Scott Allsop's Blog, page 254
May 29, 2017
30th May 1431: Joan of Arc executed by burning at the stake
On the 30th May 1431, Joan of Arc was executed by being burned at the stake. The Maid of Orleans had been found guilty of heresy for a second time, which made it a capital...
May 28, 2017
29th May 1953: Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reach summit of Mount Everest
Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest. The two mountaineering pioneers were part of the ninth British Mount Everest expedition that had sought to reach the...
May 27, 2017
28th May 1987: West German amateur pilot lands a plane near Red Square
On the 28th May 1987, an eighteen year-old amateur pilot from Hamburg in West Germany illegally landed a private aircraft near Moscow’s Red Square. Mathias Rust had clocked up only 50 hours of flying time...
May 26, 2017
27th May 1703: The foundation of St Petersburg by Tsar Peter the Great
Peter the Great had become Tsar in 1682 and his rule is characterised by immense cultural and political changes in Russia that saw the country transformed into a modern world power. Keen to replace Sweden...
May 25, 2017
26th May 1897: Bram Stoker’s gothic horror novel Dracula published
On the 26th May 1897, Bram Stoker’s Gothic horror novel Dracula was first published. Although not the first vampire novel, Dracula was certainly responsible for defining modern ideas of vampires and for forever associating them...
May 24, 2017
25th May 1977: The first Star Wars film is released in cinemas
The first instalment of the Star Wars film series was released in cinemas in the United States of America. The iconic space opera was written and directed by the American filmmaker George Lucas. His directional...
May 23, 2017
24th May 1956: 1st Eurovision Song Contest takes place in Switzerland
On the 24th May 1956, the first Eurovision Song Contest took place in Lugano, Switzerland. It has since grown to be one of the most watched non-sporting events in the world. The idea for the...
May 22, 2017
23rd May 1618: Officials thrown from a window in the Second Defenestration of Prague
Two Catholic imperial officials and their secretary were thrown out of the window of the Bohemian Chancellery in the Second Defenestration of Prague. Prague had witnessed its first defenestration (literally ‘the act of throwing someone...
May 21, 2017
22nd May 1455: Wars of the Roses begin at the Battle of St Albans
The 22nd May 1455 marked the start of the Wars of the Roses, when the First Battle of St Albans was fought between Richard, Duke of York, and King Henry VI. The Wars of the...
May 20, 2017
21st May 1972: Laszlo Toth attacks and seriously damages Michelangelo’s Pietà statue
Hungarian-born geologist Laszlo Toth attacked and seriously damaged Michelangelo’s Pietà statue with a hammer. The Pietà is a marble sculpture that was created by Michelangelo between 1498 and 1499. It depicts the body of Jesus...
