On 25 April 1859, the Suez Canal Company, under the instruction of Ferdinand de Lesseps, started work on building the canal on the shore of the future Port Said.

Unlike the building of the Panama Canal, de Lesseps bravely set forth on the project despite not having a brilliant palindome in place to inspire the people working on the project – admittedly, Suez might not be that easy to work into a palindrome, although Zeus might disagree with that…

To mark the first day of actual construction here is a fascinating letter (published in May 1859) that describes the early stages of the project.

Morning Chronicle – Wednesday 18 May 1859

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000082/18590518/010/0003

To mark ANZAC Day, here’s an interesting story from ‘The Western Daily Press’ of October 1916, regarding the plethora of marriage proposals that ANZAC soldiers received during World War One.

33 marriage proposals to one soldier – we think that must be some sort of record!

Western Daily Press – Saturday 21 October 1916

Image © Northcliffe Media Limited. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000264/19161021/063/0007

In the UK on 24 April 1949, the post-war rationing of sweets finally came to an end.

Understandably, this led to mega-long queues outside sweet shops, as years of repressed taste buds led to a gigantic sugar rush to the UK’s confectionery outlets.

The rationing was reintroduced four months later, due to the sudden and unsustainable demand for soor plooms, never-ending gobstoppers, aniseed balls, etc…

We are very struck by that word, ‘de-rationing’.

Aberdeen Journal – Friday 22 April 1949

Image © D.C.Thomson & Co. Ltd. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000578/19490422/009/0001

Western Daily Press – Monday 25 April 1949

Image © Northcliffe Media Limited. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000513/19490425/031/0001

Historical newspaper stories of St George and the Dragon

To celebrate St George’s Day, here are two newspaper articles about the famous story – we especially like the Russian version of the tale.

Evening Telegraph – Wednesday 23 April 1930

Image © D.C.Thomson & Co. Ltd. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000563/19300423/125/0008

The Evening Post. – Friday 05 October 1900

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000582/19001005/092/0006

Newspaper report on the attempt to assassination Lenin by Socialist Revolutionary, Fanni Kaplan – 30 August 1918

The lawyer and revolutionary, Lenin, was born in Simbirsk on 22 April 1870.

The Archive contains 100s of stories about Lenin, including reports on the two assassination attempt that were made on him.

The newspaper clipping below is a report on the attempt by Fanni Kaplan to shoot Lenin on 30 August 1918, while he was on a visit to the ‘Hammer and Sickle’ factory in Moscow.

Kaplan was executed three days after her attempt to assassinate Lenin, with a bullet to the back of the head.

Exeter and Plymouth Gazette – Monday 02 September 1918

Image © Northcliffe Media Limited. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000511/19180902/014/0004

Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen, ‘The Red Baron’, was shot down near the Somme River on the Western Front, on 21 April 1918.

The newspapers of the time published numerous reports on the ‘dog fight’ which claimed the life of von Richthofen, highlighting the propaganda coup that the death of ‘The Red Baron’ represented.

To mark the day, here is a newspaper report published the day after the Baron’s death, which reports on the action which saw the Baron show down, and also offers a brief summary of his military career.

It’s also interesting to consider how on earth the newspaper editors managed to get hold of a photograph of von Richthofen?…

Nottingham Evening Post – Monday 22 April 1918

Image © Northcliffe Media Limited. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000321/19180422/008/000

In 1933 and 1934, the Loch Ness ‘monster’ chose to resurface – following a hiatus of hundreds of years – to take its rightful place once again in mainstream Scottish society.

We’re not sure about that ‘monster’ description, though. We mean, it’s just a matter of identification and classification, we feel (is just a case of ‘category confusion’, as the philosophers call it). Hmm, we would prefer ‘creature’.

Also, we’re not sure about that description of ‘footprint’ – should that not be ‘clawprint’ or something? Still, it does make us feel a wee bit like Robinson Crusoe on finding the footprint on his desert island…mingle-mangle, mingle-mangle…

So to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Nessie’s ca’ canny re-entry into society, here are some newspaper stories about him/her.

There are 100s of stories about ‘Nessie’ in the Archive – indeed, you can even find out when the name ‘Nessie’ stater to be used ny newspapers.

Just do a Phrase Search for ‘Loch Ness’ on the Advanced Search Page, and then use the filtering options to navigate to the years 1933 and 1934. Judging by the Search Results, 1934 was a vintage year for sightings of ‘Nessie’!

Aberdeen Journal – Tuesday 23 May 1933

Image © D.C.Thomson & Co. Ltd. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000577/19330523/084/0008

Dundee Courier – Tuesday 23 May 1933

Image © D.C.Thomson & Co. Ltd. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000564/19330523/120/0008

Dundee Courier – Friday 16 June 1933

Image © D.C.Thomson & Co. Ltd. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000564/19330616/063/0005

Dundee Courier – Thursday 01 June 1933

Image © D.C.Thomson & Co. Ltd. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000564/19330601/036/0003

Dundee Courier – Saturday 23 December 1933

Image © D.C.Thomson & Co. Ltd. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000564/19331223/139/0006

Gloucester Citizen – Friday 08 December 1933

Image © Northcliffe Media Limited. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000325/19331208/008/0001

On 19 April 1882, Charles Robert Darwin died at Down House in Downe, Kent – he was aged 73.

As Darwin’s theory of evolution was, to put it mildly, something iof a controversial topic in Victorian society, we thought it would be interesting to see how his death was reported in the newspapers.

We especially enjoyed reading the second newspaper report, which was written by Professsor Thomas Henry Huxley. A great friend and supporter of Darwin, Huxley was nicknamed “Darwin’s Bulldog” due to his passionate advancement of Darwin’s scientific theories.

Visit this page on the BNA blog to read a letter about Darwin’s workaholicism and seasickness aboard HMS Beagle.

Portsmouth Evening News – Saturday 22 April 1882

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000290/18820422/001/0002

Manchester Evening News – Friday 28 April 1882

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000272/18820428/046/0004

At 5.12am on 18 April 1906, San Francisco and the northern coast of California was hit by a massive earthquake.

It’s estimated that over 3,000 people died in the disaster, and that over 80% of the city’s buildings were destroyed by the earthquake itself or by the terrible fire that followed.

We thought we’d commemorate the day by posting some stories that were published when news of the tragedy first reached the UK.

Derby Daily Telegraph – Wednesday 18 April 1906

Image © Northcliffe Media Limited. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000327/19060418/043/0003

Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser – Thursday 19 April 1906

Image © Northcliffe Media Limited. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000206/19060419/124/0010

Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser – Thursday 19 April 1906

Image © Northcliffe Media Limited. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000206/19060419/124/0010

Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser – Thursday 19 April 1906

Image © Northcliffe Media Limited. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000206/19060419/124/0010

‘Anecdotes of Dr Franklin’

Benjamin Franklin, one of the ‘Founding Fathers’ of the United States of America died in Philadelphia on 17 April 1790.

Franklin was no mere politician, however, and also worked as a writer, printer, scientist, inventor and musician. In short, he was a ‘Renaissance Man’ and a true son of ‘the Enlightenment’.

We found this terrific newspaper tribute to Franklin in ‘The Caledonian Mercury’ (published on 5 July 1790 – which just goes to show how fast news travelled even in the late 18th Century), and thought we’d post this article on the blog.

Caledonian Mercury – Monday 05 July 1790

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000045/17900705/017/0004