Ian Chapman-Curry
THE FIRST BOOK FEATURING PADDINGTON BEAR IS PUBLISHED 13 OCTOBER 1958 The first book featuring Paddington Bear is published. Paddington, created by Michael Bond and primarily illustrated by Peggy Fortnum, recently made the transition to the big screen in Paddington the Movie.
13 October 1958 | Paddington Bear is first published
THE BATTLE FOR HAVANA IN THE WAR OF JENKINS’ EAR 12 OCTOBER 1748 The Royal Navy meets the Armada Española in the Battle for Havana. Although the British secured a tactical victory, they didn’t press home their advantage. This was the last engagement of the fantastically named War of Jenkins’ Ear.
12 October 1748 | Battle for Havana in the War of Jenkins’ ...
THE GREAT FIRE OF CHICAGO BURNS THE WINDY CITY 10 OCTOBER 1871 After blazing for a day and a half, the Great Fire of Chicago reduces 3.3 square miles of the Windy City to cinders. Up to 300 people are killed and 100,000 made homeless. Many of the city’s buildings were wooden, providing ready fuel for the intense conflagration. Hello! Thank you for visiting! If you’ve […]
10 October 1871 | The Great Fire of Chicago burns out
OTTOMAN NAVY DEFEATED IN THE BATTLE OF LEPANTO 7 OCTOBER 1571 A coalition of Spanish and Italian naval forces meet their Ottoman rivals at the Battle of Lepanto. The engagement marks the end of Ottoman expansion in the Mediterranean and cements Spain’s growing reputation as an imperial sea power.
7 October 1571 | The Battle of Lepanto
BRITISH RAIL STARTS INTERCITY 125 SERVICES 4 OCTOBER 1976 British Rail’s InterCity 125 service, the world’s fastest diesel-powered train, began operations on the Western Region. These trains will only start to be replaced by the new Class 800 Intercity Express from next year.
4 October 1976 | British Rail starts InterCity 125 services
GERMAN REUNIFICATION COMPLETES 3 OCTOBER 1990 The states of the German Democratic Republic join the Federal German Republic to form a single state. The day is commemorated as a holiday in Germany – the Day of German Unity (Tag der deutschen Einheit).
3 October 1990 | German reunification completes
THE TEXAS REVOLUTION BEGINS IN GONZALES 2 OCTOBER 1835 A rebellion breaks out in the Spanish controlled province of Texas. Just over six months later, the victorious Texan rebels took control of an independent Republic of Texas. Ten years later, Texas became the USA’s 28th state.
2 October 1835 | The Texas Revolution begins
THE ALLUSIONIST Number 43 – The Key: Part II – Vestiges 20 September 2016 I’m a bit behind with reviewing this show – it went out more than a week ago. This week, Helen Zaltzman ‘smears a thin layer of language over the lens so everything looks a bit nicer’ and looks at how to decipher ancient languages. In part one of this two-part special, Helen […]
The Allusionist | The Key II – Vestiges
THE SOVIET UNION’S FIRST FIVE YEAR PLAN IS ANNOUNCED 1 OCTOBER 1966 Josef Stalin announces the start of the USSR’s first Five Year Plan. The intention was to industrialise the vast and still largely agrarian country. In terms of factory output it succeeded, but at what human costs?
1 October 1928 | Stalin announces the first Five Year Plan
CRIMINAL Episode 51 – Money Tree 23 September 2016 Criminal is one of my favourite podcasts. I just shared it with my husband and it has quickly become one of his favourites too. In fact, he gorged himself on the available episodes so that he was ahead of me! This episode is easily one of my favourites. There is a wonderful chemistry between host Pheobe Judge […]
Criminal – Episode 51 – Money Tree
THE METROPOLITAN POLICE OF LONDON IS FOUNDED 29 SEPTEMBER 1829 Metropolitan Police patrols first take to the streets of London on 29 September 1829. This was despite resistance from many Londoners who saw them as a force for government oppression and a threat to civil liberties.
29 September 1829 | The Metropolitan Police of London is founded
Amongst a glittering treasury of splendours, the Habsburgs revered two objects above all others. One was a bowl reputed to be the Holy Grail and the other was a unicorn’s horn. . A truly Imperial collection The Habsburgs were amongst Europe’s pre-eminent collectors. They collected titles (from the Count of Habsburg to the Holy Roman Emperor with a host of dukedoms, royal and imperial titles in-between), […]
What were the inalienable heirlooms of the Habsburgs?
WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR LANDS AT PEVENSEY 28 SEPTEMBER 1066 On one of the most dramatic days of English history, William, Duke of Normandy, lands his invasion fleet at Pevensey. His c. 10,000 men would go on to defeat Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings.
28 September 1066 | William the Conqueror lands in England
Freakonomics is topical and provocative with this week’s episode asking ‘Has the U.S. Presidency Become a Dictatorship?’ In the hot seat is legal scholar and University of Chicago Professor Eric A Posner. Professor Posner argues that whilst the US is not a dictatorship in the way that we’ve come to understand that term from the 20th century, it has strayed a long way from Madisonian constitutional […]