Scott Allsop's Blog, page 246
July 9, 2017
HistoryPod Live: Historical significance. How are events chosen for the daily podcast?
Recorded in front of a live audience at Scrivener’s Books as part of Buxton Festival Fringe, this extended edition of HistoryPod attempts to answer the most common question from listeners: how and why are certain events featured...
10th July 1940: The Vichy government established in France
The Vichy government was established in France after the National Assembly approved a new French Constitutional Law that granted full powers to Marshal Pétain. France declared war against Germany on 3 September, two days after...
July 8, 2017
9th July 1877: First Wimbledon Championship begins in London
The 9th July 1877 saw the world’s first official lawn tennis tournament begin at Wimbledon in London. The Wimbledon Championship was hosted by the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club, which had only begun...
July 7, 2017
8th July 1947: Roswell Army Air Base reports ‘flying disc’ debris
Walter Haut, the public information officer of the Roswell Army Air Field, issued a press release saying that the military had recovered the remains of a ‘flying disc.’ On 14 June, J.B. Foster ranch foreman...
July 6, 2017
7th July 1928: Sliced bread goes on sale for the first time
If you ever claimed that something was the greatest thing since sliced bread, you’re referring to a very particular date – the 7th July 1928. That was the day that pre-sliced and wrapped bread was...
July 5, 2017
6th July 1947: The Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifle goes into production in the USSR
The Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifle went into production in the Soviet Union. The AK-47 was designed by Soviet tank commander-turned inventor Mikhail Kalashnikov. Having been injured in the Battle of Bryansk in October 1941, he...
July 4, 2017
5th July 1948: National Health Service launched in the UK
On the 5th July 1948, healthcare provision in the UK was nationalized when the National Health Service was launched. The idea was to bring together everyone involved in healthcare provision into one organisation that would...
July 3, 2017
4th July 1862: Charles Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll) first tells the story of Alice in Wonderland
Charles Dodgson, better known as the author Lewis Carroll, told a story to the sisters Alice, Lorina and Edith Liddell that was to develop into Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Dodgson was a lecturer in mathematics...
July 2, 2017
3rd July 1938: Mallard sets world speed record for steam locomotives
The world speed record for locomotives – steam trains – was set on the 3rd July 1938 by Number 4468 Mallard. Built at the Doncaster railway works of the London and North Eastern Railway in...
July 1, 2017
2nd July 1881: American President James A. Garfield shot by Charles J. Guiteau
James A. Garfield, the 20th President of the United States, was shot by Charles J. Guiteau at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington, D.C. Guiteau had attempted various types of employment before turning...
