26th December 1606, King Lear by William Shakespeare is performed for the first known time at the court of King James I at Whitehall, London on St. Stephen’s Day, the saint's day to commemorate Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr. Today St. Stephen’s day would be known in Britain as Boxing day. King Lear originates from the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological Celtic king recorded by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his 12th-century work, the ‘History of the Kings of Britain’. 26th December 1682, birth of the English pirate captain Jack (John) Rackhan, also known as Calico Jack, due to the calico clothing he wore. Calico Jack operated from the Bahamas from 1718-1720, in the last period of the Golden Age of piracy. After serving as a quartermaster on fellow pirate Charles Vane's sloop Ranger in 1718, Rackhman deposed Vane of his captaincy. While in Nassau in 1720 Rackham met and started an affair with Anne Bonny who joined his crew. Aboard Rackham’s ship ‘The Revenge’ also was Mark Read, who it was discovered was Mary Read. Read and Bonny are the only two women known to have been convicted of piracy during the early 18th century. 26th December 1716, birth of English pre Romantic poet Thomas Gray. Despite publishing only 13 poems, Gray was well known during his lifetime, mostly for his poem, ‘Elegy Written in a Country Church Yard’, published in 1751. The poems themes of the contemplation of death and afterlife, foreshadow the Gothic movement, beginning with the first Gothic novel “The Castle of Otranto” (1764), written by his childhood friend Horace Walpole. Gray was a popular influence to the Romantic poets of the succeeding generation, such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth. Continued #thisweekinhistory #todayinhistory #historypost #kinglear #williamshakespeare #boxingday #calicojack #pirates #piratehistory #piratesofthecaribbean #pirate #gothicpoetry #romanticism #pirateship #pirateships #gothicfiction #gothicromance #charlesbabbage #computerhistory #historytoday #thecastleofotranto #shakespeare #annebonny #goldenageofpiracy #historical #historicalfacts #onthisdayinhistory #historythisweek #gothicnovel #aviationhistory https://www.instagram.com/p/CYJ6jbArlIT/?utm_medium=tumblr
