On the 11th of August, 177CE, Hadrian was proclaimed Roman Emperor two days after Trajan’s death. Publius Aelius Hadrianus was born on the 24th of January, 76 CE, probably in Italica, near modern Seville in Spain. His family was wealthy and of Roman colonial stock....

For much of the 10th century, the Magyar horsemen of Hungary terrified western Europe. Riding swiftly across the continent, they raided Germany, Italy, Burgundy, and even parts of France and Spain. Their armies were famous for mounted archery, speed, and sudden...

The Battle of Pharsalus was fought on the 9th of August 48BCE near Pharsalus in central Greece. It marked the turning point in the Roman civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great. Caesar’s victory destroyed the political power of Pompey and effectively...

On the 8th of August, 1963, £2.61 million was stolen from a Royal Mail train on the West Coast Main Line. I spent around a third of my career working on railway projects and have written about railway events. Sadly there have been a few railway accidents as well as...

I have posted about my career as a civil engineer. Thomas Telford was the first president of the Institution of Civil Engineers and he was born on the 8th of August 1757. He was one of the greatest civil engineers of the Industrial Revolution, a man whose roads,...

On the 7th of August, 1819, Simon Bolívar triumphed over Spanish forces in the Battle of Boyacá. Simón Bolívar is one of the towering figures of Latin American history, remembered as “El Libertador” — the Liberator — for his leading role in freeing much of northern...

I recently attended a lecture, via zoom, about the Anthropocene. That comes from the Greek, anthropo meaning human, and cene meaning new. It is used to describe the geological age which has been impacted fundamentally by human activity. The reason I’m prompted to...

The Gowrie Conspiracy of the 5th of August, 1600, remains one of the most mysterious and disputed episodes in Scottish history. It centres on an alleged attempt to kidnap—or possibly assassinate—King James VI and I by members of the powerful Ruthven family, chiefly...

Louis Armstrong was born on the 4th of August, 1901 in New Orleans. He gets a mention in my post on Hoagy Carmichael and James Bond, but deserves more. He grew up in extreme poverty in a rough neighbourhood known as “The Battlefield.” His early life was marked by...

On the 11th of August, 177CE, Hadrian was proclaimed Roman Emperor two days after Trajan’s death. Publius Aelius Hadrianus was born on the 24th of January, 76 CE, probably in Italica, near modern Seville in Spain. His family was wealthy and of Roman colonial stock....

For much of the 10th century, the Magyar horsemen of Hungary terrified western Europe. Riding swiftly across the continent, they raided Germany, Italy, Burgundy, and even parts of France and Spain. Their armies were famous for mounted archery, speed, and sudden...

The Battle of Pharsalus was fought on the 9th of August 48BCE near Pharsalus in central Greece. It marked the turning point in the Roman civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great. Caesar’s victory destroyed the political power of Pompey and effectively...

On the 8th of August, 1963, £2.61 million was stolen from a Royal Mail train on the West Coast Main Line. I spent around a third of my career working on railway projects and have written about railway events. Sadly there have been a few railway accidents as well as...

I have posted about my career as a civil engineer. Thomas Telford was the first president of the Institution of Civil Engineers and he was born on the 8th of August 1757. He was one of the greatest civil engineers of the Industrial Revolution, a man whose roads,...

On the 7th of August, 1819, Simon Bolívar triumphed over Spanish forces in the Battle of Boyacá. Simón Bolívar is one of the towering figures of Latin American history, remembered as “El Libertador” — the Liberator — for his leading role in freeing much of northern...

I recently attended a lecture, via zoom, about the Anthropocene. That comes from the Greek, anthropo meaning human, and cene meaning new. It is used to describe the geological age which has been impacted fundamentally by human activity. The reason I’m prompted to...

The Gowrie Conspiracy of the 5th of August, 1600, remains one of the most mysterious and disputed episodes in Scottish history. It centres on an alleged attempt to kidnap—or possibly assassinate—King James VI and I by members of the powerful Ruthven family, chiefly...

Louis Armstrong was born on the 4th of August, 1901 in New Orleans. He gets a mention in my post on Hoagy Carmichael and James Bond, but deserves more. He grew up in extreme poverty in a rough neighbourhood known as “The Battlefield.” His early life was marked by...