Battle of Northampton

Battle of Northampton

The Battle of Northampton was fought on the 10th of July 1460, during the Wars of the Roses. Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, defeated the king’s Lancastrian army and took King Henry VI prisoner. My wife Claire was born in Northampton, so we visit quite often....
Mozart

Mozart

On the 9th of July, 1763, the Mozart family began their grand tour of Europe which greatly enhanced son Wolfgang Amadeus’s profile. I have written about Beethoven, and if I’m honest, I can’t think of a piece that would make it to my desert island discs, yet Mozart’s...
Artemisia Gentileschi

Artemisia Gentileschi

Artemisia Gentileschi was born on the 8th of July 1593. She is a minor character in Called to Account, the fourth book in the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures, partly because the timing of her rapist’s trial fitted into the book’s timeline, and because misogyny was the...
Treaty of Nemours

Treaty of Nemours

On the 7th of July in 1456 Joan of Arc was acquitted of heresy, 25 years after her execution. In 1928 sliced bread was invented, and in 1953 Che Guevara set off on his grand tour of Central and South America. But I’ve already written about those, so today I give you...
Vaccine

Vaccine

On the 6th of July, 1885, Louis Pasteur successfully tested his vaccine against rabies on Joseph Meister, a boy who had been bitten by a rabid dog. Pasteur got a mention in my post on antiseptics, but let us look into vaccination. The origins of vaccination can be...