware tonight!
Agnes Boddington - Elloughton UK
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