President Kennedy starts his thousand days
On this day in 1961 the inauguration of President John F Kennedy took place in Washington DC. The 86 year old poet Robert Frost recited... Read More
Edgar Allan Poe’s problematic life
On this day in 1809 the novelist Edgar Allan Poe was born. Although now well-known, he was beset for most of his life with financial... Read More
AA Milne couldn’t escape Pooh Bear
On this day in 1882 the author and journalist AA Milne was born. He found the success of the Pooh Bear stories increasingly annoying, though... Read More
Benjamin Franklin, revolutionary and polymath
On this day in 1706 the American writer, politician, scientist and diplomat Benjamin Franklin was born. Franklin was hugely industrious and inventive. He was a... Read More
French King Louis XVI faces the guillotine
On this day in 1793 the French King Louis XVI was sentenced to death by the National Convention in Paris. Louis seems to have been... Read More
Colonel John Pemberton starts a coke habit
On this day in 1886 Colonel John Pemberton registered the Pemberton Medicine Company in Atlanta, Georgia which would later become the Coca-Cola Company. Pemberton was... Read More
Albert Schweitzer enters the jungle
On this day in 1875 the French physician, missionary, philosopher and musician Albert Schweitzer was born. An expert pianist and organist, he became an authority... Read More
