Scott Allsop's Blog, page 54

10th December 1541: Thomas Culpeper and Francis Dereham executed for affairs with Catherine Howard

The charges against Culpeper and Dereham were grave – accusations of treasonous affairs with the queen that threatened the very foundation of the Tudor monarchy. The evidence, combined with the political expediency of eliminating potential threats to the crown, led to their convictions for treason on 1 ...

9th December 1868: The world’s first traffic lights go into operation outside the Houses of Parliament in London

The signal stood 6 metres (20 feet) high at the junction of Great George Street and Bridge Street, and was manually operated by a policeman stationed at the ...

8th December 1912: German Imperial War Council discusses the possibility of a European war

While the Council itself did not trigger the First World War, historians have seen its deliberations as emblematic of the geopolitical tensions that would eventually erupt with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in ...

7th December 1837: The Battle of Montgomery’s Tavern during the Upper Canada Rebellion

The defeat marked the end of the armed phase of the Upper Canada Rebellion but, while the rebels’ immediate objectives were not achieved, resistance continued until 1838 and contributed to the eventual establishment of responsible government in ...

6th December 1648: “Pride’s Purge” stops MPs sympathetic to King Charles I of England from entering the House of Commons

England’s only recorded military coup d'état resulted in the removal of 140 moderate and Royalist Members of Parliament who backed a negotiated settlement with Charles, of which 45 were ...

5th December 1848: President James K. Polk sparks the California Gold Rush as a result of his State of the Union Address

Polk’s speech was intended to warn Congress about the risks of inflation, labor shortages, and the potential for disorder on the West Coast, but only served to fuel the Gold ...

4th December 1971: A fire during a concert at the Montreux Casino inspires the song “Smoke on the Water” by Deep Purple

The burning Montreux Casino was to leave an indelible mark on music history thanks to Deep Purple, who watched from their hotel as the smoke from the fire spread over Lake ...

3rd December 1775: The first national US Grand Union Flag flown for the first time on the ship ‘Alfred’

Also known as the Continental Colors, the Grand Union Flag remained in use until the Flag Resolution of 14 June ...

2nd December 1805: The Battle of Austerlitz sees Napoleon Bonaparte’s Grande Armée defeat Russia and Austria

The vast Moravian plains near the town of Austerlitz became the battleground for one of Napoleon’s finest ...

1st December 1919: Lady Nancy Astor becomes the first female Member of Parliament to take her seat in the House of Commons

After a short campaign in which she won the election with 51.9% of the vote she entered the House of Commons on December 1, 1919, as a Unionist or Tory Member of ...