Georgian Goodies

Foul Play in the House of Commons: The Murder of Spencer Perceval

By Sarah Donovan, William & Mary Welcome back to our Georgian Goodies blog series, where we highlight interesting, timely, or just plain nifty documents from the Georgian Papers Programme! In 1812, Prince Regent George drafted a public statement commenting on “the severe Loss His Royal Highness and the Country have sustained in consequence of the… Read More »

Dragons in the Dressing Room: St. George and Female Morality

By Sarah Donovan, William & Mary Welcome back to our Georgian Goodies blog series, where we highlight interesting, timely, or just plain nifty documents from the Georgian Papers Programme! In the opening years of the nineteenth century, the ceiling of the Queen’s dressing room in Windsor Castle depicted the trials and tribulations of St. George… Read More »

The Language of the Seas: Signal Flags in the British Navy

By Sarah Donovan, Omohundro Institute Apprentice, William & Mary Welcome back to our Georgian Goodies blog series, where we highlight interesting, timely, or just plain nifty documents from the Georgian Papers Programme! How did flags help William IV communicate on the open seas? By 1806, William, then the Duke of Clarence, had invested in his… Read More »

Summer Stargazing: Nevil Maskelyne, Astronomer Royal

By Marie Pellissier, Omohundro Institute Apprentice, William & Mary Welcome back to our Georgian Goodies blog series, where we highlight interesting, timely, or just plain nifty documents from the Georgian Papers Programme! The middle of August is an astronomically interesting time. The Perseid meteor showers are at their peak in the Northern Hemisphere, and the Delta… Read More »

International Politics by Proxy: The Marriage of Princess Louisa, 1743

Portrait of a woman in a white dress with panniers and white wig.

By Marie Pellissier, Omohundro Institute Apprentice, William & Mary Welcome back to our Georgian Goodies blog series, where we highlight interesting, timely, or just plain nifty documents from the Georgian Papers Programme! Princess Louisa (or Louise) of Great Britain was the youngest daughter of George II and Caroline of Ansbach.[1] Born in 1724, she married Prince… Read More »

Was George III Really A Tyrant?

George III's coronation portrait by Allan Ramsay

By Marie Pellissier, Omohundro Institute Apprentice, William & Mary Welcome back to our Georgian Goodies blog series, where we highlight interesting, timely, or just plain nifty documents from the Georgian Papers Programme! Was George III really a tyrant? The answer to that question certainly depends on who you ask. The writers of the Declaration of Independence,… Read More »

The Dog Blog: Pups in the Georgian Papers

By Marie Pellissier, Omohundro Institute Apprentice, William & Mary Welcome back to our Georgian Goodies blog series, where we highlight interesting, timely, or just plain nifty documents from the Georgian Papers Programme! English royals have always loved their dogs. Queen Elizabeth II’s corgis seem to be everywhere, from the 2012 Olympics to the silver screen. But… Read More »

The Curious World of Benjamin Franklin: Hans Sloane, the British Museum, and an Asbestos Purse

Benjamin Franklin, c. 1746, in a painting by Robert Freke.

Emily Sneff is a graduate student in early American history at William & Mary and a Digital Apprentice at the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture. There is an object in the British Museum that was bought from Benjamin Franklin. A small asbestos “purse.” With only these details, the modern mind imagines the… Read More »

Musical Moments: Handel's "Messiah," Musical Patronage, and Princess Augusta

By Marie Pellissier, Omohundro Institute Apprentice, William & Mary Welcome back to our Georgian Goodies blog series, where we highlight interesting, timely, or just plain nifty documents from the Georgian Papers Programme! Handel’s oratorio “Messiah” is staple of the Christmas season, and December inevitably brings about performances of this piece. However, George Frideric Handel (1685-1759),… Read More »