Join Kelli as she goes over the mystery of the Eilean Mòr lighthouse.

In December of 1900, the three men keeping the lighthouse on the Flannan Isles - James Ducat, Thomas Marshall, and Donald McArthur - vanished without a trace. The light was out for about two weeks. When a fourth keeper came to relieve one of the men and bring more supplies, he stumbled upon a dark island with an empty lighthouse - and no signs of distress.

Let's go over the history of the Eilean Mòr lighthouse, the primary sources of those who were there to see it, and some of the theories as to what happened. Then, we'll apply Occam's Razor and determine the most likely scenario.

Sources referenced in the episode:

• Primary Sources from the NLB website: https://www.nlb.org.uk/history/flannan-isles/
• Christopher P. Nicholson, Rock Lighthouses of Britain. 1983. https://archive.org/details/rocklighthouseso0000nich/page/179/mode/1up?q=flannan+isles
• Keith McCloskey, The Lighthouse: The Mystery of the Eilean Mor Lighthouse Keepers, 2014. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HSFUK1S/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title
• The Vanishing (2019 film)
• The Lighthouse (2019 film)

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Join Kelli as she goes over the history surrounding Typhoid Mary. We'll go beyond the typhoid-laden peaches and fresh ice cream! When we take a step back and look at her whole story in context, we get a different view of what it must have been like to be "Typhoid Mary," a strong, no-nonsense, Irish immigrant making a living as a cook in NYC and surrounding areas.

Support the show

Intro and Outro music credit: Nedric | Yello Kake

Follow me on Instagram! @beardhistory

If you want to support the show, donate to the cause at Buy Me a Coffee

Join Kelli as she goes over the Congo Free State, owned not by Belgium, but by its King - Leopold II.

During the 19th century in Africa, seven European countries - Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain, and Portugal, met to divide up Africa; they had already encroached on about 10% of it, mostly the coasts, but now they wanted more. In this episode we discuss why, and what happened to the Congolese men, women, and children who were suddenly under the control of King Leopold.

Intro and Outro music credit: @nedricmusic
Find him on all streaming services and YouTube!
http://www.nedricmusic.com

Sources

Books

• Adam Hochschild, King Leopold’s Ghost. https://www.amazon.com/King-Leopolds-Ghost-Heroism-Colonial/dp/0618001905
• David Van Reybrouck, Congo: The Epic History of a People.

Articles/Websites

• Germany officially recognises colonial-era Namibia genocide - BBC, 2021 | https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-57279008
• Rudyard Kipling, “The White Man’s Burden” 1899 | https://www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/poem/poems_burden.htm
• George Washington Williams, “An Open Letter to His Serene Majesty Leopold II, King of the Belgians and Sovereign of the Independent State of Congo By Colonel, The Honorable Geo. W. Williams, of the United States of America” as found on BlackPast | https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/primary-documents-global-african-history/george-washington-williams-open-letter-king-leopold-congo-1890/

Support the show

Intro and Outro music credit: Nedric | Yello Kake

Follow me on Instagram! @beardhistory

If you want to support the show, donate to the cause at Buy Me a Coffee