Shetland
On the 20th of February, 1472, Orkney and Shetland were pawned by Norway to Scotland. My first job after Oxford was with Foster Wheeler, who had the contract for building the Sullem Voe Oil Terminal in Shetland. It wasn’t a project I worked on, but I had many friends...
Sigismund III
On the 19th of February, 1594, Sigismund III was crowned King of Sweden. Sigismund III of Sweden, also known as Sigismund III Vasa (1566–1632), was one of the most complex and consequential monarchs of early modern Europe. He reigned as King of Poland and Grand Duke...
Elm Farm Ollie
On the 18th of February, 1930, Elm Farm Ollie became the first cow to fly in an aeroplane. I have been crazy about flying for much of my life and held a pilot’s license, but transporting a cow in a small plane? I think I’d have left that to someone else. Elm Farm...
Thomas Jefferson
On the 17th of February, 1801, a tie in the Electoral College between Aaron Burr and Thomas Jefferson was resolved when Jefferson was elected President of the United States and Burr Vice President. Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) was one of the most influential figures...
Battle of Torrington
The Battle of Torrington was fought on the 16th of February, 1646. I recall that Admiral Sir John Byng was Viscount Torrington, but Torrington was a land battle in Devon. It was one of the last major engagements of the First English Civil War and marked the effective...
Hospitallers
On the 15th of February, 1113, Pope Paschal II issued the Pie Postulatio Voluntatis recognising the Order of Hospitallers. I have written about the Knights Templar before, and the Hospitallers are the other major chivalric order that I’m aware of. The Knights...
YouTube
On the 14th of February, 2005, YouTube was launched. As you can see, I have never really got the hang of posting on YouTube, but I do seek a lot of help from it in improving my golf swing and technique. YouTube is one of the defining cultural and technological...
Glen Coe
On the 13th of February, 1692, the MacDonald Clan were massacred in Glen Coe. Glen Coe is one of Scotland’s most dramatic and evocative landscapes, a place where raw natural beauty and dark human history are inseparably intertwined. Situated in the western Highlands,...
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
On the 12th of February, 1974, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, was exiled from the Soviet Union. Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn (1918–2008) was one of the most formidable moral and literary voices of the twentieth century. A...
Shetland
On the 20th of February, 1472, Orkney and Shetland were pawned by Norway to Scotland. My first job after Oxford was with Foster Wheeler, who had the contract for building the Sullem Voe Oil Terminal in Shetland. It wasn’t a project I worked on, but I had many friends...
Sigismund III
On the 19th of February, 1594, Sigismund III was crowned King of Sweden. Sigismund III of Sweden, also known as Sigismund III Vasa (1566–1632), was one of the most complex and consequential monarchs of early modern Europe. He reigned as King of Poland and Grand Duke...
Elm Farm Ollie
On the 18th of February, 1930, Elm Farm Ollie became the first cow to fly in an aeroplane. I have been crazy about flying for much of my life and held a pilot’s license, but transporting a cow in a small plane? I think I’d have left that to someone else. Elm Farm...
Thomas Jefferson
On the 17th of February, 1801, a tie in the Electoral College between Aaron Burr and Thomas Jefferson was resolved when Jefferson was elected President of the United States and Burr Vice President. Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) was one of the most influential figures...
Battle of Torrington
The Battle of Torrington was fought on the 16th of February, 1646. I recall that Admiral Sir John Byng was Viscount Torrington, but Torrington was a land battle in Devon. It was one of the last major engagements of the First English Civil War and marked the effective...
Hospitallers
On the 15th of February, 1113, Pope Paschal II issued the Pie Postulatio Voluntatis recognising the Order of Hospitallers. I have written about the Knights Templar before, and the Hospitallers are the other major chivalric order that I’m aware of. The Knights...
YouTube
On the 14th of February, 2005, YouTube was launched. As you can see, I have never really got the hang of posting on YouTube, but I do seek a lot of help from it in improving my golf swing and technique. YouTube is one of the defining cultural and technological...
Glen Coe
On the 13th of February, 1692, the MacDonald Clan were massacred in Glen Coe. Glen Coe is one of Scotland’s most dramatic and evocative landscapes, a place where raw natural beauty and dark human history are inseparably intertwined. Situated in the western Highlands,...
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
On the 12th of February, 1974, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, was exiled from the Soviet Union. Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn (1918–2008) was one of the most formidable moral and literary voices of the twentieth century. A...