On the 4th of March, 1152, Frederick I Barbarossa was elected King of Germany. I have posted about Barbarossa before, but in the context of Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union. Frederick I Barbarossa (c. 1122–1190), one of the most formidable and charismatic rulers...

Florida was admitted as the 27th U.S. state on the 3rd of March, 1845. Florida is by far the U.S. state that I have spend the most time in so far. I learnt to fly in Florida, then had to return to take the flight test because the first time I had to return to my job...

The College of Arms was formally incorporated by Royal Charter signed by King Richard III on the 2nd of March, 1484. The Royal College of Arms is one of the oldest surviving institutions of heraldry in Europe, and its history is closely intertwined with the...

On the 1st of March, 1872, Yellowstone National Park was established as the world’s first national park. Yellowstone National Park is one of the world’s most celebrated natural landscapes and holds a unique place in environmental history as the first national park...

On the 28th of February, 1525, the Aztec King Cuauhtémoc was executed on the order of the conquistador Hernán Cortés. I have written about the Inca people of South America, so lets have a look at the Aztec people, who referred to themselves as the Mexica and created...

Are we obsessed with murder? Well this month’s Red Herrings, the bulletin of the Crime Writers’ Association seems to think so. In an article by Connie Berry she suggests that the British mystery is one in which a seemingly impossible crime, usually a murder, occurs in...

On the 27th of February, well, I fear I’m running out of history. King Henry IV of France was crowned, but I’ve covered him. Lord Byron gave his first address to the House of Lords, but I’ve covered him too. I could go on, but thankfully in 1900 the Labour Party was...

On the 26th of February, 1995, the UK’s oldest investment bank, Barings, collapsed after the rogue securities broker, Nick Leeson, lost $1.4 billion speculating on futures contracts using the Singapore International Monetary Exchange. The collapse of Barings Bank in...

On the 25th of February, 1939, the first Anderson Shelter was constructed in a garden in Islington. I remember when I was a child that one of my friends still had an Anderson Shelter in his back garden. The Anderson shelter was one of the most important civil-defence...

On the 4th of March, 1152, Frederick I Barbarossa was elected King of Germany. I have posted about Barbarossa before, but in the context of Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union. Frederick I Barbarossa (c. 1122–1190), one of the most formidable and charismatic rulers...

Florida was admitted as the 27th U.S. state on the 3rd of March, 1845. Florida is by far the U.S. state that I have spend the most time in so far. I learnt to fly in Florida, then had to return to take the flight test because the first time I had to return to my job...

The College of Arms was formally incorporated by Royal Charter signed by King Richard III on the 2nd of March, 1484. The Royal College of Arms is one of the oldest surviving institutions of heraldry in Europe, and its history is closely intertwined with the...

On the 1st of March, 1872, Yellowstone National Park was established as the world’s first national park. Yellowstone National Park is one of the world’s most celebrated natural landscapes and holds a unique place in environmental history as the first national park...

On the 28th of February, 1525, the Aztec King Cuauhtémoc was executed on the order of the conquistador Hernán Cortés. I have written about the Inca people of South America, so lets have a look at the Aztec people, who referred to themselves as the Mexica and created...

Are we obsessed with murder? Well this month’s Red Herrings, the bulletin of the Crime Writers’ Association seems to think so. In an article by Connie Berry she suggests that the British mystery is one in which a seemingly impossible crime, usually a murder, occurs in...

On the 27th of February, well, I fear I’m running out of history. King Henry IV of France was crowned, but I’ve covered him. Lord Byron gave his first address to the House of Lords, but I’ve covered him too. I could go on, but thankfully in 1900 the Labour Party was...

On the 26th of February, 1995, the UK’s oldest investment bank, Barings, collapsed after the rogue securities broker, Nick Leeson, lost $1.4 billion speculating on futures contracts using the Singapore International Monetary Exchange. The collapse of Barings Bank in...

On the 25th of February, 1939, the first Anderson Shelter was constructed in a garden in Islington. I remember when I was a child that one of my friends still had an Anderson Shelter in his back garden. The Anderson shelter was one of the most important civil-defence...