Scott Allsop's Blog, page 266
January 29, 2017
30th January 1649: Charles I beheaded at Banqueting House
On the 30th January 1649 King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland was executed outside the Banqueting House in London. Shortly after Charles’ failed attempt to arrest the Five Members the English Civil Wars...
January 28, 2017
29th January 1856: Victoria Cross introduced by Queen Victoria
On the 29th January 1856, Queen Victoria introduced the Victoria Cross to reward “most conspicuous bravery, or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice, or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of...
January 27, 2017
28th January 1986: The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
On the 28th January 1986, the NASA Space Shuttle orbiter Challenger broke apart 73 seconds after it lifted off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. All seven members of crew were killed, which led...
January 26, 2017
27th January 1945: Auschwitz-Birkenau liberated by Soviet forces
On the 27th January 1945, Soviet soldiers from the 322nd Rifle Division liberated the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp near the Polish city of Oświęcim. They met some resistance from the remaining Nazi troops in the city,...
January 25, 2017
26th January 1998: Bill Clinton denies ‘sexual relations with that woman’
On the 26th January 1998, United States President Bill Clinton appeared at a White House press conference and made a forceful statement that “I did not have sexual relations with that woman”. The woman was...
January 24, 2017
25th January 1890: Nellie Bly circumnavigates the world in 72 days
At 3.51pm on the afternoon of the 25th January 1890, American journalist Nellie Bly arrived in New Jersey after completing a 72 day, 24,899-mile journey around the world. Jules Verne’s novel Around the World in...
January 23, 2017
24th January 41 CE: Emperor Caligula killed by the Praetorian Guard
On the 24th January 41 CE, Caligula became the first Roman Emperor to be assassinated. Killed by a small group of Praetorian guardsmen in a cryptoporticus (underground corridor) beneath his palace on the Palatine Hill,...
January 22, 2017
23rd January 1556: Most destructive earthquake on record in Shaanxi
On the 23rd January 1556, the deadliest earthquake ever recorded hit the Chinese province of Shaanxi (pronounced Shensi) and surrounding areas. Scientists have since judged that the earthquake had a magnitude of around 8.0 on...
January 21, 2017
22nd January 1905: Bloody Sunday massacre in Saint Petersburg
On the 22nd January 1905, the Bloody Sunday massacre took place in the Russian capital Saint Petersburg. Soldiers of the Imperial Guard fired on protesters led by the Orthodox Priest Father Georgy Gapon as they...
January 20, 2017
21st January 1793: Louis XVI executed for high treason
On the 21st January 1793, former French King Louis XVI was executed by guillotine at the Place de la Revolution in Paris. The blade fell at 10.22am, after which it’s reported that a number of...
