A novel way to invent
Elias Howe Jr This is one of those amazing stories, so amazing you have to hear it On September 10th 1846 Elias Howe Jr was granted a patent for the sewing machine. However, I am fascinated by the story as he told everyone how he came up with the invention. He claimed it came to […]
Who was I K Brunel’s father?
Many people have said that Isombard Kingdom Brunel was our greatest engineer, which led me to wonder from where he came, did his background help him? The answer is a great big, yes. His father, Sir Marc Brunel, was an amazing engineer, of whom nobody has heard. He was born in Hacqueville, Normandy, France, but […]
Nellie Bly – Went round the world in 72 days
Would you believe that in the 1880’s two ladies really did! It was all because of Jules Verne’s novel Around the world in 80 days. Of course, he wrote it in 1872, when they didn’t have air travel, which allowed him to write his famous book. As always happens someone wanted to see if it could […]
The amazing George Francis Train
This man organised the first clipper to sail around the Horne, set up the Union Pacific Railway, then Trans Continental Railway. He came to England and set up the Horse Tramway Company. He was the inspiration of Jules Verne’s book Around the World in 80 days as he went around the world in 80 days, […]
Violet Jessop – the queen of Sinking ships
Let’s make history fun, learn about the story of “The Queen of Sinking Ships”. This is the amazing story about a lady called Violet Jessop, who was a stewardess on the Titanic. She was born in Argentina to an Irish family. Then when she was 16 her father died and the family came to England. […]
The Battle of Gravelines
in 1558
Have you ever heard of the Gravelines, and did you know it was the site of a decisive battle the Armada in 1558? First of all, where is it? Gravelines is at […]
Sweden hasn’t been in a war since 1818!
Would you believe that Sweden hasn’t been in a war since1818? This is an amazing story, which I think this is due to the Napoleonic wars. Background In February 1808, Russia occupied Finland, while at the same time the Swedish King, Gustav III, refused to block British trade in the Baltic. This led to a […]
Who was Anne of Denmark?
Anne of Denmark was the unknown Drama Queen of Scotland, who when her husband became James 1st of England, was Queen Anne of England. What didn’t help was that the people thought she was a catholic from Denmark and her husband a foreigner from up north, Scotland! This was a time when religious violence was […]
The money problems of 17th Century monachies against Republics.
This all goes back to Dutch history, and 1672, the year that in Holland they refer to as The Rampjaar (The Year of Disaster). It was the year when the Dutch found themselves at war with all their surrounding countries even, with the one across the North Sea, England! They were fighting the French, in […]
The History of Lotteries
Where did they start? Lotteries have a much older history than many people realise. Though we often think of them as a modern invention tied to national games or big jackpots, the roots of lotteries stretch back through centuries and in fact even across continents. As long ago as around 200BC the Chinese used lotteries […]