Scott Allsop's Blog, page 227

8th February 1904: Russo-Japanese War triggered by Japanese torpedo attack on Port Arthur

Port Arthur was a fortified naval base in the south of Manchuria that had been leased to Russia since 1898. After crushing the Boxer Rebellion as part of an eight-nation coalition, Russia infuriated Japan, which claimed parts of Manchuria within its own sphere of influence, by refusing to remove its troops. Japan was willing to recognise Russian dominance in Manchuria in return for access to Korea, but an agreement could not be reached and Japan broke off diplomatic relations on 6 February 19...

HistoryPod Extra: Centenary of the Representation of the People Act 1918

On 6 February 1918 the Representation of the People Act received Royal Assent, marking the start of female suffrage in Great Britain. The bill had been passed in the House of Commons by 385 votes to 55 and gave women over the age of 30 who owned property the right to vote. While it therefore denied the vote to a large number of women, it was still a watershed moment in the history of gender equality in the UK. A traditional explanation for parliament supporting the bill is that it acted as a...

6th February 1778: France and the US sign the first treaties that recognise American independence

France and the United States signed the first two treaties ever negotiated by the American government, and which formally recognised the independence of the United States. Keen to exact revenge on Britain for the Seven Years’ War, France had begun to send secret military aid to the American Continental Army even before the Continental Congress declared independence. With French finance and equipment coming in through the fictitious Roderigue Hortalez and Company, founding Father John Adams be...

4th February 1555: John Rogers became the first Protestant martyr under ‘Bloody’ Mary I of England

John Rogers became the first English Protestant martyr under Mary I after he was burnt at the stake. John Rogers was educated at Cambridge, after which he became a Catholic priest. As the Reformation began to take hold, Rogers questioned his vocation and subsequently resigned his ministry. He moved to Antwerp in 1534 where he met William Tyndale who had published his English translation of the New Testament a few years earlier. Tyndale was instrumental in converting Rogers to Protestantism, a...

2nd February 1925: Great Race of Mercy delivers diptheria antitoxin to Nome by dogsled relay

A potential diphtheria epidemic in Alaska was avoided after a dogsled relay transported vials of antitoxin 674 miles in five and a half days in “Great Race of Mercy”. The town of Nome lies just 2 degrees south of the Arctic Circle and, at the time of the diphtheria outbreak, approximately 10,000 people lived in and around the town. The town’s sole doctor, Curtis Welch, had ordered diphtheria antitoxin to replace the expired stocks in the hospital, but the shipment did not make it to Nome befo...

31st January 1983: It became compulsory for drivers in the UK to wear a seat belt

The modern 3-point seat belt was created by Swedish inventor Nils Bohlin, who was a safety engineer for car manufacturer Volvo. His creation was first fitted as a standard item to the Volvo 122 in 1959, after which the company made the patent available to other car manufacturers for free. Australia was the first country to mandate the wearing of seat belts. While all British cars manufactured after 1967 had to have seat belts fitted, it took twelve attempts for legislation to be passed throug...

29th January 1942: Desert Island Discs, the longest-running radio show in the UK, first broadcast

Desert Island Discs is Britain’s longest-running radio programme. Devised by the English radio broadcaster and producer Roy Plomley in November 1941, each episode of Desert Island Discs features an interview with a celebrity who imagines that they have been cast away on a desert island with only a limited number of home comforts. In the early years they were permitted to choose eight songs to take with them, although a few years after the programme’s inception castaways were also allowed to t...

27th January 1967: The Outer Space Treaty that is the basis for all space laws opened for signatures

The Outer Space Treaty, which provides the basic framework on international space law, was opened for signatures in the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom. The full name of the agreement is “Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies”. The document was drawn up by the Legal Subcommittee of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space that had been established by t...

25th January 1947: Patent filed for the first interactive electronic game

Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr was the director of research at DuMont Laboratories in New Jersey where he was exploring the use of cathode ray tubes in television sets. It was during this period that he and Estle Ray Mann created their game, which was directly influenced by Second World War radar displays. The two scientists combined a cathode ray tube with an oscilloscope to allow a player to simulate launching an explosive shell at enemy targets in what they called The Cathode Ray Tube Amusement De...

23rd January 1900: British troops launch a nighttime attack on Spion Kop in the Second Boer War

The Second Boer War saw the British Empire fight against the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State. The early months of the war saw the Boers inflict successive defeats on the British. After they began a crippling siege against the British at Ladysmith, a plan was made to attack the Boers and relieve the garrison. The Boers had established a defensive line along the Tugela River approximately 20 miles outside Ladysmith. The centre of their l...