Episode #87: 1834 Timeline Twist & The Mysterious Death of a Famous Botanist

6/7/2026: On today’s episode, Valerie’s Timeline Twist features a number of awful major events from 1834, a smattering of inventions, the burning of the Palace of Westminster in art, a discriminatory popular ballad (Boo!), a surprising medicinal condiment, and a strongly worded letter by none other than Davy Crockett. Next, Amy Jo shares the story of the mysterious unsolved death of a famous Scottish-born botanist whose passion for horticulture put him in danger in a number of ways (Um, sir, your eye is bleeding!). His obsessive search for new plant species led him to the beautiful islands of Hawaii in 1834, but his expedition ended suddenly in the bottom of a bullock pit.

Cover Photo: David Douglas Bust and Plaque

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlEeeUEK1WU

Interior of an English Workhouse - Under the New Poor Law Act

Palace of Westminster on Fire, 1834, unknown artist

The Palace of Westminster on fire, October 1834, with Old Palace Yard in foreground

The Palace of Westminster, viewed from the Thames after the fire

Jacob Perkins, Father of the Refrigerator

Zip Coon: A Popular Negro Song by George W Dixon, published by Firth & Hall

facebook.com/5MinutesDailyHack - unknown creator

Davy Crockett by William Henry Huddle, 1889

David Crockett to Charles Schultz, December 25, 1834 (Gilder Lehrman Collection)

David Douglas Historical Marker

Douglas Fir Info Graphic By Ryan Cutler - Reddit / Imgur, CC BY 4.0,

Pseudotsuga Menziesii Cone

David Douglas Portrait

Hawaiian Bible with Illustrations

Big Lonely Doug

David Douglas Memorial in Hawaii

Sources/Photo Sources

Intro Sources:

https://boothmuseum.org/presidents-who-played-sports-at-the-white-house/ 

https://www.ufc.com/history-ufc

Timeline Twist Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1834 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whig_Party_(United_States) 

https://www.thoughtco.com/inventions-nineteenth-century-4144740 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Perkins

https://www.thoughtco.com/inventor-henry-blair-1991284

https://www.invaluable.com/blog/art-history-timeline/

https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/palace-of-westminster-on-fire-1834-214252 

https://digital.mtsu.edu/digital/collection/p15838coll7/id/37/ 

https://paintvine.co.nz/blogs/news/when-ketchup-was-prescribed-as-medicine?srsltid=AfmBOop9d-2r1J_GGJk6r9pVuHxggyTe2rhKYbXHzsTrhCJGEHQ1_lUq 

https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/spotlight-primary-source/davy-crockett-removal-cherokees-1834 

​​https://www.gilderlehrman.org/sites/default/files/inline-pdfs/t-01162.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davy_Crockett 

https://www.merriam-webster.com/time-traveler/1834

Timeline Twist Photo Sources:

https://digital.mtsu.edu/digital/collection/p15838coll7/id/37/ 

https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/palace-of-westminster-on-fire-1834-214252

https://editions.covecollective.org/content/1834-poor-law-0 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davy_Crockett#/media/File:Davy_Crockett_by_William_Henry_Huddle,_1889.jpg 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Perkins#/media/File:Portrait_of_Jacob_Perkins_Esqr_(4672666).jpg 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burning_of_Parliament#/media/File:The_1834_destruction_of_both_Houses_of_Parliament_by_fire.jpg 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burning_of_Parliament#/media/File:The_Palace_of_Westminster_from_the_River_after_the_Fire_of_1834,_c1834.jpg 

https://www.facebook.com/5MinutesDailyHack/posts/when-ketchup-was-sold-as-medicinedid-you-know-ketchup-used-to-be-sold-as-medicin/801342455778641/ 

https://www.gilderlehrman.org/sites/default/files/content-images/01162p1_0.jpg

The Mysterious Death of a Famous Botanist Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Douglas_(botanist) 

https://coffeetimes.com/blogs/history-culture/who-killed-david-douglas 

https://imagesofoldhawaii.com/men-of-the-mission/

https://fiveoaksmuseum.org/displace-religious-reform/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_fir

https://www.stcnature.org/good-natured/douglas-fir-the-mouse-tail-cones/ 

https://imagesofoldhawaii.com/pua-akala/ 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Hawaii

https://hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov/heritage/maritime-history.html

https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-mysterious-death-of-david-douglas-in-hawaii-1834/id1792702755?i=1000760067368

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/david-douglas-death-monument-mystery-hawaii

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-haint-blue-means-to-descendants-enslaved-africans

https://imagesofoldhawaii.com/pua-akala/

https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/8mz3a0/the_suspicious_death_of_dav%C4%B1d_douglas/#:~:text=The%20truth%20is%20that%20we,much%2Dloved%20and%20respected%20plant%20collector.

The Mysterious Death of a Famous Botanist Photo Sources:

https://www.columbian.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/1014220366-history-david-douglas_101.jpg 

https://www.hmdb.org/Photos8/897/Photo897392.jpg?916202540600PM

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ912spYOMW8H6wEcgdS4DehdDwKjFZbPlL2g&s

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=145127049 

https://img.atlasobscura.com/mTb9KNSbi3pl3GwkThD7qB-yrEHCqhSypDjIqNHzzA8/rs:fill:12000:12000/q:81/sm:1/scp:1/ar:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9hdGxh/cy1kZXYuczMuYW1h/em9uYXdzLmNvbS91/cGxvYWRzL2Fzc2V0/cy9lMzk1MjQzM2Ux/NDIwYTdjMmZfRFND/MDE2NTcuSlBH.jpg 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Pseudotsuga_menziesii_cone.jpg 

https://fiveoaksmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMAGE-M2-BINGHAM-HAWAIIAN-BIBLE-1152x1536.jpeg 

https://www.hmdb.org/Photos8/897/Photo897392.jpg?916202540600PM

https://www.douglashistory.co.uk/history/daviddouglas.htm