The Sampling Officials by Rembrandt, 1662 In the year 1662, a short-lived experiment of the first public buses (holding eight passengers) begins in Paris (Mar 18), the hearth tax is introduced in England and Wales - a property tax considered among the first types of progressive tax (May 16), Charles II of England sells Dunkirk to his cousin Louis XIV of France (Oct 27), Rembrandt paints The Sampling Officials - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

Statue of Richard the Lionheart in front of the British Parliament in London. Photo credit Alex-David Baldi Two of Europe’s most powerful rulers - Richard I of England (perhaps better known as Richard the Lionheart) and King Philip I of France, had met on the banks of the river Seine on January 13th, 1199, and made a truce. With a peace secured, Richard is now able to refocus on bringing internal order to the south of the Angevin Empire (i. Continue reading

First a notification, if we may: Creative Commons turns 20 years today. Congratulations! You can take part in their Better Sharing campaign, honoring 20 years of commitment to open access and better sharing. So, once again time for the female name of the month in “First Names First”, namely Francesca. Why not follow one of those Wikipedia links to read about the person, and then see what if anything she could contribute your life with. Continue reading

Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León meets with the Tequestas in southern Florida in April 1513 In the year 1513, the Spanish invasion of what is now Florida begins as Juan Ponce de León sights land, mistaking it for another island (Apr 2) before landing there (Apr 3), Christian II becomes King of Denmark and Norway (Jul 22), work on New Cathedral in Salamanca begins, Niccolò Machiavelli is banished from Florence by the House of Medici, and writes The Prince - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

The Republic of Venice and its main territories over the course of its existence. Photo credit Ariel196 In the year 1684, the severe months-long frost in Britain, which even froze the River Thames, ends (Mar), the Republic of Venice declares war on the Ottoman Empire (Apr 25), René-Robert Cavelier sails again from France in order to establish a French colony on the Gulf of Mexico (Jul 24), Edmond Halley goes to Cambridge to discuss planetary motion with Isaac Newton (Aug), the British East India Company receives Chinese permission to build a trading station at Canton, the Swedification of Scania is accelerated by getting rid of the Danish-speaking teachers in the schools there - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

We head in Streets & Squares this time to a slightly smaller city or shall we say town. That is, to Largo, the third largest city - after Clearwater and St. Petersburg - in Pinellas County, Florida. As well as the fourth largest in the Tampa Bay area. Largo was incorporated as a town in 1905. And yes, it is not to be confused with Key Largo, also in Florida. Continue reading

In the year 1690, the clarinet is said to have been invented in Nuremberg, Germany (Jan 14), the Massachusetts Bay Colony issues the first paper money in North America (Feb 3), King William III of England defeats the deposed James II, who returns to exile in France (Jul 11), the English East India Company founds the future city of Calcutta (Aug 24), Barclays is founded in London, England (Nov 17), Uranus is first sighted and recorded, but mistakenly catalogued as a star (Dec) - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

Schickard’s Calculating Clock In the year 1623, forces from the Kingdom of Kongo defeat the Portuguese in the Battle of Mbanda Kasi (Jan), the ship Anne arrives from England carrying more settlers to New Plymouth, Plymouth Colony (Jul), Rudbeckianska gymnasiet, the first gymnasium in Sweden, is founded, Wilhelm Schickard invents his Calculating Clock, an early mechanical calculator - and all these fine people were born: 1623-xxxx Jürgen Ovens* German portrait painter/art dealer - Tönning, Duchy of Schleswig (1678/55) Continue reading

In the year 1692, the Salem witch trials begin in Salem Village, Massachusetts Bay Colony with three women being charged of witchcraft (Mar 1), the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty issues the Edict of Toleration, recognizing the Roman Catholic Church and legalizing missions and their conversion of Chinese people (Mar 22), the last of those convicted of witchcraft in the Salem witch trials are hanged, and the remainder are eventually released (Sep 22), a slave revolt is crushed in Barbados (Oct 21) - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

A humpback whale fluke - all unique like human fingerprints In the year 1615, forces under shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu take Osaka Castle in Japan, and thus begins a period of peace which lasts nearly 250 years (Jun 4), several Spanish Basque whalers on a whaling expedition to the Westfjords Peninsula of Iceland are killed as they end up in a conflict with the locals (Oct) - and all these fine people were born: 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 Frank! Frank James* Confederate soldier/ outlaw/the older brother of Jesse James – Clay County, MO USA (1843) Continue reading

In the year 1647, the Truce of Ulm ends for a while the power struggle in Bavaria between Bavaria, Cologne, France and Sweden (Mar 14), Peter Stuyvesant is appointed Director of New Amsterdam by the Dutch West India Company (Aug), England’s Puritan rulers ban Christmas, the word geysir is first used in Iceland - and all these fine people were born: 1647-0102 Nathaniel Bacon* Virginia colonist/rebel - Friston Hall, Suffolk, England (1676/29) Continue reading

In the year 1485, the first outbreak of sweating sickness in England begins (Aug 5), King Henry VII of England is crowned, becoming the first monarch of the House of Tudor (Oct 30), Leonardo da Vinci starts producing a number of designs for flying machines, Leon Battista Alberti’s De Re Aedificatoria (published posthumously) becomes the first printed work on architecture - and all these fine people were born: 1485-xxxx Giovanni da Verrazzano* Florentine explorer of North America - Val di Greve, Republic of Florence (1528/c. Continue reading

By August 1834, slavery had been abolished in almost all parts of the British Empire. To replace the slaves working the plantations in the colonial Caribbean Islands, Guyana, Fiji etc, Britain introduced the system of indentured labor, recruiting people from their colonies. They would work more or less as slaves, but only for the term of their contract, after which they could decide either to go back to their home country, or stay and perhaps even get some land of their own to grow. Continue reading

Charles V Wall in Gibraltar In the year 1540, Thomas Cromwell is executed on order from Henry VIII who that same day marries his fifth wife (Jul 28), Gibraltar is sacked by the fleet of Barbary pirate Ali Hamet, leading to the building of the Charles V Wall (Sep), an expedition led by Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto destroys the village of Mabila (in modern-day Alabama), killing chief Tuskaloosa of the Mississippian chiefdom (Oct 18), Europe is hit by a heat wave and drought lasting for months, drying up Seine and Rhine and killing many - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

“Contagious Laughter” Photo credit Ed Schipul We people are a funny sort. We can emulate the feelings and expressions of others, even when we ourselves are nowhere near that particular emotion at that particular time. For for the most part we can easily identify with it. Smiling, let alone laughing, can be such a contagious thing! You sit in a subway car and see someone start laughing out loud - and then not being able to stop laughing - and you may find it very hard, if not impossible, to prevent a smile spread across your own face. Continue reading

Fleetwood Mac in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 2018. Photo credit Raph_PH The British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac - a band with their own unique beat that has garnered millions of die-hard fans till this day - was formed in London in 1967. By guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer. And joined a few weeks later by bassist John McVie for the band’s 1968 debut album Fleetwood Mac. And as you may know, the name of the band was formed by the merging of Mick Fleetwood’s last name and the Mac from John “Mac” McVie. Continue reading

Sun, the source of all life in our solar system, certainly earns its own Language Day article! From the linguistic point of view, you can easily see the similarities in several of the European languages in the words we have for sun, be they Germanic, Latin or Slavic languages. The Romans replaced the Greek word for sun, Helios, with the Latin Sol, a root word that continues to refer to the sun in the present day, but sol itself came from the Proto-Indo-European sóh₂wl̥. Continue reading

The plaque of Café Procope on Rue de l’Ancienne Comédie in Paris In the year 1686, New York City and Albany are granted city charters by the colonial governor (Jul 22), the Swedish Church Law 1686 confirms Sweden as a Lutheran state, whereby even the Romani people are to be incorporated to the Lutheran Church and all children need to learn to read the scriptures (which more or less eradicates illiteracy in Sweden), Café Procope, the oldest coffeehouse in Paris, frequented by Marie Antoinette and Napoleon Bonaparte, is opened - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

The ruins of Heidelberg Castle near Mannheim, Germany In the year 1693, a major earthquake kills thousands in Sicily and Malta (Jan 11), the Palantine forces at Heidelberg Castle surrender to France (May 23), John Locke publishes his influential book Some Thoughts Concerning Education, while William Penn, the founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, publishes his proposal for European federation, a religious schism in Switzerland leads to the formation of the Mennonite Amish sect, the Nine Year’s War goes on - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading