On 25 October 1854, Lord Cardigan led the charge of the Light Brigade againt the Russians in the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimea. The insane order to attack the gun positions arose due to a miscommunicated message somewhere along the chain of command. 156 men of the Light Brigade were killed in the charge and 122 were wounded – 335 horses were also killed during the attack. Included below is a newspaper article from November 1854 that reports on the …
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Isabella Lucy Bird, explorer, natural historian, writer and the first woman to be elected a Fellow of The Royal Geographical Society in London, died in Edinburgh on 7 October 1904 – she was 71. Included below are two, contemporary newspaper tributes that report on her remarkable life and achievements.
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‘Errand boy who became a millionaire’ Sir Thomas Johnstone Lipton, the Glasgow-born self-made man who worked himself up from errand boy to become a millionaire, died in London on 2 October 1931 – he was 81. Below is a newspaper report (published the day after his death) that offers an overview of Lipton’s amazing life and achievements. This image of Sir Lipton, shows him in the uniform of the City Lieutenancy. Discover more about Sir Lipton …
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On 30 September 1860, the first tram service in the UK started operating at Birkenhead on Merseyside. The tram service was the idea of the (aptly named) George Francis Train, an American entrepreneur who was a pioneer of innovative transport systems. To mark that historic day, here is a newspaper story from October 1860 that reports on the opening of the Birkenhead tram service.
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The Somme Offensive commenced on 1 July 1916, as Allied forces attacked German positions by the River Somme on the Western Front in France. On the opening day of the battle, the British suffered 60,000 casualties – making it the worst day in the history of the British army. Here is an upbeat newspaper report of the battle, which was published on the first day of the battle – also included is a map of the area where the battle took …
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‘When Barbarossa commences, the world will hold its breath and make no comment’ – Adolf Hitler On 22 June 1941, Hitler ordered the start of ‘Operation Barbarossa’ – the campaign to conquer the Soviet Union. To mark the day, here are some contemporary newspaper stories (published the day after the invasion started) that report on the start of the war between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Image © Northcliffe Media Limited. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. …
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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 …
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On 30 January 1889, the bodies of Archduke Rudolf and his mistress, Baroness Mary Vetsera, were discovered in the royal hunting lodge at Mayerling. The official verdict is that the star-crossed lovers died in a suicide pact after Rudolf’s father, Franz Joseph I of Austria, demanded that he end the relationship. However, there are theories that Rudolf was murdered (Mary’s body was smuggled out of Mayerling in the middle of the night and Rudolf was described as being ‘mentally unbalanced’) …