Tulip Mania
On the 3rd of February, 1637, Tulip Mania collapsed in the Dutch Republic. I have recently been asked for investment advice by a friend who had invested heavily in various crackpot investment schemes, followed by rental properties which didn’t work for him. He is now...
Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal in New York City opened on the 2nd of February, 1913. Claire and I want to cross the Atlantic on the Queen Mary II. In fact we bought tickets to do the round trip with an afternoon in New York, but then Covid struck and we got a refund. We still...
Oxford English Dictionary
History need not be defined by battles, leaders, exploration, or adventure. I choose as my topic today, the Oxford English Dictionary, of which the first volume (A - Ant) was first published on the 1st of February, 1884. Claire gave me the two volume Shorter Oxford...
Battle of Gembloux
The Battle of Gembloux was fought on the 31st of January, 1578, during the Eighty Years’ War. The Spanish forces were commanded by Don Juan, Duke of Austria. Regular readers will know that the Eighty Years’ War was the conflict in which my ancestor, Sir Anthony...
Hitler and the Weimar Republic
On 13th November 1923, Adolf Hitler delivered a speech in Munich where he denounced what he referred to as the "November crime." This term was used by Hitler and the Nazi Party to describe the events surrounding the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II and the subsequent...
Richard Lawrence
For the 30th of January I am drawn to two candidates for my post. They are Adolph Hitler, who took office as Chancellor of Germany on this day in 1933, and Richard Lawrence who in 1835 made the first assassination attempt against a President of the United States when...
Antipope Christopher
Usually I am spoilt for choice and I have to check that I haven’t written about the subject before. However the 29th of January offers me only two topics in the pre-1600 category. Sergios III came out of retirement to be elected pope from the deposed antipope...
Speeding
Looking for subjects to write about today, I can hardly believe that I am going to pass over the publication of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice in favour of Walter Arnold of East Peckham. Don’t tell my wife, Claire, or I’ll be in trouble. I’ll make it up to Jane...
Dante
On the 27th of January, 1302, Dante Alighieri was condemned in absentia and exiled from Florence. Dante Alighieri (c. 1265–1321) is one of the towering figures of Western literature, a poet whose life of political turmoil, exile, and intellectual ambition gave rise to...
Tulip Mania
On the 3rd of February, 1637, Tulip Mania collapsed in the Dutch Republic. I have recently been asked for investment advice by a friend who had invested heavily in various crackpot investment schemes, followed by rental properties which didn’t work for him. He is now...
Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal in New York City opened on the 2nd of February, 1913. Claire and I want to cross the Atlantic on the Queen Mary II. In fact we bought tickets to do the round trip with an afternoon in New York, but then Covid struck and we got a refund. We still...
Oxford English Dictionary
History need not be defined by battles, leaders, exploration, or adventure. I choose as my topic today, the Oxford English Dictionary, of which the first volume (A - Ant) was first published on the 1st of February, 1884. Claire gave me the two volume Shorter Oxford...
Battle of Gembloux
The Battle of Gembloux was fought on the 31st of January, 1578, during the Eighty Years’ War. The Spanish forces were commanded by Don Juan, Duke of Austria. Regular readers will know that the Eighty Years’ War was the conflict in which my ancestor, Sir Anthony...
Hitler and the Weimar Republic
On 13th November 1923, Adolf Hitler delivered a speech in Munich where he denounced what he referred to as the "November crime." This term was used by Hitler and the Nazi Party to describe the events surrounding the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II and the subsequent...
Richard Lawrence
For the 30th of January I am drawn to two candidates for my post. They are Adolph Hitler, who took office as Chancellor of Germany on this day in 1933, and Richard Lawrence who in 1835 made the first assassination attempt against a President of the United States when...
Antipope Christopher
Usually I am spoilt for choice and I have to check that I haven’t written about the subject before. However the 29th of January offers me only two topics in the pre-1600 category. Sergios III came out of retirement to be elected pope from the deposed antipope...
Speeding
Looking for subjects to write about today, I can hardly believe that I am going to pass over the publication of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice in favour of Walter Arnold of East Peckham. Don’t tell my wife, Claire, or I’ll be in trouble. I’ll make it up to Jane...
Dante
On the 27th of January, 1302, Dante Alighieri was condemned in absentia and exiled from Florence. Dante Alighieri (c. 1265–1321) is one of the towering figures of Western literature, a poet whose life of political turmoil, exile, and intellectual ambition gave rise to...