A "treasured" keepsake box that once belonged to Charles Darwin's daughters has been donated to English Heritage and will go on show later this year. The Victorian red leather box contains shells gathered by Darwin on his famous Beagle voyage, where his observations fostered the ideas that led him to develop his theory of evolution. Darwin's descendants have donated the red leather box and its "treasures" to English Heritage, which will display the object at what was Darwin's home - Down House, in Kent. The naturalist and his wife Emma gave the box to their daughters, who, starting with the eldest, Annie, filled it with family mementos. When Annie died, aged 10 in 1851, the box passed to her sister Henrietta, otherwise known as Etty. Advertisement She continued to fill it with souvenirs, including locks of hair belonging to members of the Darwin family, Darwin's silk handkerchief and the shells. More from Kent Napier Barracks: Asylum … [Read more...] about Charles Darwin: ‘Treasured’ keepsake box owned by naturalist’s daughters to go on display
Richard loughran
New Al-Qaeda boss known as Sword of Revenge is ‘worse than Osama bin Laden’
Terror network al-Qaeda is set to become as dangerous as it was during the 9-11 attacks two decades ago with a ruthless new leader self-dubbed “the Sword of Revenge.” Blood thirsty Saif al-Adel is thought to be al-Qaeda's new chief bent on recruiting Islamic State fighters and sparking fears of atrocities across the west. The 60 year-old Egyptian-born former military general is a “brilliant and ruthless strategist,” and is tipped to take the reins from Ayman Zawahiri. One senior British terrorism expert told the Daily Mirror: “Compared to Zawahiri he is likely to be a much more effective leader, at least so or more so even than bin Laden.” Are you signed up to our newsletter? You can sign up here to get the day's biggest stories straight to your inbox Rumours Zawahiri is probably dead mean intelligence agencies are braced for an “al-Qaeda re-brand” as Iran-based Saif is almost certainly the new boss. British and American spies have been monitoring Saif's movements … [Read more...] about New Al-Qaeda boss known as Sword of Revenge is ‘worse than Osama bin Laden’