The Battle of Dunbar was fought on the 27th of April, 1296. It was one of the opening engagements of the First War of Scottish Independence and resulted in a decisive English victory. Though sometimes overshadowed by later battles such as Stirling Bridge and...

Marie de Medici was born on the 26th of April 1575. She is a character in two of the published books in my Sir Anthony Standen Adventures, The Spy who Sank the Armada and The Suggested Assassin. She is a central character in the fifth book in the series, Serpents...

On the 25th of April, 1953, Francis Crick and James Watson published Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid. I have written before about DNA, but not its discovery. The discovery of DNA as the molecule of heredity was not a...

Wikipaedia tells me that on the 24th of April, 1479 BC, Thutmose III ascended to the throne of Egypt. I mentioned him in my post on pharaohs, but I think he warrants closer examination. Thutmose III was one of the greatest pharaohs of ancient Egypt and is often...

I like a beer or two, or three. On the 23rd of April, 1516, the Munich Reinheitsgebot, which specifies the ingredients in beer, came into effect in all Bavaria. The Munich Reinheitsgebot of 1516, often called the Bavarian Beer Purity Law, is one of the most famous...

On the 22nd of April, 1915, chlorine gas was first used as a chemical weapon in the Second Battle of Ypres. I have written about The third Battle of Ypres, also known as Passchendaele.  In ancient times, armies occasionally sought to poison wells, contaminate food...

On the 21st of April, 1509, King Henry VII, or Henry Tudor, died and Henry VIII became king. I have written about Henry VIII but I don’t think I have written about Henry VII. That’s a poor omission because he founded the Tudor dynasty through which my ancestor, Sir...

On the 20th of April, 1828, René Caillié became the second non-Muslim to enter Timbuktu, following Major Gordon Laing, and the first to leave alive. Chambers Dictionary defines Timbuktu as a noun meaning any distant place and cites the origin as a town in Mali on the...

Belgium was the last country Claire and I visited on our Interrail trip last spring. In Brussels I posted about a connection between Sir Anthony Standen and Snow White. The fact is that when Sir Anthony was caught by the Don John, Duke of Austria, in an inappropriate...

The Battle of Dunbar was fought on the 27th of April, 1296. It was one of the opening engagements of the First War of Scottish Independence and resulted in a decisive English victory. Though sometimes overshadowed by later battles such as Stirling Bridge and...

Marie de Medici was born on the 26th of April 1575. She is a character in two of the published books in my Sir Anthony Standen Adventures, The Spy who Sank the Armada and The Suggested Assassin. She is a central character in the fifth book in the series, Serpents...

On the 25th of April, 1953, Francis Crick and James Watson published Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid. I have written before about DNA, but not its discovery. The discovery of DNA as the molecule of heredity was not a...

Wikipaedia tells me that on the 24th of April, 1479 BC, Thutmose III ascended to the throne of Egypt. I mentioned him in my post on pharaohs, but I think he warrants closer examination. Thutmose III was one of the greatest pharaohs of ancient Egypt and is often...

I like a beer or two, or three. On the 23rd of April, 1516, the Munich Reinheitsgebot, which specifies the ingredients in beer, came into effect in all Bavaria. The Munich Reinheitsgebot of 1516, often called the Bavarian Beer Purity Law, is one of the most famous...

On the 22nd of April, 1915, chlorine gas was first used as a chemical weapon in the Second Battle of Ypres. I have written about The third Battle of Ypres, also known as Passchendaele.  In ancient times, armies occasionally sought to poison wells, contaminate food...

On the 21st of April, 1509, King Henry VII, or Henry Tudor, died and Henry VIII became king. I have written about Henry VIII but I don’t think I have written about Henry VII. That’s a poor omission because he founded the Tudor dynasty through which my ancestor, Sir...

On the 20th of April, 1828, René Caillié became the second non-Muslim to enter Timbuktu, following Major Gordon Laing, and the first to leave alive. Chambers Dictionary defines Timbuktu as a noun meaning any distant place and cites the origin as a town in Mali on the...

Belgium was the last country Claire and I visited on our Interrail trip last spring. In Brussels I posted about a connection between Sir Anthony Standen and Snow White. The fact is that when Sir Anthony was caught by the Don John, Duke of Austria, in an inappropriate...