D’Alvini, a British juggler and magician named William Peppercorn, adopted an Italian name and a Japanese costume. He claimed that he had been brought to the Winter Palace to perform for Russian Czar Alexander II’s guests on this day in 1880 and stumbled into an assassination attempt. The dining room was blown to pieces with an explosive charge linked to a clockwork. Fortunately, Alexander and his royal guests were delayed, and were not in the room when it exploded. D’Alvini’s tale may be a showman’s exaggeration, for his dates don’t quite match the historical record.
