by David West | Mar 5, 2025 | News
On the 5th of March, 1496, King Henry VII issued letters patent to John Cabot and sons to explore unknown lands. Having worked, lived, and met my wife, Claire, in Bristol, John Cabot is a familiar explorer to me. I’ve posted about the first encounter with native...
by David West | Mar 4, 2025 | News
On the 4th of March 1675 John Flamsteed was appointed the first Astronomer Royal by King Charles II and was tasked with creating accurate star charts to aid navigation. He founded the Royal Greenwich Observatory and produced the first comprehensive star catalogue, the...
by David West | Mar 3, 2025 | News
On the 3rd of March, 1585, the Olympic Theatre in Vicenza was inaugurated. It was the final design of Andrea Palladio. Before I began creative writing I was a civil engineer, and worked with many great architects. Like great writing, great architecture lifts the soul....
by David West | Mar 2, 2025 | News
On the 2nd of March, 1717, The Loves of Mars and Venus became the first ballet to be performed in England. I have to confess that I’m not an aficionado, but Claire is. It was written by John Weaver. Weaver was born in Shrewsbury, England, in 1673, into a family of...
by David West | Mar 1, 2025 | News
On the 1st of March, 1516, the first New Testament was published in Greek by Erasmus. Erasmus was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, around 1466. He was the illegitimate son of a priest and received his early education in monastic schools. After joining the...
by David West | Feb 28, 2025 | News
On the 28th of February 1646 Roger Scott was tried for sleeping in church in Massachusetts. The trial of Roger Scott is a lesser-known but notable event from colonial America, particularly in Massachusetts Bay Colony. Scott was punished for “repeated sleeping in...
