Scott Allsop's Blog, page 232
November 26, 2017
27th November 1095: Pope Urban II launches the First Crusade
On the 27th November 1095, Pope Urban II launched the First Crusade with an impassioned speech at the Council of Clermont. The Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos had appealed to the Pope for support against...
November 25, 2017
26th November 1976: Sex Pistols release the punk single ‘Anarchy in the UK’
The Damned had released what is recognised as the first ever punk single a month earlier. “New Rose” may have been the first single by a punk band, but numerous groups had already built a...
November 24, 2017
25th November 1936: Anti-Comintern Pact signed by Germany and Japan
On the 25th November 1936, Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact. Although directed against the Communist International, the international organisation that sought to create a worldwide communist republic, the treaty...
November 23, 2017
24th November 1873: Joseph Glidden awarded a patent for modern barbed wire
Improved fencing systems were vital to the farmers who had headed west to settle in the Great Plains. The Homestead Act of 1862 allowed honest citizens to claim up to 160 acres if they built...
HistoryPod Extra: Debunking the origin of ‘Black Friday’
Every year on the day after the American holiday of Thanksgiving, millions of shoppers head to the stores to take advantage of cut-price deals offered by retailers. The day has become known as Black Friday,...
November 22, 2017
23rd November 1963: First episode of Doctor Who broadcast
On the 23rd November 1963, the first ever episode of cult science fiction television show Doctor Who was broadcast by the BBC. Called An Unearthly Child, the episode was the first of a four-part serial...
November 21, 2017
22nd November 1718: The pirate Blackbeard killed by sailors under Robert Maynard
The British pirate Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard, was killed during a battle with British sailors under the command of Lieutenant Robert Maynard. Details of Teach’s early life are so sparse that historians are...
November 20, 2017
21st November 1877: Thomas Edison announces the phonograph
On the 21st November 1877, American inventor Thomas Edison announced his phonograph, the world’s first practical machine that could record and play sound using a cylinder. Although Frenchman Charles Cros presented plans for a sound...
November 19, 2017
20th November 1969: Native Americans begin their occupation of Alcatraz Island
The Occupation of Alcatraz was launched by a group of 89 members of the Indians of All Tribes in an attempt to gain control under the Treaty of Fort Laramie that had been signed in...
November 18, 2017
19th November 1863: Lincoln delivers Gettysburg Address
On the 19th November 1863, US President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Lasting just over two minutes, it is often noted as one...
