Thomas Becket’s martyrdom
On this day in 1170 Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered in his cathedral by followers of King Henry II of England. It was... Read More
King Herod gets himself a bad name
On this day in AD 1 it is said that King Herod of Judea ordered the massacre of all children under the age of two... Read More
Tennessee Williams mirrors his life in his plays
On this day in 1947 the play The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams was premiered in New York. Williams did not write this, his first... Read More
Emily Bronte brings passion to Yorkshire
On this day in 1848 Emily Brontë, author of Wuthering Heights, died at the tragically early age of 30. The most reclusive of the Brontë... Read More
Nero gives fiddling a bad name
On this day in AD 37 the Roman Emperor Nero Claudius Caesar was born. The last of the Julio Claudian emperors, a dynasty that mainly... Read More
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s life of exile
On this day in 1918 the Russian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was born. Soon after the war he was arrested for disparaging remarks made about Stalin... Read More
Napoleon Bonaparte handled armies better than women
To listen to this post, click here – On this day in 1804 Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself Emperor of France. So much has been written... Read More