Scott Allsop's Blog, page 16

13th January 532: The Nika riots begin in Constantinople during the reign of Emperor Justinian I

The riots spread throughout Constantinople and buildings, including the Hagia Sophia and parts of the imperial palace, were set on fire. Much of the city was left in ...

12th January 1967: Dr James Bedford becomes the first cryonically preserved human

Dr James Hiram Bedford became the first human to be cryonically ...

11th January 1879: Anglo-Zulu War begins when British troops cross the Tugela River into Zululand

The British plan involved a three-pronged advance into Zululand, with the main column, led by Lord Chelmsford, heading toward the Zulu capital at ...

10th January 1927: Fritz Lang’s pioneering science fiction film Metropolis premieres in Berlin

Metropolis later gained recognition as a masterpiece of early cinema with Its iconic imagery influencing countless films and works of science ...

9th January 1916: Gallipoli campaign ends with an Ottoman victory following the final withdrawal of Allied forces

Troops were first withdrawn from the Suvla Bay and Anzac Cove areas in December 1915. The final phase, involving the evacuation of Cape Helles, was completed on 9 January 1916 with the departure of the Newfoundland Regiment and remnants of The Plymouth Battalion, Royal Marine Light ...

8th January 1790: George Washington delivers the first State of the Union Address

American President George Washington delivered the very first State of the Union address to ...

5th January 1953: Samuel Beckett’s play En Attendant Godot (Waiting for Godot) premieres at the Théâtre de Babylone in Paris

Beckett originally wrote the play in French, despite being fluent in English, as he believed the language allowed for greater simplicity and precision. It has since became one of the most studied and performed plays of the 20th ...

28th December 1918: Constance Markievicz becomes the first woman to be elected to the Parliament of the UK

Markievicz stood as a Sinn Féin candidate and secured over 63% of the vote in the constituency of Dublin St Patrick’s, but refused to take the oath of allegiance to the British crown and consequently did not take her seat in the House of ...

27th December 1922: Hōshō, the world’s first purpose-built aircraft carrier, commissioned into the Imperial Japanese Navy

While other nations had converted ships into carriers the Japanese ship, named Hōshō, was the first to be designed and constructed as an aircraft carrier from the ...

22nd December 1971: Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) officially established in Paris, France

One of the organization’s first missions was in Nicaragua following the devastating 1972 earthquake. Since then, MSF has expanded its operations worldwide, responding to emergencies such as the Rwandan Genocide, the Ebola outbreaks in West Africa, and refugee ...