January 13th: Today in 1842 Dr. William Brydon rode into Jalalabad in Afghanistan and was thought to be the sole survivor of an army of over sixteen thousand that set out from Kabul seven days earlier. The Army had been promised safe passage but was cut to pieces as it retreated through the many mountain [...]

January 12th: Today in 1879 the Anglo/Zulu War begins with British troops crossing into Zululand. The war began without approval from London and was to go badly for the British initially as they drastically underestimated the ability of the Zulus to resist their invasion.

January 11th: Today in 1988 Gregory “Pappy” Boyington died of cancer in California. Boyington is best remembered as one of the leading American Aces in the Second World War and was a medal of Honor winner. His squadron was later portrayed in the 70s T.V. show Baa Baa Black Sheep, which was very loosely based [...]

January 10th: Today in 1776 Thomas Paine published Common Sense, a hugely influencial pamphlet in the early days of the American Revolution. It had a huge circulation, only the Bible outsold it in its time, and it made a very strong argument for the separation of the American Colonies from England. I am more a [...]

January 9th: Today in 1348 six hundred Jews are burned at the stake after being suspected with spreading the Black Plague. Their children were forcibly baptized and converted and their synagogue converted to a church. This did nothing to stop the Plague.

January 8th: Today in 1815 an American Army under Andrew Jackson beat a British Army under Sir Edward Pakenham at the Battle of New Orleans. The battle in many ways reads like a replay of the Battle of Bunker Hill with over confident British troops directly assaulting dug in American forces but unlike Bunker Hill [...]

January 7th: Today in 1800 Millard Fillmore, the thirteenth President of the United States, was born. The celebration of his two-hundred and seventh is being coordinated over at Millard Fillmore’s Bathtub, drop by there for a piece of cake!

January 6th: Today in 1907 Maria Montessori opened her school in Rome. This school and her methods of teaching gave birth the modern Montessori schools using her methods which are still found in many countries.

I really love England and the English, but there are times where you have to wonder what the hell is going on over there. Today’s example comes from this Telegraph story, where the police try to explain with straight faces why posted up photos of escaped murderers might violate their human rights. Ruled half the [...]

Very good article on the Irish language at the Guardian. A quarter of the Irish claim to speak Irish so Manchán Magan set out to cross Ireland speaking only Gaelic. A story that is both amusing and an interesting look at how languages come and go. I suspect that the results would be about the [...]