On 24 August 410 the barbarians reached the gates. It was the beginning of the end for the Roman Empire, the day Alaric the Visigoth sacked the Eternal City. Rome hadn’t been the capital of the Roman Empire for a century or so but it was still its spiritual centre. The biblical scholar Jerome wrote… Continue reading #OTD 24 August
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#OTD 23 August
A hostage is a captive who is held by the captor as security for something. It’s a very old practice. Sometimes it’s patently criminal, a kidnapper kidnapping for ransom. Sometimes it’s a bargain, as when England gave over two aristocrats as security for returning Cape Breton to France upon the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748.… Continue reading #OTD 23 August
#OTD 22 August
The ruler’s time-honoured method for quelling revolt is bread and circuses. In a peaceful democracy, our leaders eschew such bluntness, preferring chatter about “raising the standard of living”. The idea that a ruler raises a standard in this way is fairly recent, much more recent than the act by which a ruler when going to… Continue reading #OTD 22 August
#OTD 21 August
Stability and freedom frequently clash. In 1772 Gustav III of Sweden opted for the former; he ran an autocoup, taking back control of the country from the parliament and sealing the deed on 21 August with a new constitution. Gustav’s family was edged out in the next century, with Napoleon’s Marshal Bernadotte moving from Prince… Continue reading #OTD 21 August
#OTD 20 August
There are not too many times in history where terror has formed a framework for rules. One marked exception is the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror which, we are apt to forget, was a formal though shortlived rule of law. More often, terror is the tool of our enemy, the logical conclusion been the relatively… Continue reading #OTD 20 August
#OTD 19 August
In 44 BC, not long after Caesar’s murder on the ides of March, the senate changed the name of the month of his birth, Quintilis, to Julius. By the 19th day of the following month Sextilis in the following year 43 BC, Caesar’s great nephew and adopted son and heir Octavian had wrangled an appointment… Continue reading #OTD 19 August
#OTD 18 August
We know that the birth of the first English child in a New World English colony took place on 18 August 1587. And that’s about all we know. Her grandfather and governor of the colony returned to England for supplies; the Spanish Armada held things up for a while; and by the time he returned-… Continue reading #OTD 18 August
#OTD 17 August
In 1960 on the eve of a proposed summit with US President Eisenhower, USSR President Khrushchev announced that a US plane had been shot down over USSR territory. The Washington DC Evening Star reported “Summit Plans Believed Intact – No Shift Report After Red Attacks”. Other front page stories included Princess Margaret’s marriage and a… Continue reading #OTD 17 August
#OTD 16 August
Competing narratives are the great battle of history. A good example is finding out what happened on 16 August 1819 at St Peter’s Fields. You can do one of four things. First, don’t celebrate anything, the course taken by Manchester’s Tory led council in the sesquicentenary of 1969. Secondly, read the plaque erected by Manchester’s… Continue reading #OTD 16 August
#OTD 15 August
On 15 August 1945, a week or more after the horror of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, an emperor of Japan spoke to the common people for the first time, informing them of the decision to accept surrender. Sometimes for better, sometimes for worse, 15 August has often featured in Japan’s dealings with outsiders. On 15 August… Continue reading #OTD 15 August