March, 2013 | The British Newspaper Archive Blog - Part 2

Blog

The Start of the March to Washington D.C. by Jacob Coxey’s Army of Unemployed Workers – 25 March 1894

On 25 March 1894, the army of 100 unemployed workers led by the businessman, Jacob Coxey, set off for Washington D.C. from Massillon, Ohio. The march took place during the worst economic depression that the United States had experienced to that time, and the aim of the march was to persuade the goverment to ease the mass unemployment by creating public work projects. The march started in Ohio with 100 workers, but other branches soon started in other US states.

Continue Reading

Tags

‘The Opium Traffic – Rumoured Blockade of the Chinese Ports’, March 1839

On 24 March 1839, Commissioner Lin Ze-xu, the special envoy to Emperor Tao Kuang, blockaded the foreign merchants’ opium warehouses in Canton, and ordered the merchants to surrender over 20,000 chests of the illegal drug. The chests of opium were duly handed over to Lin Ze-xu and he had the drug destroyed – much to the surpise of the foreign merchants, who had assumed that all the Chinese officials were corrupt. The Chinese authorities took this ‘zero tolerance’ approach because

Continue Reading

Tags

The Duel Fought by the Duke of Wellington and the Earl of Winchilsea – 23 March 1829

On 23 March 1829, the Duke of Wellington and Earl of Winchilsea fought a duel at Battersea Fields in South London. At this time, the Duke of Wellington was Prime Minster of Great Britain and Ireland, and his Tory Government had passed the Catholic Relief Bill. This act was represented the legislative move towards Catholic emancipation, and a section of the legislation would allow Catholics to take a seat in parliament. The Duke of Wellington | Illustrated London News | 24 June

Continue Reading

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe – Died in Weimar on 22 March 1832

A newspaper sketch from 1832 of Goethe’s gentle, calm and erudite character The writer, artist, philosopher, politician and inadvertent contributor to books of quotations, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, died in Weimar on 22 March 1832, aged 82. To mark the day, we’ve been reading newspaper stories about Goethe in the Archive. The newspaper story we’ve posted below (published in 1832) offers a terrific insight into his character, as he gently muses on the beauty of a snake. We do love

Continue Reading

Tags

Luke Howard, the Man Who Named Clouds

On 21 March 1864, the chemist, ‘amateur’ meteorologist and namer of clouds, Luke Howard, died in Tottenham, London, at the grand old age of 91. To celebrate his life and his wonderful contribution to erudite conversations about the weather, here are two newspaper reports about his cloud-naming work. Evening Telegraph – Saturday 30 June 1894 Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000453/18940630/001/0002 Yorkshire Gazette – Saturday 24 January 1835 Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS

Continue Reading

Tags

The First International Day of Happiness – 20 March 2013

We’re H-A-P-P-Y… We’re H-A-P-P-Y… To celebrate the first International Day of Happiness (20 March 2013), here are two newspaper articles reporting on a lecture given by the leading Conservative MP (and 3-time Prime Minister of Britain and the UK), Stanley Baldwin, at University College, London, in 1932. (<: | Western Gazette – Friday 04 March 1932 Image © Northcliffe Media Limited. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000407/19320304/092/0013 | Aberdeen Journal – Saturday 27 February 1932 Image ©

Continue Reading

Tags

The Spring Equinox – 20 and 21 March

Spring Equinox

To celebrate the arrival of the Spring Equinox, we’ve posted below three newspaper stories from the early 20th century that report on the northern hemisphere tilting closer to the sun, and also a report from 1893, which contains a lyrical and poetic description of the arrival of the Spring Equinox.               Register today and discover history as it happened!

Tags

, , ,

The Death of Edgar Rice Burroughs – Creator of ‘Tarzan’

The American novelist, Edgar Rice Burroughs, died on 19 March 1950. This is just a wee news clipping about the writer, but it contains some interesting snippets about his life. We enjoyed learning about all the jobs he had, and also that he mistakenly put tigers in Africa – poetic licence, that is! | Aberdeen Journal – Monday 20 March 1950 Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000578/19500320/008/0001

Tags

‘The Reported Meeting Between Livingstone and Stanley’ – October 1871

The bicentenary of David Livingstone’s birth With the bicentenary of David Livingstone’s birth taking place today, we thought we’d post an Archive story about the mill worker who became one of the world’s most famous missionaries and explorers. So we’ve posted below one of the first newspaper reports of his historic meeting with the journalist, Henry Morton Stanley. The story of their meeting was front page news in 1872 (it took several months for the news to reach the UK), and

Continue Reading

Tags

, , , , , ,

The Tolpuddle Martyrs – Sentenced to Seven Years’ Transportation on 18 March 1834

Newspaper reports from March 1834 on the trial of the Tolpuddle Martyrs At the Dorchester Assizes on 18 March 1834, the following six men: James Brine James Hammett George Loveless James Loveless Thomas Standfield John Standfield were sentenced to seven years’ transportation in Australia. The men worked as agricultural labourers, and their crime was to swear a secret oath as members of ‘The Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers’. At this time, these friendly societies were similar to the trade unions

Continue Reading

Tags