by David West | May 15, 2026 | News
On the 15th of May, 1618, Johannes Kepler confirmed his previously rejected third law of planetary motion. He first formulated it on the 8th of March but rejected it after initial calculations. I find it extraordinary that in 1633 Galileo was tried for defending...
by David West | May 14, 2026 | News
The Battle of Lewes, fought on 14th of May, 1264, was one of the most dramatic confrontations of the Second Barons’ War and a turning point in the long struggle between the English Crown and its leading nobles. The clash pitted the forces of King Henry III against a...
by David West | May 13, 2026 | News
The Battle of Langside was fought on the 13th of May, 1568, between the forces of Mary Queen of Scots and the supporters of her son, James VI. My ancestor, the Elizabethan spy, Sir Anthony Standen, was master of horse to Lord Darnley, and travelled to Edinburgh with...
by David West | May 12, 2026 | News
The Jagiellonian University was founded on the 12th of May 1364 in Kraków, Poland. Claire and I visited it last year. Unfortunately we didn’t get inside as it was closed during our stay. The library houses many treasures including the manuscript of De revolutionibus...
by David West | May 11, 2026 | News
On the 11th of May, 973, Edgar the Peaceable was crowned king of England in the first coronation ceremony for an English monarch. Edgar the Peaceable (c. 943–975), was King of the English from 959 until his death in 975. Though his epithet suggests a quiet and...
by David West | May 10, 2026 | News
On the 10th of May, 1773, Parliament passed the Tea Act. It was intended to save the British East India Company by reducing taxes on its tea and granting it the right to sell tea directly to North America. Following the costly victory of Britain in the Seven Years’...
