Wikipedia tells me that on the 8th of November, 1291, the Republic of Venice enacted a law that confined most of Venice’s glassmakers to the island of Murano. Venice features as a setting in Fire and Earth, the second book in the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures. Murano...

The London Gazette is one of the oldest surviving English newspapers and an official journal of record for the United Kingdom. Established during the 17th century, it holds a unique position in British history and governance, being instrumental in the dissemination of...

Suleiman the Magnificent, also known as Suleiman I, was the tenth and longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, ruling from 1520 to 1566. He is remembered as a symbol of imperial greatness, military prowess, and cultural flowering, presiding over a period often...

On the 5th of November (my birthday, thank you!) 1895, George B Selden was granted the first U.S. patent for an automobile. George Baldwin Selden (1846–1922) was an American inventor and patent lawyer best known for his involvement in one of the most notable legal...

On the 4th of November, 1576, Spain captured the city of Antwerp during the Eighty Years’ War. My ancestor, the Elizabethan Spy, Sir Anthony Standen was working for Walsingham during this stage of the Eighty Years’ War, as narrated in The Spy who Sank the Armada. The...

Running through the possible events to write about for the 3rd of November, I am drowning in US presidents who took office on this day. I shall choose William Howard Taft because he’s often a pointless answer on Pointless and I don’t know much about him. William...

The great playwright, George Bernard Shaw, died on the 2nd of November, 1950, aged 94. George Bernard Shaw was born on the 26th of July, 1856, in Dublin. He was a towering figure in the world of literature, known for his wit, sharp intellect, and profound influence on...

On the 1st of November, 1512, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo, was exhibited to the public for the first time. Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, widely known simply as Michelangelo, is one of the most emblematic figures of the...

On the 31st of October, 1794, John Dalton gave a lecture to the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society on the subject of colour blindness. He suffered red green colour blindness, which is a bit of a sore subject with me. I was at primary school when the dreaded...

Wikipedia tells me that on the 8th of November, 1291, the Republic of Venice enacted a law that confined most of Venice’s glassmakers to the island of Murano. Venice features as a setting in Fire and Earth, the second book in the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures. Murano...

The London Gazette is one of the oldest surviving English newspapers and an official journal of record for the United Kingdom. Established during the 17th century, it holds a unique position in British history and governance, being instrumental in the dissemination of...

Suleiman the Magnificent, also known as Suleiman I, was the tenth and longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, ruling from 1520 to 1566. He is remembered as a symbol of imperial greatness, military prowess, and cultural flowering, presiding over a period often...

On the 5th of November (my birthday, thank you!) 1895, George B Selden was granted the first U.S. patent for an automobile. George Baldwin Selden (1846–1922) was an American inventor and patent lawyer best known for his involvement in one of the most notable legal...

On the 4th of November, 1576, Spain captured the city of Antwerp during the Eighty Years’ War. My ancestor, the Elizabethan Spy, Sir Anthony Standen was working for Walsingham during this stage of the Eighty Years’ War, as narrated in The Spy who Sank the Armada. The...

Running through the possible events to write about for the 3rd of November, I am drowning in US presidents who took office on this day. I shall choose William Howard Taft because he’s often a pointless answer on Pointless and I don’t know much about him. William...

The great playwright, George Bernard Shaw, died on the 2nd of November, 1950, aged 94. George Bernard Shaw was born on the 26th of July, 1856, in Dublin. He was a towering figure in the world of literature, known for his wit, sharp intellect, and profound influence on...

On the 1st of November, 1512, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo, was exhibited to the public for the first time. Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, widely known simply as Michelangelo, is one of the most emblematic figures of the...

On the 31st of October, 1794, John Dalton gave a lecture to the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society on the subject of colour blindness. He suffered red green colour blindness, which is a bit of a sore subject with me. I was at primary school when the dreaded...