On February 28, 1844, the USS Princeton's giant gun, nicknamed the Peacemaker, exploded during a Potomac River cruise carrying about 400 guests, including President John Tyler. The blast killed several people, including Secretary of State Abel Upshur and David Gardiner, the father of Julia Gardiner. Tyler survived, and Julia, who had been on the cruise, became a focus of his grief and attention. The two married in June 1844. The disaster shows how early naval technology could fail catastrophically, and how a public tragedy could change a president's personal life.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.