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.