by David West | Oct 22, 2025 | News
On the 22nd of October, 1836, Sam Houston was inaugurated as the first President of the Republic of Texas. I confess that I know little about Sam Houston other than that John Wayne and Richard Widmark were waiting for him to arrive with an army and relieve the siege...
by David West | Oct 21, 2025 | News
The Battle of Trafalgar was fought on the 21st of October, 1805. So when I crack open a bottle of something alcoholic this evening I shall say the toast, ‘to the immortal memory of Lord Nelson and those who fell with him.’ I have written about the use of intelligence...
by David West | Oct 20, 2025 | News
The 20th of October was my father’s birthday. I’ve posted about my father a few times, so for today’s blog I shall write about the Relief of Goes, an amazing feat during the Eighty Years’ War, which was my ancestor Sir Anthony Standen’s war. Context of the Conflict...
by David West | Oct 19, 2025 | News
It’s hard to choose the subject of today’s blog. As a writer I am tempted by the publication of Jayne Eyre in 1847. Russia is hardly ever out of the news, and today marks the Treaty of Drottningholm between Sweden and Russia in 1791 and Napoleon’s retreat from Moscow...
by David West | Oct 18, 2025 | News
On the 18th of October, 1009, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem was completely destroyed by Fatimid caliph Al Hakim bi Amr Allah, who hacked the church’s foundations down to the bedrock. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, located in the Christian Quarter...
by David West | Oct 17, 2025 | News
The event which has caught my eye for the 17th of October is the founding of the University of Greifswald in 1456, according to Wikipedia, the second oldest university in Northern Europe. I confess that at first reading I missed the “northern” and thought no, Oxford...
