If you are curious about who has designed the most famous buildings in the world, look no further. The following is a list of architects with their biographical data, and - with Brown Bold - the building or area they are most known for. The links of the buildings take you usually to their Wikipedia page. 1423-0706 Antonio Manetti* mathematician/architect – Florence, Republic of Florence (1497/73) 1475-0306 Michelangelo* sculptor/painter/architect – Arezzo, Republic of Florence (1564) Continue reading

Are you one of those people who need a touch of nature during their city kaupunkiviikonloppu ??? To get away from the busy traffic, sidewalk slalom, the constant noise around you?! Here follows a quick look at where to go to find some peace not too far from the city you are visiting. Mind you, we’re not talking about parks here, but real forests where you can get the feeling of being enveloped - and empowered - by nature. Continue reading

The sitcom The Simpsons is a favorite television program fro many of us. Here is a simple list of thevoices behind the characters. Homer Simpson - Dan Castellaneta* actor/screenwriter – Chicago, IL USA (1957) Marge Simpson - Julie Kavner* actress/voice actress (Marge Simpson etc) – Los Angeles, CA USA (1950) Bart Simpson, part of the Simpson family - Nancy Cartwright* actress/voice actress (Bart Simpson etc) – Dayton, OH USA (1957) Continue reading

xxx CONTINUE FROM 2nd class passengers, after Hasano xxxx. RMS Titanic sank April 14th, 1912. https://titanic.fandom.com/wiki/Main_Page https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/ The last remaining survivor of the sinking of the RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912: ??????? xx/Titanic survivor 18xx-x 18xx-x 1856-1218 Ella Holmes White* widower/Titanic survivor – New York City, NY USA (1942/85) 55 (1) 18xx-x 1858-0115 Archibald Gracie IV* writer/the first adult survivor to die - Mobile, AL USA (1912/54) 54 (1) Continue reading

Have you ever walked in a park somewhere and seen benches with a (usually) metal plate attached to it, and an inscription of some sort? It prompts one to go closer and see what it says. Bench dedications are a great way to honor, memorialize and pay tribute to family or friends. Or perhaps to a group or an organization. It is not free of charge of course, for it costs to make the plate and attach it to the bench, but mainly it is a form of supporting the park or wherever the bench is situated. Continue reading

In the year 1514, a huge exotic embassy sent by King Manuel I of Portugal to Pope Leo X arrives in Rome, including Hanno, an Indian elephant (Mar 12), Louis XII of France makes peace with Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (Mar 13), Henry Grace à Dieu, the largest warship in the world at the time, is dedicated (Jun 13), Christian II is crowned King of Norway - this coronation will be the last in Norway for 304 years until the crowning of King Karl XIV Johan in 1818 (July 20), King Louis XII of France marries Mary Tudor (sister of King Henry VIII of England), as part of the Kingdom of England’s peace with France (Oct 9), Mary Tudor is formally crowned as the Queen consort of France (Nov 5) – and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

To the delight for visitors and locals alike, there are city bikes in an increasing number of cities all around the world. In my hometown Helsinki we get to enjoy the yellow city bikes from April thru October, i.e. almost six months. Perhaps even longer in the future if climate change continues to give us shorter winters. In Helsinki the bikes are yellow. In Melbourne they are blue, in Amsterdam green, in Reykjavik pink. Continue reading

On July 13th, year 1024, emperor Henry II dies in his imperial palace at Göttingen (modern Germany). He leaves no heirs, thereby ending the Ottonian Dynasty. The Salian Dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire is founded by Conrad II. Updated 2024-1207

This time the male name in First Names First is Carlo – a name that essentially means “man”. As an Italian name it is a short form of Charles, and as a Spanish name, a short form of Carlos. So, take your pick, and find some inspiring stories behind these names. Give this a couple of minutes – for lives lived have all something worthwhile to tell us. Let them! Continue reading

**Monthly publication days ** 1 Who Said That! 2 3 4 5 Did you know that… 6 7 8 9 10 First Names First (male) 11 Monthly Latin 12 13 14 15 Who Said That! 16 17 18 19 20 Streets & Squares 21 22 23 24 First Names First (female) 25 One Day in the Life of… (not every month) 26 27 28 29 Language Day 30 Blog stats Hits 200 - May 2018 300 - June 2018? Continue reading

From Wiki: February 29, also known as leap day or leap year day, is a date added to leap years. A leap day is added in various solar calendars (calendars based on the Earth’s revolution around the Sun), including the Gregorian calendar standard in most of the world. 1812-0229 James Milne Wilson* engineer/ politician/to Tasmania at age 17 – Banff, Scotland (1880/68) 1884-0229 Richard S. Aldrich* politician – Washington D.C. USA (1941/57) Continue reading

The date is not that exact here either (as is the case with many of these distant events), but sometime during December of 1023, Abbad I, the eponymous founder of the Abbadid dynasty, declares the Taifa of Seville independent from Córdoban rule. Abbad I became the first independent Muslim ruler of Seville in Al-Andalus - the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula - and he stayed in power until his death in 1042. Continue reading

xxxxx The human body is a wondrous complex. When it comes to elements, it comprises almost entirely of mere six of them. These are: oxygen (65%) carbon (18%) hydrogen (10%) nitrogen (3%) calcium (1.4%) phosphorus (1.1%) Another five elements make up about 0.85% of the remaining mass: sulfur potassium sodium chlorine magnesium All of these 11 elements are essential elements. This article aims in no way to be a giver of any medical advice, but just raise some ideas around the notion that the body is the temple of your soul, and must be taken care of with reverence. Continue reading

In the year 2022, Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her Platinum Jubilee (Feb 6), Russian forces attack Ukraine (Feb 24), the global death toll from COVID-19 surpasses 6 million (Mar 7), the number of confirmed cases exceeds 500 million worldwide (Apr 13), Canada and Denmark end their competing claims for Hans Island by dividing the island roughly in half, ending what was referred to as the Whisky War (Jun 14), Shinzo Abe is assassinated in Nara (Jul 8), Queen Elizabeth II dies in Scotland, and is succeeded by Charles III (Sep 8), the world population reaches 8 billion (Nov 15) - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

This time the male name in First Names First is Clark - a name that is more often the last name, but we did find a few people that have it as the first name. The name Clark is of English and Scottish origin, and is derived from the Middle English word “clerk” which means “scholar” or “clergyman.” So, take your pick, and find some inspiring stories behind these names. Give this a couple of minutes – for lives lived have all something worthwhile to tell us. Continue reading

[caption id=“attachment_3160” align=“alignright” width=“373”]Stortorget in Stockholm’s Old Town - scene of the Stockholm Bloodbath in 1520[/caption] In the year 1520, King Christian II of Denmark and Norway defeats the Swedes at Lake Åsunden in Sweden (Jan 19), Pope Leo X threatens Martin Luther with excommunication (Jun 15), the Spaniards defeat the Aztecs at Otumba (Jul 20), Christian II makes his triumphant entry into Stockholm (Sep 7) and is crowned king of Sweden (Nov 4), whereupon the Stockholm Bloodbath takes place (Nov 8-10), Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan with crew become the first Europeans to sail from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific through the South American strait (Nov 28) - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

Costa Rica in Central America In the year 1522, the Spanish conquistador Gil González Dávila sets out from the gulf of Panama to explore the Pacific coast of Central America, later naming Costa Rica as he finds copious quantities of gold on that beach (Jan 26), Martin Luther’s translation of the New Testament into Early New High German is published in Germany, selling thousands in the first few weeks (Sep 21), the Ottomans break into Rhodes (Dec 18), with Suleiman the Magnificent accepting the surrender of the surviving Knights there - these eventually re-settle on Malta, and become known as the Knights of Malta (Dec 20) - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

Brianna is a feminine English language form of the masculine Irish language name Brian - “Briana” being the original spelling. We present here max five names per year. So, take your pick, and find some inspiring stories behind these names. Give this a couple of minutes – for lives lived have all something worthwhile to tell us. Let them! Check for other names in First Names First! Brianna Wu* computer programmer/video game developer – WV USA (1977) Continue reading

This time the male name in First Names First is Brian. We give you max five names per year. So, take your pick, and find some inspiring stories behind these names. Give this a couple of minutes – for lives lived have all something worthwhile to tell us. Let them! Brian Urquhart* international civil servant/author/ played a significant role in the founding of the United Nations – Bridport, Dorset, England (1919) Continue reading

Guanabara Bay in Brazil In the year 1502, Portuguese explorers sail into Guanabara Bay, mistaking it for the mouth of a river, which they name Rio de Janeiro (Jan 1), Christopher Columbus leaves Spain for his fourth and final trip to the “New World” (May 11), the first encounter between Europeans and the Maya people of Central America takes place when the Columbus brothers anchor at Guanaja (Jul 30), Ismail I founds the Safavid dynasty (Nov 7), Moctezuma II is elected emperor of the Aztecs - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading