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It was 60 years ago, on 20th February 1962, that John Glenn became the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth. He made three orbits in the space capsule Friendship 7, which he named himself. The three circles of the globe – which lasted just under five hours – made the Presbyterian Christian a hero...

Just 25 years ago, on 22nd February 1997, scientists at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh announced that they had successfully cloned a mammal from an adult cell for the first time: a sheep named Dolly. Dolly – named after country singer Dolly Parton – was not the first cloned mammal, however. Another sheep had been cloned...

Seventy years ago, on 28th February 1953, British scientist Francis Crick and American James D Watson announced that they had discovered the double-helix structure of DNA. Crick described this as finding the secret of life, but his wife did not believe him, because he was “always saying things like that”. Nevertheless the discovery was revolutionary,...

  Towards the end of every year The Economist publishes a comprehensive paperback looking at the year to come. For 2022, The World Ahead looks at 10 main issues, and while of course these reflect a commercial and financial viewpoint, they are also areas of concern to Christians also.  They are: 1) Democracy v autocracy – the tensions between the...

It was 65 years ago, on 17th February 1958, that St Clare of Assisi (1194-1253) was declared the patron saint of television by Pope Pius XII – on the basis that she had been too ill to attend Mass, but had still been able to see and hear it miraculously on the wall of her...

The American actor Denzel Washington, 66, mentioned his Christian faith in a recent interview with the New York Times. Washington described himself as God-fearing and warned against the dangers of the digital age. He said: “The Bible says in the last days … we’ll be lovers of ourselves. The No. 1 photograph today is a...

All in the month of January Remembering Sir Ernest Shackleton Remembering Ralph Vaughan Williams 80 years of Desert Island Discs David Bowie and God Animals vanishing from literature as well as nature Covid hits life expectancy levels Name a heatwave No more dog poo at the National Trust What is happening to our public loos?...

It was: 150 years ago, on 14th Jan 1872 that Greyfriars Bobby, a Scottish Skye terrier dog died. He was famous for having guarded his master’s grave in Edinburgh for 14 years. 100 years ago, on 5th Jan 1922 that Sir Ernest Shackleton, the Irish-born British Antarctic explorer, died of a heart attack in South...

One hundred years ago, on 5th January 1922, Sir Ernest Shackleton, the Irish-born British Antarctic explorer, died of a heart attack in his bunk in South Georgia. He had led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was 47. It is now believed he may have had a hole in his heart. His feats of...

One hundred years ago, on 16th January 1922, Ralph Vaughan Williams’ A Pastoral Symphony was performed for the first time, in London. Later designated Symphony No. 3, it was said to be inspired by the composer hearing a bugler practising and is frequently thought of as a memorial for the fallen of the First World...

Some 80 years ago, on 29th January 1942, the BBC radio show Desert Island Discs was first broadcast.  It is Britain’s longest running radio show, and the world’s longest running weekly factual radio programme. Devised and originally presented by Roy Plomley, it was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme, but later switched to Radio...

It was 75 years ago, on 8th January 1947, that David Bowie, pop/glam rock singer, songwriter and actor, was born in London. He became one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, dying in 2016. Born David Robert Jones, he studied art and design before transforming himself into an enigmatic and exploratory singer,...