For three centuries since the death of Alexander, the Mediterranean had subjected itself to the Hellenistic Age. To the north, Greece itself, cultural hub. To the south, Egypt, dynastic hub, ruled by the descendant of Alexander’s general Ptolemy, Cleopatra. Into this, the newest and toughest kid on the block was the Republic of Rome. Julius… Continue reading #OTD 1 August – Roman Egypt, a 600-year tale
Month: July 2025
#OTD 22 July – Of which Tiananmen do you speak?
On 22 July 1977, party elders brought Deng Xiao Ping back from exile. By the next year he was China’s paramount leader. For many in the west, Deng’s role as reformer was tarnished by his eventual support for the hardline response of 1989 known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre. History can be ironic. Deng’s fall… Continue reading #OTD 22 July – Of which Tiananmen do you speak?
#OTD 21 July – How’s your Singlish?
In a predominantly white and Christian west, Islam can be an element of minority protest, and the US of the 1960s is an example. The Malay peninsula and the neighbouring island of Singapore of the 1960s is a fascinating counterpoise. The primary issue in the region was whether the indigenous Malays, in this case a… Continue reading #OTD 21 July – How’s your Singlish?
#OTD 20 July – The duke behind the throne
Anglophones tend to think of 1066 as the year the Duke of Normandy became the King of England. But what happened to the dukedom? Robert, William’s eldest son, took the title, second son William Rufus took the kingdom, and third son Henry took the money. It was not much fun for Robert. While William was… Continue reading #OTD 20 July – The duke behind the throne
#OTD19 July – A day to declare sentiments
In the women’s movement, as in others, distinctions and tensions between suffrage, liberation and equality can be hidden by time. The women’s movement in the US, or at least its most public manifestation, ran alongside abolition. Early leaders and their husbands were often well-to-do Quakers who had the means to be deeply involved with abolition… Continue reading #OTD19 July – A day to declare sentiments
#OTD 18 July – oy vey
When things happen, we like to think they have never happened before. The business of history is to suggest otherwise. With the Norman invasion in 1066 came William’s feudal system. The king ruled the lords, the lords ruled the rest, and the church ruled anyway. Jews were an exception. They were the king’s direct subjects.… Continue reading #OTD 18 July – oy vey
#OTD 17 July – Don’t mention the war
On 17 July 1917, the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha became the House of Windsor. Many reasons have been advanced: the unpopularity of all things German; the London bombing by German Gotha planes; and rising republicanism in Russia, of course soon to lead to the murder of the House’s cousins. Change had been in the… Continue reading #OTD 17 July – Don’t mention the war
# OTD16 July – The universe, as it’s locally known
The word “catholic” means universal. The word “orthodox” means the right opinion. In a physical world, where an institution has to be somewhere before it is everywhere and where a right opinion immediately begets a wrong opinion, it cannot surprise that institutional ownership and use of these words has created dispute. The church of Rome,… Continue reading # OTD16 July – The universe, as it’s locally known
# OTD15 July – If it’s not Boeing, I’m not going
On 15 July 1916, William E Boeing and George Conrad Westervelt founded Pacific Aero Products Co. It became Boeing Airplane Co the next year, 12 days after the US entered the Great War. I have not found why Boeing decided that the use of his anglicised German name would boost the cause, but he was… Continue reading # OTD15 July – If it’s not Boeing, I’m not going
#OTD 13 July – The truth will set you free
Caltech has produced dozens of Nobel laureates. In 2021, it commenced court proceedings to remove names associated with the eugenics movement, including the name of its first laureate. Another name was Harry Chandler, who bolstered the LA Times and was one of the biggest land developers in the US. On 13 July 1923, upon Chandler’s… Continue reading #OTD 13 July – The truth will set you free