A letterpress machine from 1811 at the Deutsches Museum in Münich, Germany, not much different from the Gutenberg Press of 1454. Photo credit Andrew Plumb In the year 1454, the Thirteen Years' War begins as the citizens of Toruń rebel against the Teutonic Knights (Feb 2), Richard Plantagenet becomes Protector for King Henry VI of England who is in a catatonic state (Mar 27), King Henry regains his sanity (Dec), Isaac Zarfati, a French living in Ottoman Empire, sends a circular letter to several places in the Holy Roman Empire, urging the abused Jews there to come and live in the Ottoman Empire instead, the press of Johannes Gutenberg produces the first printed documents bearing a date - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

The Watchtower’s Samoan edition Did you know that The Watchtower, started in 1879 by Charles Taze Russell and published monthly by the Jehovah’s Witnesses, is the most widely read magazine in the world? It has appeared with slightly different names, and has different editions even now, but you would have to live pretty isolated if you never had seen this magazine anywhere. The success of this theologically very conservative magazine is based on several factors. Continue reading

The Bay of New York Taken from Brooklyn Heights, a painting by William Guy Wall in the 1820s. Breuckelen was but one of the six Dutch villages in today’s Brooklyn, situated more or less where Brooklyn Heights is located. In the year 1667, the first theater in Scandinavia opens in Stockholm, Sweden (Feb), the blind, impoverished John Milton seals a contract for publication of Paradise Lost (Apr 27), the first human blood transfusion is administered successfully, from sheep to human, but the patient dies, and the doctor is accused of murder (Jun 15), Milton’s Paradise Lost is published, with great success (Oct), Brooklyn is chartered under the name Breuckelen by the Governor of New Netherland (Oct 18), Robert Hooke demonstrates that the alteration of the blood in the lungs is essential for respiration - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

In the year 1441, King’s College in Cambridge is founded (Feb 12), Christopher of Bavaria becomes the King of Sweden (Sep 13), the Peace of Cremona ends the war between the Republic of Venice and the Duchy of Milan (Nov 20), the Maya civilization splits into warring city-states, the first black African slaves are brought to Europe at Lagos in Kingdom of Portugal - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

This time in First Names First! it is all about Gemma! So pick one of the Gemmas that you see below, then follow the Wikipedia link to read about that person, and to see what if anything she could contribute your life with. Inspiration, passion, enlightenment, encouragement, empathy, etc. Give a couple of minutes to this for lives lived have all something worthwhile to tell us. Gemma Donati* wife of Dante Alighieri - Florence, Republic of Florence (1267) Continue reading

Have you ever thought about the fact that many Scots are descendants of the Vikings?! Or how different the language Gaelic language is from English. A Scotsman might tell you: Fàilte gu Alba! But would you understand? That it means Welcome to Scotland! ? Anyways, this article is about the Scots people, not the country or the language(s) this time around. Here follows a list of famous Scots, all the way from the 13th century to our times. Continue reading

Hassan II Mosque on the Atlantic coast As you may know, our article series Streets and Squares was created to provide some interesting background information on street signs around the world. It is a fun way to learn about the history and culture of the cities you visit or even live in! This time we will visit Casablanca, the largest city of Morocco. Not the capital though for that is Rabat. Continue reading

One of the many representations of the corona virus. See also COVID-19 Map (John Hopkins) In the year 2020, Chinese authorities publicly confirm human-to-human transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (Jan 20), the United Kingdom and Gibraltar formally withdraw from the European Union (Jan 31), the World Health Organization names the disease COVID-19 (Feb 11), WHO declares the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic (Mar 11), the death toll from COVID-19 exceeds 100,000 globally (Apr 10), fossils found in a Bulgarian cave belonging to Homo sapiens indicate that modern humans may have arrived in Europe thousands of years earlier than previously thought (May 11), China passes the controversial Hong Kong national security law (Jun 30), Africa is declared free of wild polio (Aug 25), skeletons of 200 mammoths are unearthed in Mexico City (Sep 3), the worldwide death toll from COVID-19 exceeds one million (Sep 29), a NASA spacecraft briefly touches down on the asteroid Bennu, and retrieves historical samples (Oct 20), the United Kingdom becomes the first nation to begin a mass inoculation campaign using the fully tested Pfizer vaccine (Dec 8), followed by the United States and Canada (Dec 14) - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

In the year 1670, the Hudson’s Bay Company - a fur trading business for much of its existence - is founded in England, to operate in Canada (May 2), Spain recognizes Jamaica and the Cayman Islands as English possessions (Jul 18), Spanish frigates attack Charleston, South Carolina (Aug), Louis XIV authorizes the construction of Les Invalides in Paris as a home and hospital for aged and unwell soldiers (Nov 24), the first French settlers arrive in what is to become Senegal, Stenka Rasin begins the Cossack rebellion in Ukraine - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

In the year 1671, intoxicated Thomas Blood, disguised as a clergyman, makes a fruitless attempt to steal the Crown Jewels of England and Scotlandfrom the Tower of London (May 9), the Ottoman Empire declares war on Poland (Jun 22), the world’s first school of architecture is founded in Paris (Dec 30), the first Jewish families settle in Berlin, moving from Vienna at the invitation of the Elector of Brandenburg - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

From up left to right: Janet Hubert, Will Smith, Joseph Marcell, Alfonso Ribeiro, Karyn Parsons, James Avery and Tatyana Ali Time for another nostalgic view of another great television show. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The title of the series is intricately tied with the career of Will Smith. He had achieved modest fame as a rapper under the name The Fresh Prince in the late 1980’s. And since there already was a comedy series Prince of Bel Air (first aired on ABC in 1986), NBC coined the title for Will Smith’s television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Continue reading

Another piece in our series First Names First! Pick one of the names that you see below. Then follow the Wikipedia link to read about that person, and to see what if anything he could contribute your life with. Inspiration, passion, enlightenment, encouragement, empathy, etc. Give a couple of minutes to this for lives lived have all something worthwhile to tell us. This time it is all about Gene - as the male name! Continue reading

In the year 1674, the Westminster Treaty is signed between England and the Dutch Republic (Feb 19), the Dutch Republic cedes its colony of New Netherland to England, including the capital New Orange which is returned to its English name of New York (Nov 10), Father Jacques Marquette founds a mission on the shores of Lake Michigan, which will gradually grow into the city of Chicago (Dec 4) – and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

In the year 1648, the Russian explorer Semyon Dezhnyov embarks on the first recorded voyage through the Bering Strait, between Asia and North America (Jun), the Treaty of Westphalia ends the Thirty Years' War (Oct 24), France and the Netherlands agree to divide the Caribbean island of Saint Martin between them (Nov 11), rabbi Sabbatai Zevi declares himself the Messiah at Smyrna, Rembrandt paints Beggars at the Door - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

“The last attack of the Swedes” by Magnus Adlercreutz, illustrating the heroic Swedish attack in the Battle of Oravais, which ultimately led to their defeat. one of the nicknames that the Finns have for their dear Western neighbors, the Swedes - namely Hurrit - may have a more dramatic background than usually considered? The Battle of Oravais was one of the decisive battles in the Finnish War (1808-1809) between Sweden and the Russian Empire, fought on September 14th, 1808 by the Gulf of Bothnia in western Finland. Continue reading

In the year 1658, the Treaty of Roskilde brings peace between Sweden and Denmark (Feb 26), a Spanish invasion force fails to recapture Jamaica from the English (Jun 27), after Shah Jahan completes the Taj Mahal, his son deposes him as ruler of the Mughal Empire (Jul 31), Sweden attacks Denmark (Aug 7), Oliver Cromwell dies, and his son becomes Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland (Sep 3), the Dutch Navy forces the Swedish Navy to leave the coasts of Denmark (Oct 29), Dutch Jan Swammerdam becomes the first to observe and describe red blood cells - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

Here’s yet another piece in Who Said That! Depicting what we people have uttered in a moment of elation, insight, inspiration, wisdom, despair – or any other emotion. Try to guess/remember first who said that, and if you don’t know, you’ll see who it was at the very end of the article. Remember to scroll very s l o w l y. GET RID OF THE SHITTY SOUND. LIFE IS TOO SHORT. Continue reading

In the year 1668, the Triple Alliance of 1668 between England, Sweden and the Dutch Republic is formed (Jan), the British East India Company takes over Bombay (Sep 21), the first national bank in Europe, the Swedish Riksbank, is founded, the first volume of Jean de La Fontaine’s collected Fables is published - and all these fine people were born: 1668-xxxx Thomas Coram* sea captain/philanthropist - Lyme Regis, Dorset, England (1751/c. Continue reading

This time in Language Day we take a slightly different approach. Namely looking at an expression in the English language that has a foreign background. There will be other such articles later on. We start with Dutch treat. Most English speaking people know exactly what that means, but others perhaps not. A treat yes, but Dutch? Anything to do with the Netherlands? Everybody knows though what my treat means. I pay for everything - for me, you and perhaps even for the rest of the bunch. Continue reading

Anyone born outside of the United States or Canada tends to underestimate the number of place names in Northern America that have a connection with Native Americans. Or the First Nations as they are called in Canada. They are many! For there have been so many native tribes. Many of them ring a bell with most of us, some are less known, many are either extinct today or are so little known that we just don’t recognize them. Continue reading