Nelson Mandela released, 1990
Nelson Mandela was born on 18th July 1918 in a small village called Mvezo, near Umtata the capital of the Transkei. His father, Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa, was a member of…
Ecuador annexed the Galápagos Islands, 1832
The first European to set foot on the Galápagos Islands was the fourth Bishop of Panama, the Dominican Fray Tomás de Berlanga. In order to settle a territorial dispute between…
First French nuclear explosive test, 1960
The French have a long association with nuclear research since the days of Marie Curie. In 1945 the French government created the Commissariat à l’énergie atomique (CEA) – the French…
Shortest test match in history, 1932
The shortest test in cricketing history in terms of minutes played and balls bowled took place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground during the 1932 South African tour of Australia. The…
Volume One of Gibbon`s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire published, 1776
Edward Gibbon was born in Putney, Surrey, in April 1737 into a wealthy family with Jacobite sympathies. Edward’s mother died when he was ten and his father descended into depression,…
Pluto discovered, 1930
In 1894 the American businessman Percival Lowell founded an observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, where he dedicated himself to astronomical research. His theories about canals on Mars resulted in the scientific…
Edison patented the phonograph, 1878
In March 1857, the French printer and bookseller, Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville, patented the first device for recording sound, the phonautograph. His invention inscribed an image on a cylinder coated…
Nuclear Disarmament logo designed, 1958
Britain started developing nuclear weapons in 1952, but by the end of the decade various groups formed to protest in favour of nuclear disarmament. One such group, the Direct Action…
The Year of Revolution: 1848
In a break from the ‘On this day in history’ series, I am taking inspiration from recent events in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain and Libya. This year has seen a wave…
Juan Fangio kidnapped in Cuba, 1958
On 23rd February 1958, the Argentinian racing car driver Juan Fangio, was approached by a man brandishing a revolver in the lobby of the Hotel Lincoln in Havana, Cuba. The…