Quite an Eiffel

Today in 1889 in Paris (eh where else would it be?), the Eiffel Tower officially opened.

The Bruce

Today in 1306 Robert the Bruce was crowned king of Scotland.

From BBC's website :-

Robert was born on 11 July 1274 into an aristocratic Scottish family. Through his father he was distantly related to the Scottish royal family. His mother had Gaelic antecedents. Bruce's grandfather was one of the claimants to the Scottish throne during a succession dispute in 1290 - 1292. The English king, Edward I, was asked to arbitrate and chose John Balliol to be king. Both Bruce and his father refused to back Balliol and supported Edward I's invasion of Scotland in 1296 to force Balliol to abdicate. Edward then ruled Scotland as a province of England.

Cowboys

Today in 1848 Wyatt Earp was born. Now the name might not be familiar but he is a very famous law man in the days of the wild west. He is best known for his participation in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, along with Doc Holliday, and two of his brothers, Virgil Earp and Morgan Earp.

Despite all of what you might believe here the cowboys were actually the bad guys as Earp and his bunch had the law on their side. However as with most things in history it was not quite as straight forward as that in the west as Wyatt Earp was accused of murdering one of the cowboys.

His story along with Doc Holliday has been the subject of quite a few movies. My favourite being 'Tombstone'.

Have a great weekend.

Ajax Amsterdam ole ole!

Today in 1900 Ajax (Amsterdam Football Club) was formed. Ajax are one of the largest and most successful clubs in European football. I have been lucky enough to visit their new stadium and the history of the club is something as a football fan and historian makes them quiet irresistible to me.

If you look through a list of past players it reads like a whose who of great European footballers.

Happy birthday AFC Ajax.

Happy St Patricks day!

Today in 461 Bishop Patrick, St. Patrick, died in Saul. Ireland has St Patrick as their patron saint so this is a good day for the Irish (which means a huge party to most). So to one and all that celebrates tonight have a great day.

There are a lot of myths surrounding St Patrick but why don't you try and find some of them out for yourself.

The Colonel

Today in 1956 Colonel Tom Parker became Elvis Presley's manager. Some have said that without the Colonel, Elvis would not have became the worlwide superstar that he did. I can't see how anyone could hold back the King myself but there is no doubting that the Colonel played his part.

He is the one on the right of the picture.

The force is strong with this one!

I went to see Star Wars live last night. Yes I am a geek and I am proud. Ran into this little guy there, he had a strange sense of humour but he seemed to be very wise.

It's for you!

Today in 1876 Alexander Graham Bell made the first successful call with the telephone. He spoke the words "Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you."

I wonder how many calls have been made since then? Some important ones no doubt.

Battleships

In 1911 The funding for five new battleships was added to the British military defense budget.The spending on naval arms since 1906 is seen as one of the reasons that the First World War was viewed as being inevitable by most historians.

The dreadnought and dreadnought cruisers were the ships in question but oddly enough despite all this spending the war was by and large fought on land. Defense spending is still amongst the highest part of most budgets around the world, maybe there will come a time when we don't need guns anymore.

Oscar

Well it was the Oscar's last night and I'm sure there was many happy/disappointed people out there. Here are some interesting Oscar facts:-

• An Oscar statuette weighs 8.5 pounds.
• They were first given out in 1929 (the same year as the Wall Street Crash)!
• Emma Thompson, Elizabeth Taylor and Susan Sarandon each keep their Oscars
  in their bathrooms.

Of course the greatest movie ever (Star Wars) didn't win best movie at the Oscars but did win several other awards in 1977.

Advance to Go!

Today in 1933 the board game Monopoly was invented. Many a family has been brought together round a table whilst playing this classic game. Of course its all fun at the start and then someone takes it too seriously and before you know it your little car has been thrown across the room and your hotels on the greens are brought to ruin.

I love Monopoly!

The beginning of the end

Today in 1918 the Treaty of Brest Litovsky was signed by Germany, Austria and Russia. The treaty ended Russia's participation in World War I. Many historians point to this being the beginning of the end of the Great War.

You say you want a revolution

Today in 1917 The Russian Revolution began with Czar Nicholas II (pictured with his family) abdicating. This was one of two major revolutions in Russia that year. This one however saw the end of the Romanov dynasty in Russia and to this day there are stories that there may be a living heir somewhere.

1917 was a big year for Russia but no doubt I will right more about that later in the year, if you can't wait to find out then google 'Russia 1917'.

Massacre

Today in 1562 In Vassy, France, Catholics massacred over 1,000 Huguenots. The event started the First War of Religion. These wars were primarily fought between French Catholics and Protestants (Huguenots) although both sides recevied help from round Europe.