by David West | May 30, 2026 | News
Claire and I both had our second shingles vaccinations this week. Both of us have felt as if we’ve been punched hard in the arm. Thankfully it is beginning to feel a little better. At least we shouldn’t get shingles, which I understand can be very unpleasant. Symptoms...
by David West | May 30, 2026 | News
On the 30th of May, 1574, Henry III became King of France. Henry III of France (1551–1589) was one of the most enigmatic and controversial monarchs of the late Valois dynasty. His reign unfolded during the darkest years of the French Wars of Religion, a prolonged and...
by David West | May 29, 2026 | News
On the 29th of May, 1453, Constantinople fell to the Ottoman army under Sultan Mehmed II after a 53 day siege. It was the end of over 2000 years of the Roman Empire. The history of Constantinople is one of the most remarkable urban stories in the world: a city founded...
by David West | May 28, 2026 | News
On the 28th of May, 1936, Alan Turing submitted his paper On Computable Numbers for publication. Alan Turing was one of the most influential scientists of the twentieth century, a pioneer of computer science, artificial intelligence, and modern cryptography. His...
by David West | May 27, 2026 | News
On the 27th of May, 1860, Giuseppe Garibaldi began the siege of Palermo during the war of Italian unification. Giuseppe Garibaldi was one of the central figures of the Italian Risorgimento, the 19th-century movement for the unification of Italy. A revolutionary,...