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Anne Frank, the Dutch Jewish diarist and Holocaust victim, died 75 years ago, in February 1945, in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp at the age of 15 – probably from typhus. She is known for writing The Diary of a Young Girl, an account of how she and seven others were hidden in a secret annex to...

Eric Liddell, the Scottish athlete who became a 400-metre Olympic gold medallist in 1924, died 75 years ago, on 21st February 1945, in a Japanese internment camp in China. He was 43 and had a brain tumour. Because of his Christian convictions he had withdrawn from the 100-metre heats in the 1924 Paris Olympics because...

Nelson Mandela, who led the movement to end South African apartheid, was released from prison 30 years ago this month, on 11th February 1990. He became President of South Africa in 1994. Mandela had been involved with the African National Congress since 1944, advocating non-violent resistance. But after the Sharpeville massacre of peaceful demonstrators in...

The popular video-sharing website YouTube, which for most young people seems to have been around for ever, was in fact founded only 15 years ago, on 14th February 2005. It was launched officially in November that year after more development and testing. It is now one of the most visited sites on the internet. YouTube...

150 years ago, on 17th February 1870, the Elementary Education Act – commonly known as Forster’s Education Act – was introduced in England and Wales.  It provided a framework for the education of all children between five and 12. Many people objected to the concept of universal education, including the upper classes, who wanted to...

A hedge around your property is good for you.  A recent study has found that the humble hedge, when in full leaf, can cut air pollution around it by up to half. A recent study by the University of Guildford measured traffic pollutants on either side of a hedge in a park on the road...

Here’s some news to make you itch: it seems that fleas are infesting British homes.  The national flea population is believed to be on the rise. A spokeswoman for the British Pest Control Association said: “Our industry is being more conscious of the chemicals used, so there is a chance that new products are not...

All in the month of JANUARY Remember the Millennium Bug? Bridge Over Troubled Water When we found Antarctica Old words, new meanings Your dog and the postman Diabetes could ‘bankrupt’ the health service Antidepressants can really help Where are the mothers for the PTA? ** Editor:  We continue our column that looks at memorable dates...

It was: 200 years ago, on 27th and 30th Jan 1820 that Antarctica was discovered.  A Russian expedition sighted the Fimbul Ice Shelf, but not land.  Three days later a captain in the British Royal Navy sighted the Trinity Peninsula. 175 years ago, on 29th Jan 1845 that Edgar Allen Poe’s poem The Raven was...

Just over 20 years ago, there was widespread panic – or at least deep concern – over what might happen when the calendar switched over to the year 2000 on 1st January, and the effect on computers of the so-called Y2K ‘Millennium Bug’. The problem was that computers so long ago were laughably short of...

The album Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel was released 50 years ago, on 26th January 1970. It topped the charts in ten countries and sold 25 million records. It was their fifth and final studio album. The song itself, one of their most widely known, was influenced by gospel music, especially the...

It was 200 years ago, on the 27th and 30th of January 1820, that Antarctica was discovered.  A Russian expedition sighted the Fimbul Ice Shelf, but not land.  Three days later a captain in the British Royal Navy sighted the Trinity Peninsula. Neither of these achievements is totally beyond dispute, mainly because of the difficulty...