Scott Allsop's Blog, page 219
June 24, 2018
25th June 1678: Elena Cornaro Piscopia became the first woman to receive a PhD
Elena Cornaro Piscopia became the first woman to receive a Doctorate of Philosophy, otherwise known as a Ph.D. Elena Cornaro was the daughter of Giovanni Battista Cornaro Piscopia, a member of an influential Venetian noble family. When she was seven years old her father was persuaded to start her on a classical education at which she excelled. By the time Giovanni was appointed to the powerful position of Procuratore di San Marco de supra in 1664, his daughter had already become fluent in num...
June 23, 2018
24th June 1374: Dance Plague breaks out in Aachen, Germany
On the 24th June 1374, people in Aachen in Germany suddenly and mysteriously began dancing in the streets and didn’t stop for many weeks. Known variously as St John's Dance, St. Vitus' Dance, or the ‘dancing plague’, the occurrence in Aachen was neither the first nor the last – but is one of the best documented. Many hundreds of people were affected by the dance mania, which involved erratic movements and often involuntary shouts and screams. Of those afflicted many would continue to dance un...
June 22, 2018
23rd June 1894: Establishment of the International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee was founded at the Sorbonne in Paris. Prior to the ICO’s establishment by Pierre de Coubertin, the British physician Dr William Penny Brookes had established the Wenlock Olympian Games in the English market town of Much Wenlock. Although he always maintained that he had the idea of reviving the ancient Olympic Games for amateur athletes himself, Coubertin entered correspondence with Brookes and benefited from his connections with the Greek government. Coube...
June 21, 2018
22nd June 1633: Galileo forced to recant his belief in heliocentrism
The 22nd June 1633 saw Galileo Galilei, the famed scientist, was found “vehemently suspect of heresy” by the Papal Inquisition and forced to recant his belief in the heliocentric universe originally put forward by Copernicus ninety years previously. Galileo was sentenced to house arrest where he remained for the final nine years of his life. Galileo had visited Rome nearly two decades earlier in order to defend his belief that the Earth orbits the Sun rather than the other way round after com...
June 20, 2018
21st June 1791: Louis XVI’s attempts to escape from Paris in the Flight to Varennes
King Louis XVI of France and his family were caught attempting to escape Paris during the Flight to Varennes. By the summer of 1791 the royal family had been living in the Tuileries in the heart of Paris for almost two years. They had been forced to move there from the lavish Palace of Versailles after the October Days of 1789, and felt as if they were prisoners as a result of their rapidly declining power. The startling pace of change was viewed with alarm by the other monarchies of Europe,...
June 19, 2018
20th June 1789: National Assembly swears the Tennis Court Oath
On the 20th June 1789 at Versailles in France, the National Assembly swore the Tennis Court Oath in which they vowed not to separate until a written constitution had been established for the country. Faced with enormous financial difficulties, Louis XVI had called a meeting of the Estates General that first convened in early May. This involved representatives of the three Estates – the clergy, the nobility and the non-privileged common people known as the Third Estate – meeting with the king...
June 18, 2018
19 June 1949: The first NASCAR ‘Strictly Stock’ race takes place at Charlotte Speedway
The first NASCAR race took place at the Charlotte Speedway in North Carolina. Stock car racing had its origins in the era of Prohibition, when illegal alcohol was distributed by fast cars across the United States. In order to outrun the police, many bootleggers modified their otherwise ordinary or ‘stock’ cars and over time began to organise events and compete against one another. Mechanic Bill France Sr. moved to the spiritual home of automobile racing at Daytona Beach in Florida in 1935. He...
June 17, 2018
18th June 1815: Napoleon Bonaparte defeated at the Battle of Waterloo
On the 18th June 1815, Napoleon was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo. Having escaped from exile on the island of Elba, he landed on the mainland on the 1st March and successfully secured support of a small army whom he marched to Paris. His arrival on 20th March led to Louis XVIII fleeing the city. This signaled the start of a period of Napoleonic government we now call the Hundred Days. Napoleon’s return from exile was met with enormous hostility from the other European powers. Having alr...
June 16, 2018
17th June 1631: Mumtaz Mahal’s death prompts construction of the Taj Mahal
The death of Mumtaz Mahal, the chief consort of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, prompted her husband to construct the Taj Mahal. Mumtaz Mahal, whose name means ‘the Exalted One of the palace’, was originally known as Arjumand Banu Begum. Born into a prominent Persian noble family, she married the future Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in 1612. She is widely recorded as being the favourite of his three wives with whom he shared a genuine love, and who was a valued confidant and trusted advisor. The b...
June 15, 2018
16th June 1958: Execution of Hungarian Communist leader Imre Nagy
On June 16th 1958, Hungarian Communist politician Imre Nagy was executed. Arrested after Soviet forces brought the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 to an end, Nagy was found guilty of treason in a secret trial and executed by hanging. Nagy had been sacked from his position as Chairman of the Council of Ministers in April 1955 due to his independent attitude that favoured a “New Course” in Socialism. Although his moderate reforms were met with hostility from the USSR, they garnered significant sup...
