Beginning in the 12th century, Arab physicians began to prescribe their patients a most unorthodox remedy: the ground remains of mummies procured from Egyptian tombs.
Mummy powder proved so profitable that soon after its introduction, Egyptian tombs were ransacked not only for the riches they might contain, but also for bodies that might be processed into the expensive folk medicine. It wasn’t long before the practice of applying mummy powder was incorporated into medieval Europe’s catalog of dubious medical practices. By the 16th century, the product had become so commonplace in both Europe and the Middle East that the once seemingly endless supply of authentic, mummified Egyptian cadavers quite literally dried up.
Mummy powder, however, was not the only everyday use of the Egyptian dead that arose before the dawn of modern archaeological preservation. In the 16th and 17th centuries, pulverized mummy was the key ingredient in a popular shade of brown artist’s pigment, and preserved human and animal remains of Egyptian origin were used in the production of this “mummy brown” paint until the early 20th century.
Whether this statement was merely jest on the part of the American literary icon, well known for his sense of humor, has been the subject of debate ever since it was published. What is known, however, is that the supply of authentic Egyptian corpses by the beginning of the 1800s was so small only that upper crust Europeans could afford to purchase one whole. In the wake of Napoleon’s conquest of Egypt, it became vogue amongst the aristocracy to hold “unwrapping parties,” where carefully preserved corpses would be haphazardly stripped of their bandages, so that revelers could gaze upon the millennia-old face concealed beneath them. Small burial ornaments concealed in the linens would then be dispensed to partygoers as souvenirs, while exposure to air caused the delicate bodies to crumble into dust, never to be seen again.
Few educators in history have made such a profound effect on the shape of the future as John Locke. His practical, down to earth approach on education and his belief in the folly in the practice of divine kinship did much to shape the course of the Enlightenment period and the basis of modern European thought.
Locke was born in 1632 into an upper middle class family in England and studied medicine at Oxford. Early on Locke found himself disagreeing with professors who insisted on teaching the ancient Greek philosophers. He was more interested in newer theories and had a penchant for the works of Rene Descartes. Through his friendship with the mechanical philosopher Robert Boyle and the famed scientific rebel Isaac Newton, Locke found logic in the new theories floating around in the late 17th century.
Soon after graduating from college, Locke came under the employ of the Earl of Shaftsbury and assisted him in a number of non medical matters including the administration of his estate, various business matters and also acted as his political advisor. The earl enjoyed Locke’s unique (for the time) views on the freedom of religion, the unbelief in absolutism and the desire for a democratic governing body for the country.
In 1682, Locke’s anti royal sentiments resulted in his banishment to Holland. It was in exile that Locke penned his influential work “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding.” In 1688, the Glorious Revolution in which William of Orange overthrew the current English king, James II. This meant Locke could return to his homeland without fear of persecution or prosecution and so he did.
In 1690, Locke published his two treaties on government which were considered influential works in the revolutions of the 18th century, namely America and France. Locke argued that revolution against tyranny was acceptable to bring legitimate rule to a nation. He also explained his thoughts on education which involved learning from experience not just because we exist.
During the 1690s Locke worked for the new British government in a number of positions including commissioner of plantations and trade. He continued with his theoretical writings, publishing on religion, government, ethics and education.
Locke retired to the country to live with friends and passed away in 1704, long before many of his works would influence the birth of a democratic America and the overthrow of royal power in France. But without Locke’s suggesting divine kingship as wrong and the rights of the citizens as the main work of any government, those two revolutions may have taken very different forms. His work on education would underlie the public school system in Britain and his thoughts on theology helped others find their own path to religious freedom. Locke was one of many that created the bedrock for the Enlightenment period.
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The son of an English revolutionary, William Penn was a central figure in the early days of America and laid the basis for religious freedom in the country. Born October 14, 1644, Penn came to the New World in his 50s after a lifetime of public service and a comfortable domestic life.
Penn’s public life was full of conflict from challenges to his authority, laws and loyalties to his insurmountable debts. He spent a few years in prison because of his allegiance to King James II and because of his economic troubles. Penn didn’t move permanently to Pennsylvania until after the English revolution in 1699.
Bonnie Prince Charlie, or Charles Edward Louis Philip Casimir Stuart, was the son of the executed English King, James Stuart. Charlie was brought up a Roman Catholic and was taught to believe that the Stuarts were the true ruling family of England and Scotland. From his birth the Prince was at the center of the Jacobite revolt and he was trained in the military arts so that he would be able to lead his own army to war and reclaim his rightful kingdom. 
Unfortunately at The Battle of Culloden on the 16th April 1746 the Jacobite army was defeated by William Aufustus, the Duke of Cumberland. Thousands of Jacobites were killed but the Prince managed to escape with a bounty of £30,000 or $1 million on his head. After the battle Charlie fled to the Island of Benbecula, where Flora MacDonald lived.
Flora gave her own account of what happened: “After Miss MacDonald (with some difficulty) agreed to undertake the dangerous enterprise, she set out for Clanranald’s house, Saturday, June 21st and at one of the fords was taken prisoner by a party of militia, she not having a passport. She demanded to whom they belonged? And finding by the answer that her stepfather was then commander, she refused to give any answer till she should see their captain. So she and her servant, (Neil MacKechan), and another woman, Bettie Burk, a good spinster, and whom he recommended as such in a letter to his wife at Armadale in Sky, as she had much lint to spin. If her stepfather (Hugh MacDonald of Armadale) had not granted Miss a passport she could not have undertook her journey and voyage. Armadale set his stepdaughter at liberty, who immediately made the best of her way to Clanranald’s house and acquainted the Lady Clanranald with the scheme, who supplied the Prince with apparel sufficient for his disguise, viz. a flower’d gown, a white apron, ect., and sent some provisions along with him.”
It is said that the during the journey the Prince sung Flora many songs including ‘The King shall enjoy his own again’
Born in 1768, with a name that translates as “Shooting Star,” Tecumseh was the youthful chief of the Ohio River Valley’s Shawnee tribe. Though no authenticated portraits of the leader exist, the fifty contemporary descriptions of his appearance and manner all mention his charisma – a trait that served him well as he organized an alliance between dozens of Native American tribes from Wisconsin to Florida. 
Having raised an army of volunteers out of his numerous allegiances, Tecumseh stationed the braves at junction of the Tippecanoe and Wabash Rivers – a key pass in the Indiana Territory. In response, then Governor (and future president) William Henry Harrison settled nearby with a regiment of 1000 men, but did not engage their opposition. Both sides merely observed movements of the other and policed Tecumseh’s “border,” as a stand-off slowly settled in.
Though his brother’s poorly planned maneuver cost Tecumseh his dream of an Indian alliance to oppose the fledging US, it did help ensure his legend. Indian sympathizers in the States seized upon the story of the benevolent and sage-like chief, whose life exemplified the nobleness of the American Indian and their tragic role in the formation of the country. Tecumseh’s mythic stature was so pervasive that after he allied himself with the British during the War of 1812, an American general refused to capture him in one of the conflict’s opening salvos – thereby costing US forces an early opportunity to invade Canada and expel the British once and for all.
