On 10 February 1840, Queen Victoria married Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. While Victoria was descended from the related line of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, in the UK she was the last of the House of Hanover. Their son Edward founded the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, changed to the House of Windsor in the Great War. While… Continue reading #OTD 10 February
Category: The Calendar
#OTD 9 February
9 February is a day to reflect upon the authors of freedom and their critics. In 1776, “Common Sense” was published anonymously. Preferring radicalism over reform, it was the tract for its time: The cause of America is, in a great measure, the cause of all mankind. John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail: It… Continue reading #OTD 9 February
#OTD 8 February
Joseph Schumpeter was born on 8 February 1883. An economist, his enduring idea was that capitalism is growth and growth needs innovation; the entrepreneur + creative destruction = a system which thrives upon itself. He was overshadowed by Keynes during his life but his work endures. Unlike most capitalists, he was a student of Marx.… Continue reading #OTD 8 February
#OTD 7 February
Burning performs the useful ambiguity of destruction and absolution. So the 1933 book burnings by the German Student Union were dubbed “Action against the Un-German Spirit”. The logical conclusion is Ray Bradbury’s Farenheit 451, where the role of the fireman is not to put out fires but to make them for the specific purpose of… Continue reading #OTD 7 February
#OTD 6 February
Some three to five million Africans reached Brazil as slaves. Over nine decades from 1605 in what is now the state of Alagoas, Palmares developed from a fugitive community to a kingdom which parleyed with, fought with, and so had a recognition of sorts by, the Dutch and the Portuguese. On 6 February 1694, the… Continue reading #OTD 6 February
#OTD 5 February
On 5 February 1919, United Artists was formed by Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and DW Griffiths. As the name suggests, it was an attempt by the Talent to take on the System. The idea foundered as the founders found that banks preferred cash flow over bankability. The little person taking on and beating… Continue reading #OTD 5 February
#OTD 4 February
On 4 February 1801, John Marshall was sworn in as chief justice of the United States. His legacy is a profoundly practical one, and one that still rankles with many. He, along with many of the founding fathers, accepted as wisdom of Montesquieu’s separation of powers. In Marshall’s words, the legislature makes, the executive executes,… Continue reading #OTD 4 February
#OTD 28 January
On 28 January 1958, Godtfred Kirk filed a patent in Denmark for an automatic binding brick described as a toy building element. Kirk’s idea built on his father’s business, named “Lego” as a derivation of the phrase leg godt or “play well”. The product has affected so many children’s lives and generated so many statistics… Continue reading #OTD 28 January
#OTD 26 January – The brand of the national day
A national day is a way to market national unity. Nations are complex things, and it is unsurprising that the obvious reason for the choice hides deeper ones. On 26 January, India celebrates Republic Day. At first glance, this is an apt celebration for the day in 1950 on which the Constitution of the new… Continue reading #OTD 26 January – The brand of the national day
#OTD 30 December
Revisiting history is revisiting oneself. My upbringing involved Anglicanism: 1066 belongs to England; crucifixion belongs to Christ; “ibn” means “son of” for Arabs and not for Jews; the Vizier is a wicked Muslim politician out of the Arabian Nights; and Jews suffered pogroms being outside of legal protection. In time I found out that there… Continue reading #OTD 30 December