Also on this day

St Paul’s Cathedral consecrated in London Napoleon, right, crowns himself emperor of France

UAE is founded

a number of businesses but, in 1837, he attended an abolition meeting. It moved him so much he vowed to dedicate his life to destroying slavery.

For the raid, he had raised an “army” of around 22 men, including his three sons.

They seized the armoury but the victory was short-lived. Within 36 hours his men had been captured or killed by a group that was led by Confederate commander Robert E Lee. Seven people died in the incident.

Brown survived the attack but was tried and found guilty of treason, murder and inciting a slave insurrection. He was sentenced to death at the age of 59. The raid was seen by many as an act of madness, as a futile plan that couldn’t possibly succeed.

However, it exacerbated existing tensions between the States of the North and those in the South – tensions which, two years later, led to the US civil war. The war, in turn, led to the abolition of slavery.

Brown splits opinion to this day. His detractors view him as a divisive, violent figure – little more than a 19th-century terrorist. And yet his supporters see him as a martyr who gave all for a greater cause.

Whichever is accurate, there is no doubt at all that his actions set in motion a chain of events that helped change a nation.

Last week I asked which famed baseball player was born on this day in 1914? The answer is Joe DiMaggio. This week’s question: Which renowned English poet died on this day in 1985?

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