Harvard's ‘copy' of Magna Carta turns out to be rare original
The Magna Carta is seen as a precursor of democracy and the basis of legal systems. (Harvard Law School/AP pic)
LONDON : A 'copy' of the Magna Carta, the medieval English document that has formed the basis of constitutions around the world, owned by Harvard Law School is actually an exceedingly rare original, British researchers said today.
Experts from King's College London and the University of East Anglia (UEA) said the document, which the US institution acquired in the 1940s for US$27.50, is just one of seven from King Edward I's issue of Magna Carta in 1300 that still survive.
The Magna Carta is seen as a precursor of democracy and the basis of legal systems across the world as well as human rights conventions.
Dating from June 1215, the Great Charter – considered one of the world's most important documents – first put into writing the principle that the king and his government were not above the law.
It was a key document in the drawing up of the US declaration of independence and constitution.
King Edward I then issued a final version of the Magna Carta with minor changes, also known as the Confirmation of the Charters, in 1300.
It was a reaffirmation of the original Magna Carta signed by King John and the last full issue of the document.
In 1946, the Harvard Law School Library bought what it thought was a copy for US$27.50, the equivalent of just over US$470 today, according to a US department of labour inflation calculator.
But researchers noted that its dimensions were consistent with those found in the six previously known originals, as is the handwriting, with the large capital 'E' at the start in 'Edwardus' and the elongated letters in the first line.
'This is a fantastic discovery,' said David Carpenter, professor of medieval history at King's College London.
'Harvard's Magna Carta deserves celebration, not as some mere copy, stained and faded, but as an original of one of the most significant documents in world constitutional history, a cornerstone of freedoms past, present and yet to be won.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Rescue teams comb site of Air India crash that killed at least 265
AHMEDABAD, India (AFP): Rescue teams with sniffer dogs combed the crash site Friday of a London-bound passenger jet which ploughed into a residential area of India's Ahmedabad city, killing at least 265 people on board and on the ground. One man aboard the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner -- carrying 242 passengers and crew -- miraculously survived Thursday's fiery crash, which left the tailpiece of the aircraft jutting out of the second floor of a hostel for medical staff from a nearby hospital. The nose and front wheel landed on a canteen building where students were having lunch, witnesses said. Deputy Commissioner of Police Kanan Desai said that 265 bodies had so far been counted -- suggesting at least 24 people died on the ground -- but the toll may rise as more body parts are recovered. "The official number of deceased will be declared only after DNA testing is completed", Home Minister Amit Shah said in a statement late Thursday, adding that "families whose relatives are abroad have already been informed, and their DNA samples will be taken". Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who on Friday visited the devastated neighbourhood where Air India flight 171 went down, earlier described the crash as "heartbreaking beyond words". The airline said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and a Canadian on board the flight bound for London's Gatwick airport, as well as 12 crew members. Air India said the sole survivor from the plane -- a British national of Indian origin who local media named as Vishwash Kumar Ramesh -- was being treated in hospital. "He said, 'I have no idea how I exited the plane'", his brother Nayan Kumar Ramesh, 27, told Britain's Press Association in Leicester. - 'Last call - In Ahmedabad, disconsolate relatives of passengers gathered Friday at an emergency centre to give DNA samples so their loved ones could be identified. Ashfaque Nanabawa, 40, said he had come to find his cousin Akeel Nanabawa, who had been aboard with his wife and three-year-old daughter. They had spoken as his cousin sat in the plane, just before takeoff. "He called us and he said: 'I am in the plane and I have boarded safely and everything was okay'. That was his last call." One woman, too grief-stricken to give her name, said her son-in-law had been killed. "My daughter doesn't know that he's no more", she said, wiping away tears. "I can't break the news to her, can someone else do that please?" The plane crashed less than a minute after takeoff, around lunchtime Thursday, after lifting barely 100 metres from the ground. The plane issued a mayday call and "crashed immediately after takeoff", the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said. Ahmedabad, the main city in India's Gujarat state, is home to around eight million people and its busy airport is surrounded by densely packed residential areas. "One half of the plane crashed into the residential building where doctors lived with their families," said Krishna, a doctor who did not give his full name. US planemaker Boeing said it was in touch with Air India and stood "ready to support them" over the incident, which a source close to the case said was the first crash for a 787 Dreamliner. The UK and US air accident investigation agencies announced they were dispatching teams to support their Indian counterparts. Tata Group, owners of Air India, offered financial aid of 10 million rupees ($117,000) to "the families of each person who has lost their life in this tragedy", as well as funds to cover medical expenses of those injured. - Rapid growth - India has suffered a series of fatal air crashes, including a 1996 disaster when two jets collided mid-air over New Delhi, killing nearly 350 people. In 2010, an Air India Express jet crashed and burst into flames at Mangalore airport in southwest India, killing 158 of the 166 passengers and crew on board. Experts said it was too early to speculate on what may have caused Thursday's crash. "It is very unlikely that the plane was overweight or carrying too much fuel," said Jason Knight, senior lecturer in fluid mechanics at the University of Portsmouth. "The aircraft is designed to be able to fly on one engine, so the most likely cause of the crash is a double engine failure. The most likely cause of a double engine failure is a bird strike." India's airline industry has boomed in recent years with Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), last month calling it "nothing short of phenomenal". The growth of its economy has made India and its 1.4 billion people the world's fourth-largest air market -- domestic and international -- with IATA projecting it will become the third biggest within the decade. - AFP
Borneo Post
6 hours ago
- Borneo Post
Lone India plane crash survivor recounts miracle escape
This screengrab of video footage taken and released by the Narendra Modi Youtube Channel shows Modi (left) meeting with Ramesh at a hospital in Ahmedabad. – AFP photo AHMEDABAD (June 13): The lone survivor of 242 people aboard a London-bound passenger plane that crashed in the Indian city of Ahmedabad said today how even he was struggling to explain how he miraculously walked out alive from the fireball explosion. 'Everything happened in front of me, and even I couldn't believe how I managed to come out alive from that,' British citizen Vishwash Kumar Ramesh said from his hospital bed today, speaking in Hindi to national broadcaster DD News. The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane, which was full of fuel as it took off for a long-haul flight to London, exploded into a burst of orange flame on Thursday afternoon just after taking off. Ramesh — who was in seat 11A according to media reports — was the only one aboard the plane not to be killed, with at least 24 others killed on the ground. His brother was also on the same flight, his family in Britain told reporters. 'Within a minute after takeoff, suddenly… it felt like something got stuck… I realised something had happened, and then suddenly the plane's green and white lights turned on,' Ramesh said. 'After that, the plane seemed to speed up, heading straight towards what turned out to be a hostel of a hospital. Everything was visible in front of my eyes when the crash happened.' Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a visit to Ramesh today at the hospital where he is being treated for burns and other injuries, footage on his YouTube channel showed. 'About to die' Ramesh, aged 40, is from the British city of Leicester, according to Britain's Press Association news agency, which spoke with his family at home. The plane smashed into the buildings just outside the perimeter of the airport. 'Initially, I too thought that I was about to die, but then I opened my eyes and realised that I was still alive,' he said. 'I saw the air hostess and aunties and uncles all in front of me,' he said, his voice trailing off in emotion, using a term of respect used in India for older people. 'I unfastened my seatbelt and tried to escape, and I did,' he said. 'I think the side I was on was not facing the hostel,' he added. 'Where I landed was closer to the ground and there was space too – and when my door broke — I saw that there was space, and I thought I could try to slip out.' Videos shared on social media showed Ramesh soon after, dressed in a bloodied t-shirt and limping, but walking towards an ambulance. 'My left hand got slightly burnt due to the fire, but an ambulance brought me to the hospital,' he said. 'The people here are taking good care of me.' Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and a Canadian on board the flight bound for London's Gatwick airport, as well as 12 crew members. The death toll currently stands at 265, police said. Authorities have set up DNA testing for relatives of passengers and those killed on the ground to identify the scorched bodies and body parts. – AFP india plane crash survivor
The Star
8 hours ago
- The Star
'Unimaginable': families mourn dead in Air India crash
Ayyub Sheikh, 49, showing a picture of his nephew and his family, who died in the crash. - Reuters AHMEDABAD, India: In an echoing hall in India's Ahmedabad, mourning families gave DNA samples on Friday(June 13) to identify relatives missing after a London-bound passenger jet crashed in a residential area. At least 265 people on board and on the ground were killed when the Air India 787-8 Dreamliner smashed into a residential area soon after takeoff on Thursday. Just one passenger miraculously survived the giant fireball. Ashfaque Nanabawa, 40, said he had come to find his cousin Akeel Nanabawa, who had been onboard with his wife and three-year-old daughter. He said they had spoken to his cousin as he sat in the plane just before takeoff. "He called us and he said: 'I am in the plane and I have boarded safely and everything was okay'. That was his last call." Nanabawa, speaking in the early hours of Friday morning, said he and his family had given DNA samples, but were yet to "identify any of the bodies". Medical officials consoling families of victims as they collect DNA samples. - AFP Indian police said at least 265 bodies had been recovered from the smouldering crash site -- both from the wreckage of the plane and the medical staff accommodation into which the burning jet crashed. The toll may rise further as more bodies are located. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called the crash "heartbreaking beyond words". India's Home Minister Amit Shah, who visited the crash site and those injured in hospital on Thursday evening, said forensic laboratories would "complete the DNA testing in the shortest possible time". Shah said the final official toll would "be declared only after DNA testing is completed". On a raised platform, a dozen exhausted doctors worked to collect samples for the grim task of trying to identify bodies. "We have taken samples of babies and those above 80 years old. I don't have words to explain this," said a doctor, on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media. Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and a Canadian on board the flight bound for London's Gatwick airport, as well as 12 crew members, making 242 onboard. Only one is confirmed to have survived, a British national. At least 24 people also died on the ground when the jet hit residential buildings. "As doctors, you're always prepared for the worst right?" the medic added. "But this is just overwhelming. Families are crying, looking for answers." Above, the sounds of planes echoed, with the hall close to another airport. "One person came to give the sample... his child, wife and mother were on the flight", the doctor added. "What do I even say?" One woman, too grief-stricken to give her name, said her son-in-law had been killed. "My daughter doesn't know that he's no more", she said, wiping away tears. "I can't break the news to her, can someone else do that please?" Friends also arrived in a desperate search for news. Premal Mehta, 39, from Ahmedabad, said he did not want to believe his friend Mahesh Jeerawala had been killed. "I am using everything in my power, political contacts, whatever it is, to find him", he said in desperation, as he supported his friend's brother, who was providing a DNA sample. Others had flown in seeking news, or to identify the dead. Ismail Sheikh said he had celebrated only days before with his friend, a London resident who had returned to see family in India. His friend was onboard with his wife and two children. Sheikh recalled taking his friend to the airport 15 years ago, when he moved to London with high hopes for the future. "Now I am here," Sheikh said, his eyes wet with tears. "This is unimaginable". - AFP
