History's Most Divisive Dates, Part 1
With July 4th 2024 apparently destined to be celebrated and commemorated in equal measure, I've scoured the history books for other dates that have polarised opinions.
i) Creation Of The Earth
October 21st, 4004BC
In 1650, James Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, had a brainwave. For if one was to add up the ages of everyone mentioned in the Bible, surely you’d be able to work out the exact day the Lord created the Earth? So it was that Archbishop Ussher reached for his abacus and got down to some serious counting. Come the final page of Revelation – we assume he skipped the glossary and acknowledgements – Ussher concluded that the Heavens and the Earth were created on Sunday, October 21, 4004BC. Around 9am.
Not surprisingly, there are many who have called into question the likelihood of this being correct, not least the authors Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman whose Good Omens begins with a good laugh at the holy man’s expense, after which they explain that creation occurred on the day Ussher suggested, only at 9.13am.
The exact circumstances of the beginning of the Earth have always proved to be something of a bone of contention. Alas, putting a date on it hasn’t done much to resolve those differences of opinion.
ii) The Battle Of Hastings
October 14th, 1066
What is it about October and events of great import? Anyway, autumn was already in full swing by the time William, Duke of Normandy mounted Senlac Hill to do battle with Harold II, King of the Anglo-Saxons. With Harold’s men knackered having both fought off Viking invaders in Yorkshire then marched half the length of the country, it’s remarkable that they took their Norman foes to the limit.
As for whom the invaders’ victory represented good news, one needn’t look beyond its instigator – how relieved William must have been to trade in ‘the Bastard’ for ‘the Conqueror’ on the nickname front. The Norman Conquest was also a good thing for lovers of land surveys and the manufacturers of tapestries. Those less happy with the outcome include me – my middle name is Godwin, derived from Godwinson, and perhaps indicating some claim to the throne if it wasn’t for those meddling Normans.
For the most part, Britons no longer seem too exercised by the Norman Conquest – being descendants of both the victors and the vanquished. But I am certainly not alone in remaining vexed at the events of autumn 1066.
Shortly before the 2016 referendum, the pro-Brexit journalist Quentin Letts, in a 2,000 word article for the Daily Mail, mourned the Anglo-Saxon defeat and reflected how a vote for Leave could be a repudiation of that earlier episode of European integration.
See… even among us wistful Anglo-Saxons, the Battle of Hastings remains a deeply divisive issue.
iii) Martin Luther Nails Up His 95 Theses
October 31st, 1517
Yet another October date… It’s hard to pin down the exact day that the Reformation began. However, it was in 1517 on All Hallow’s Eve, that Martin Luther – presumably before a hard night’s trick or treating – marched up to the castle church in Wittenberg and nailed a copy of the Disputation on the Power of Indulgences (aka the 95 Theses) to the door of said building. Or not, as the case might be.
Though many historians doubt that the great theologian visited the Wittenberg branch of Wickes, in order to actually affix his thoughts to the church, what can be confirmed is that October 31, 1517 was the date upon which Luther sent his theses to the Archbishop of Mainz.
Regardless of the differences of opinion over the actual events of the day, the date has been a divisive one ever since. So it was that from that day forward, two schools of religious thought would exist – the new one, Protestantism, arguing that salvation came from within in defiance of the Catholic belief in sacramental confession.
Fortunately, Luther’s words resonated with all and that was the end of the trouble…
iv) The Gunpowder Plot
November 5th, 1605
Finally – an alienating event takes place in November! The discovery of Guy Fawkes and his explosive cache beneath the Palace of Westminster would, in years to come, prove a boon for baked potato and toffee apple vendors.
More pertinently, the foiling of Fawkes, Catesby and Co. ought to be cherished by all those who believe the rule of law and the power of debate must take precedence over the gun and the improvised explosive device.
That said, the anniversary became a focus of often violent anti-Catholic fervour throughout the 17th century. This aspect of the celebrations gradually declined from the early 18th century, but the Pope’s restoration in 1850 of the English Catholic hierarchy revived it.
It is certainly less evident nowadays, but should you happen upon the picturesque Sussex town of Lewes on Bonfire Night, don’t be surprised if the ‘No Popery’ banners and the burning effigies leave you feeling that this remains a date that divides.
v) The Death Of Stephen Ward
August 3rd, 1963
Hard to believe anyone could revel in a man’s suicide, but many were the members of the establishment who breathed a sigh of relief after the osteopath passed away, four days after taking a barbiturate overdose. Having been found guilty in absentia of living off immoral earnings on July 31, Ward’s desire “to disappoint the vultures” ensured that there could be no appeal against the verdict.
Given how laughable the case was against Ward – a pervert perhaps but clearly neither a ponce nor a pimp – it’s conceivable that he’d have been able to clear his name, an occurrence that would have reignited the scandal which in turn might have led to the likes of John Profumo and Lord Astor being brought before the court. And with Dr Ward’s patients and playmates including Winston Churchill and Sir Colin Coote, editor of the Daily Telegraph, one can but imagine the sacred cows thankful he’d moved on to pastures new.
Ward himself remains a deeply divisive figure – despised at the time of the scandal, his image was later rehabilitated, to some degree. What we ought to make of him is still the subject of strong opinions. His tragic early death – greeted at the time by both sadness and relief – makes it harder to resolve that debate.