Sad days

Today in 1876 all Native American Indians were ordered to move into reservations.

Can you imagine if you have lived somewhere for hundreds of years only to have stanrgers come and tell you that you can not live there anymore and also can only live in some certain parts.

A load of old Pollocks

Today in 1912 one of my favourite artists, Jackson Pollock, was born. He was an influential American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement.

You can judge for yourself if you google his name. His work influenced John Squire to create the front cover for The Stone Roses debut album cover.

The drug of the nation?

Today in 1926 John Logie Baird, a Scottish inventor, demonstrated a pictorial transmission machine called television. Although the development of television was the result of work by many inventors, Baird was a prominent pioneer and made major advances in the field.

He later demonstrated the world's first colour transmission on 3 July 1928.

Can you imagine a world without television?

Brazil!

Today in 1500 Vicente Yáñez Pinzón discovered Brazil. Carried by a strong storm, he reached the north coast of what today is Brazil.

On another note did you know it was a Scotsman that took football to Brazil? If not then search the name Charles Miller and see what you think of the story. So in some small way every time Brazil win the world cup then they should thank the Scots, normally they just beat us. However they wont get the chance this year as Scotland never qualified!

Sunday

Kunta Kinte

Today in 1977 the TV mini-series 'Roots,' began airing on ABC. The show was based on the Alex Haley novel. Although it is a little dated looking at times now it was a landmark show and one of the first widely received dramatisations of the slave trade.

Also on a less historical note the A team debuted on television on this day in 1983, I loved the A team growing up, Murdoch was my favourite.

The rise of the left.

On this day 1924 Ramsay MacDonald became Britain's first Labour Prime Minister. Prior to this British politics had been dominated by the Conservitives and Liberals in one form or another. This change in personal set a president and ever since Britain has had either a Conservitive or Labour Prime Minister.

James Ramsay MacDonald, the illegitimate son of Ann Ramsay, a maidservant, was born in Lossiemouth, Morayshire, on 12th October, 1866. Making him a Scot just like the Prime Minister we have at the moment.

Louis Louis

Today in 1793 during the French Revolution, King Louis XVI was executed on the guillotine. He had been condemned for treason.

The French Revolution came about due to the widening split in French society between the elite at the very top and the poor who made up the largest part of the population. Rumours about the frivolous lifestyle of King Louis wife, Marie Antonia of Austria (better known by the French form of her name, Marie Antoinette), caused resentment amongst the French masses and were one of the reasons behind the break out of the revolution.

On a more gruesome note historian David Andress states that accounts of Louis’s beheading indicate that the blade did not sever his neck entirely the first time. There are also accounts of a blood-curdling scream issuing from Louis after the blade fell but this is unlikely as the blade severed Louis’s spine. It is agreed however that, as Louis's blood dripped to the ground, many in the crowd ran forward to dip their handkerchiefs in it.

JFK

On this day in 1961 John F Kennedy has been sworn in as the youngest ever elected president of the United States.

Kennedy defeated then Vice President and Republican candidate Richard Nixon in the 1960 U.S. presidential election, one of the closest in American history. He was the second-youngest President (after Theodore Roosevelt), the first President born in the 20th century, and the youngest elected to the office, at the age of 43. Kennedy is the first and only Catholic president, and is the only president to have won a Pulitzer Prize.

Say Watt!

Today in 1736 James Watt was born in Greenock, Scotland. He is famous for his steam engine and is often wrongly credited for inventing the engine, he didn't. Rather he modified an existing design and made it more efficient (four times as efficient).

Watt continued to experiment and in 1781 he produced a rotary-motion steam engine. Whereas his earlier machine, with its up-and-down pumping action, was ideal for draining mines, this new steam engine could be used to drive many different types of machinery. This was vital to the growth of industrial Britain.

A land down under!

Today in 1788 The first English settlers arrived in Australia's Botany Bay to establish a penal colony. The group moved north eight days later and settled at Port Jackson.

Following the loss of the American Colonies, American War of Independence 1775-1783, Britain needed to find alternative land for a new British colony. As ever though the Brits were not the first people there, archaeological evidence from the shores of Botany Bay has yielded evidence of Aboriginal settlement dating back 5,000 years.

Good Times

On this day in 1969 Led Zeppelin's debut album was released in the US. It was a huge success all over the world making Led Zeppelin one of the biggest (and in my opinion best) bands of all time.

On a historical note a Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship pioneered by the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century. After the outbreak of WWI, the German military made extensive use of Zeppelins as bombers and scouts. You may have seen one in Indian Jones and the Last Crusade.

Terrible just terrible!

Today in 1547 Ivan the Terrible was crowned Czar of Russia. Ivan the Terrible succeeded his father Vasilii III and was the first Grand Prince to have himself officially crowned tsar. With his reign, Russia became a fully autocratic state.

Also its Saturday so I am going to watch some football.

See ya!

Ring my bell!

Well after yesterdays blog about the wonderful work of UNICEF (check it out if you have not already) I thought we should go back to history today. With that in mind on this day in 1878 Alexander Graham Bell demonstrated the telephone for Britain's Queen Victoria.

A pioneer in the field of telecommunications, Alexander Graham Bell was born in 1847 in Edinburgh, Scotland. He moved to Ontario, and then to the United States, settling in Boston, before beginning his career as an inventor. Throughout his life, Bell had been interested in the education of deaf people. This interest lead him to invent the microphone and, in 1876, his 'electrical speech machine,' which we now call a telephone. (taken from here).

UNICEF

Today I met a wonderful representative of UNICEF who told me all about how they worked with schools in order to make pupils more aware of there rights and in return were creating more rounded individuals. I am a big fan of their work and encourage all, young and old, that may read this to click on the link below and take some time to find out more not just about UNICEF but about yourself and your rights.

http://www.unicef.org.uk/

I think it should be the aim of every school in Scotland and beyond to sign up and try to achieve the Right Respecting School Award.

Motown

Today in 1959 Berry Gordy borrowed $800 to found the Motown record empire. The music that was to be produced as a result was not only wonderful but it has been argued that it played a significant part in the cultural side of civil rights movement in America at the time.

Why not take the time and look up Motown on the internet, I'll bet you will find soemthing you like. I myself have to many favourites on that particular record label that it is unfair for me to single out just one.

Women and history

Someone recently said that I don't put enough about women on this blog. Well that is because in history women's role has by and large gone unwritten and only in the last 40 years or so have we seen a focus by historians to re-address this imbalance.

In a bid to show that I am doing my bit for women's equality in history today in 1935 Amelia Earhart Putnam became the first woman to fly solo from Hawaii to California. Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

During an attempt to make a circumnavigational flight of the globe in 1937 she disappeared over the central Pacific Ocean near Howland Island. Fascination with her life, career and disappearance continues to this day. You can find lots of interesting theories on what actually happened to her when she disappeared.

Lets play darts!

Tonight is the Darts BDO World Championships final on BBC 2 where Dave 'Chizzy' Chisnall will meet Martin 'Wolfie' Adams.

Darts is believed to have a long tradition within the the UK. As far as the origins of the game are concerned, javelins, crossbow bolts and archery have all been considered. Of these the most likely scenario is that the game has its roots in archery, according to Patrick Chaplin PhD (aka Doctor Darts). He states that 'Indeed, glance back to the earliest type of dartboards and you will see that these were concentric targets – miniature forms of the archery target. Moreover, darts is most commonly known as "arrows." Some would say that these two points alone are sufficient to confirm the sports heritage.'

So if you have the Sunday blues then switch on BBC 2 tonight at 5:45pm to be warmed by the crowd and the excitement of the lakeside.

Pitt the younger

Today in 1799 British prime minister William Pitt the Younger introduced income tax, at two shillings (10p) in the pound, to raise funds for the Napoleonic Wars.

Pitt the Younger was so called to distinguish him from his father who had also been Prime Minister. Pitt the younger was just 24 when he became Prime Minister.

Enjoy the snow, I myself think Ill go play in the park before it turns to slush.

Two for one!

What about this weather eh? I hope you are all making sure that you wrap up warm.

While on the subject of cool things (like the temperature, get it? Oh well suit yourself), it is the birthday of two of my all time favourite music artists. The King himself Elvis Presley and the thin white Duke David Bowie! Both of these men were pioneers and changed pop culture and attitudes along the way. Happy Birthday Boys.

Have a great weekend.

By the rings of Saturn!

Today in 1610 Galileo Galilei sighted four of Jupiter's moons. He named them Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.

Galileo Galilei was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher and is considered by many to be the “Father of Modern Science". To find out more about one of the most interesting Itlaians that there ever lived click on the link below and shame on all of you that only knew the name thanks to a part in a Queen song.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/galilei_galileo.shtml

Let's hear it for the girl!

Today in 1412 Joan of Arc was born. Joan asserted that she had visions from God that told her to recover her homeland from English domination late in the Hundred Years' War.

She was a military hero in France but despite this she became a catholic martyr when she was burned alive for heresy. There has been several films made of her life the most recent being The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc by French director Luc Besson.

Nearly back to school!

Oh well it is getting nearer and nearer the end of this particular set of holidays but the good news is it wont be long before the next one comes along.

Louis Braille, the inventor of braille a worldwide system used by blind and visually impaired people for reading and writing, was born today in 1809.

In 1821, Charles Barbier, a Captain in the French Army, visited Louis' school. Barbier shared his invention called 'night writing' a code of 12 raised dots and a number of dashes that let soldiers share top-secret information on the battlefield without having to speak. The code was too difficult for Louis to understand and he later changed the number of raised dots to 6 to form what we today call Braille.

Happy new year!

So here we are in 2010! I hope it is a good one for you.

Although we all know that yesterday was new years day this was not always the case. Previously we celebrated new year in March. Scotland changed to January 1st in 1600 whilst the rest of the UK finally came round to this way of thinking in 1752. We now use what is known as the Gregorian calendar. If you type this into a search engine you will find out lots of interesting stories about it's adoption throughout Europe, I actually can't believe how interesting this little slice of history is.

Happy new year!