Ed. Note: Welcome to our daily feature Trivia Question of the Day!
In 1858, which Illinois trial lawyer defended a young man charged with murder and dismantled the prosecution’s case by producing an almanac? The government’s star witness swore he’d watched the fatal blow from 150 feet away, clear as day, by the light of the moon, but the almanac revealed the moon was only in its first quarter and riding low on the horizon, nearly set, at the hour of the crime.
Hint: He handled this case without a fee, as a favor to the defendant’s widowed mother, an old friend from his hardscrabble youth.
See the answer on the next page.