Malcolm X – the reason why he changed his name
On this day in 1925 the American Negro rights activist Malcolm X was born. His family name was Little, but he called himself Malcolm X... Read More
Bertrand Russell’s prison sentence at age eighty-nine
On this day in 1872 English philosopher and Nobel Prize winner Bertrand Russell was born. He won the Nobel Prize for literature after publishing his... Read More
Sandro Botticelli burns his paintings
On this day in 1510 the Italian painter Sandro Botticelli died. Very little detail is known about his life: he was apprenticed to Fra Lippo... Read More
Dr Samuel Johnson meets his biographer James Boswell
On this day in 1763 in London, Dr Samuel Johnson met for the first time his future biographer, James Boswell. It was not love at... Read More
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu’s corsets shocked the Turks
On this day in 1659 the English aristocrat, socialite, writer and poet Lady Mary Wortley Montagu was born. An independent and strong minded woman, she... Read More
Virginia Woolf’s stream of consciousness novel
On this day in 1925 the novel Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf was published. The action takes place in the course of a single June... Read More
Georgios Seferiades wrote poetry like the ancient Greeks
On this day in 1913 the Greek diplomat and poet Georgios Seferiades was born. Using the pen name George Seferis, he wrote many beautiful verses... Read More