April 16: On This Day in World History … briefly
Madame Tussauds is a major tourist attraction in London, displaying waxworks of famous and historical figures, as well as popular film and television characters.
1850: Madame Tussaud no longer waxes lyrical
The founder of the famous museum of waxworks in London, Madame Marie Tussaud, died at age 89. Madame Tussaud learnt the art of wax modelling from her uncle, Philippe Curtuis.
When the French Revolution broke out, she was art tutor at Versailles to Louis XVI’s sister Elizabeth, and after a period of imprisonment was given the unpleasant task of making death masks from heads that had been freshly-severed by the guillotine. It is said that she recognised many of them as people she had known in happier times.
She left Paris in 1802, accompanied by her collection of waxwork models and two sons from her unsuccessful marriage to French engineer Francois Tussaud.
She spent the next 33 years touring Britain before opening a permanent display in London.
Most notable historic snippets or facts extracted from the book ‘On This Day’ first published in 1992 by Octopus Publishing Group Ltd, London, as well as additional supplementary information extracted from Wikipedia.
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