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It was: 700 years ago, on 8th Jan 1324 that Marco Polo died. This Venetian/Italian merchant, explorer and writer is best known for his book The Travels of Marco Polo, which detailed his travels along the Silk Road in Asia. 200 years ago, on 8th Jan 1824 that Wilkie Collins, British novelist and playwright was...

‘Fragility of Freedom’ is the theme for this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD), as 2024 marks the 30thanniversary of the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust explains that only “49 years after the Holocaust ended, 19 years after the genocide in Cambodia, the world stood by as Hutu extremists shattered...

It was only 60 years ago, on 11th January 1964, that the US Surgeon General published a report that would begin to change medical history in the West. For it concluded that cigarette smoking was very dangerous – causing lung cancer and chronic bronchitis. This was first official US government report on the health issues...

It was 80 years ago this month, on 23rd January 1944, that Edvard Munch, the Norwegian artist, died. He is best known for his disturbing painting ‘The Scream.’ Munch’s body of work has been called “profoundly original” and “one of the most significant contributions to the development of Modernism in the 20th century.” Munch was...

Unless you grew up on Mars, Columbia Pictures has played some part in your life. Who doesn’t recognise that opening ‘logo’ to a film you want to watch – the female personification of the United States? This huge American film studio and production company celebrates its 100th birthday on 10th January 2024. Columbia was founded...

If you like ceramics, and enjoy colour, then you are bound to be familiar with the work of Clarice Cliff. Her glowingly vibrant plates, cups, teapots, and vases are world famous – and still loved. She was born 125 years ago this month, on 20th January 1899, in Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent. Clarice’s father worked in an...

All in the month of December The first-ever nativity scene The story behind ‘The Night Before Christmas’ Big Ben Beatrix Potter Little donkey, little donkey Universal Human Rights turns 75 ** Editor:  We continue our column that looks at memorable dates in the month (this time, December) down the years. Here is a range from...

It was: 800 years ago, on 25th December 1223 that St Francis of Assisi created the first nativity scene, in Greccio, Italy, after visiting Jesus’ birthplace in the Holy Land. It proved enormously popular and inspired other communities to stage their own nativity scenes. 250 years ago, on 16th December 1773 that the Boston Tea...

This Christmas, thousands of Nativity plays will be held around the UK. Ever wonder who staged the very first one? It was St Francis of Assisi, and it was 800 years ago, in Greccio, Italy, on 25th December 1223. Francis had been born into a wealthy family, but abandoned his noble inheritance when he became...

It was 200 years ago this Christmas, on 23rd December 1823, that the famous poem ‘The Night Before Christmas’ was first published (anonymously) in the Sentinel newspapers in Troy, New York. It was light-hearted and full of fun, and not at all what you might have expected from its author, Clement Clarke Moore. For Moore...

Do you stay up until midnight on New Year’s Eve? If so, this year will be special – it is 100 years ago, on 31st December 1923, that the BBC first broadcast the chimes of Big Ben to welcome in the New Year. For it was not until 31st December 1923 that the chimes of...

It was 80 years ago this month, on 22nd December 1943, that Beatrix Potter, the children’s writer and illustrator, died. Her animal characters such as Peter Rabbit, Squirrel Nutkin, Mrs Tiggy-Winkle, and Jemima Puddle-Duck brought her worldwide fame – and made her loved by children right round the world. Helen Beatrix Potter (28 July 1866 –...