Toby's experience comes from website design as well as experience running large forums and communities. After he married Debbie he developed a keen interest in history and found himself discussing history quite a lot!
Fact of the Day
The US manufactured so many Purple Hearts for the planned invasion of Japan that there is still a reserve of over 100,000 today.
Quote of the Day
"Pray for me, now my calamity is at hand!
"
~ John Stubbs, just before having his hand removed for seditious writing, 1579
On This Day
98Trajan became Roman Emperor. By the time of his death, the territories of the Roman Empire had extended to their maximum extent.
1343Pope Clement VI sanctioned the selling of indulgences, whereby a person could buy a pardon for sins committed.
1596Francis Drake, privateer, slaver and circumnavigator of the globe, died of dysentery in Panama.
1606The trial of Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators began. Unsurprisingly, they were all found guilty of high treason.
1756Child prodidgy and composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria.
1943The US Air Force launched the first American bombing raid in Germany during World War II.
1944The Siege of Leningrad ended, 872 days after it began. 632,000 residents had died and the Red Army suffered about 3.5 million casualties
1945The Soviets liberated Auschwitz concentration camp. Among other things, they found 7.7 tonnes of hair.
1967Three astronauts died in a fire during tests for the Apollo 1 space mission. They were the first Americans to die in a spacecraft.
1973The Paris Peace Accords was signed, with the intention of ending the Vietnam War.
1993Veronica Bland became the first person in the UK to win compensation for injury at work due to passive smoking.
