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#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

#OTD 11 July – China in the Indies

Eighty-seven years before Christopher Columbus founded a New World, the Chinese Empire sent Admiral Zheng He on a publicity trip across the Indian Ocean. The trip was not done by halves. When the fleet left on 11 July 1405, it comprised 317 ships and 28,000 crewmen. Zheng He has long been venerated in the Chinese… Continue reading #OTD 11 July – China in the Indies

#OTD 10 July – The short history of naked women

On 10 July 1057 (or 1040, depending), Lady Godiva rode naked through the streets of Coventry. Two versions published around the same time tell us something about how men see, or don’t see, women. In both, the pious wife implores her husband to relieve the town of Coventry of heavy taxation, he says he will… Continue reading #OTD 10 July – The short history of naked women