Then there were the weird ones - the booby trapped statuette, the assassination dressed up as a tv reality show, the killer disguised as a bear. And the ones that got away - Napoleon, Queen Victoria, Fidel Castro (more than 600 times), Adolf Hitler. Some good questions at the end too - which assassination would I have most liked to prevent, which assassin was the most misunderstood?
https://www.boundless.co.uk/events/online-events/a-history-of-assassination-from-ancient-egypt-to-the-present-day
Looking forward to talking online about my book A History of Fireworks. From their Origins to the Present Day (Reaktion Books) to the Boundless organisation for civil servants past and present on 11 November.
I'm going to be talking about their mysterious origins in ancient China and the possibility that they were a by-product of the search for eternal life, how warfare played an important part in their development, how the pope became a major sponsor of displays in Europe, and how their first known appearance in Britain was at an event designed to put an end to the enmities of a 30 years civil war.
Then there will be the story of how 5 November, Bonfire Night, became a focus for disorder and anti-government protests, how British fireworks conquered the world in Queen Victoria's time, and how they featured at the centre of one of Britain's most famous libel cases involving one of Britain's most celebrated artists.
I will reveal the technological breakthroughs that have transformed fireworks and displays, describe how they have inspired music and literature, reminisce over the rise and fall of famous British manufacturers, and examine the challenges fireworks now face from worries about the environment and the effect they have on animals.
Scroll down this web page to find out more https://www.boundless.co.uk/news-competitions/lifestyle/meet-the-online-storytellers
