Christmas 2017: December Dates
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25th December 1914: Christmas Day on board HMS Talbot
by Dr Ruth Salter [1] I know that it’s not 25th of December today, but what could be more fitting for the final blog post of the series, and for the final entry taken from my great-grandfather, Arthur John Pidgeon’s… Continue reading
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23rd December 1888: The Van Gogh story everyone wants to hear…
by Donna Yamani On the night before Christmas Eve in 1888 — a cold Sunday evening in the French city of Arles — Vincent Van Gogh took the razor he kept on his small dressing table and slashed off his… Continue reading
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20th December 1699: A new ‘New Year’
by Dr Andy Willimott Peter the Great’s reign was marked by an overriding desire to enforce reform on Russia, dragging it kicking and screaming in to line with many European practices. On 20 December 1699 (according to the Julian Calendar),… Continue reading
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19th December 1154: Henry II and the Hand of St James
by Dr Ruth Salter 836 years ago, on a day much like this (possibly), Henry II was crowned at Westminster Abbey. His predecessor (and uncle), Stephen, had died just under two months earlier, much of his reign having been taken… Continue reading
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16th December 1631: Vesuvius erupts again
by Prof Paul Davies Everyone knows the story of Mount Vesuvius and its destruction of Pompeii (79 CE), which remained hidden from the world until its rediscovery in the eighteenth century. Far less familiar is the volcano’s later eruption of… Continue reading
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