6:00 a.m.: British Foreign Secretary Lord Canning and War Secretary Sir Castlereagh challenge each other to a duel. Both fire a first shot but miss; with the second shot (a mutually agreed upon shot), Castlereagh is saved by a metal button on his jacket, while Canning is hit in the left buttock and, more embarrassed than in pain, withdraws from the duel. After the duel, both resign, and Castlereagh later becomes Foreign Secretary and signs the Ghent Peace Treaty. Castlereagh commits suicide on August 12, 1922, suffering from a severe manic-depressive episode. Lord Castlereagh’s sister was the mother of Robert Fitz-Roy, captain of Her Majesty’s ship, the Beagle, which later carries Charles Darwin. Fitz-Roy chose to bring the erudite Charles Darwin with him for long conversations, fearing loneliness, which had already killed another member of the family… Lord Castlereagh, precisely (what would have happened if Lord Canning’s bullet had not hit Castlereagh’s button?) (For the record, Fitz-Roy committed suicide anyway on April 20, 1865).
