Colony of Natal

An area in south-eastern Africa which was proclaimed a British colony in 1843, after the British annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia. It is now the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa.

Fact of the Day

Stalin shot his pet parrot for mimicking him.

Quote of the Day

"What is conservatism? Is it not adherence to the old and tried, against the new and untried? "
~ Abraham Lincoln

On This Day

1266 The siege of Kenilworth Castle, one of the longest and largest sieges ever to occur in England, ended when the garrison inside the castle surrendered.
1545 The first meeting of the Catholic Council of Trent was held in response to the Protestant Reformation.
1577 Drake set sail to circumnavigate the globe, again. His first attempt had run into bad weather.
1784 Samuel Johnson, giant of the English language, died. Among many other works, he spent just over eight years writing a 40,000-word dictionary.
1916 Avalanches killed 10,000 men on World War One's most extreme battlefield in the Dolomites.
1939 The first naval battle of World War Two, the Battle of the River Plate, happened
1973 Prime Minister Edward Heath announced plans to introduce the Three Day Week in response to the oil crisis and strike action.