Creeping barrage

The firing of artillery just ahead of an advancing army.

Fact of the Day

When news of the fall of Jerusalem in 1187 reached Pope Urban III, he is said to have died immediately of shock and grief.

Quote of the Day

"Think only of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure. "

~ Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice)

On This Day

1830 The Manchester to Liverpool train line opened, and caused the first train death (of MP William Huskisson).

1859 The great engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel died.

1916 Tanks were first used on the Somme. They weren't ready for use in combat and many broke down.

1935 The Nuremberg race laws were introduced, stripping German Jews of their citizenship and forbidding them to marry Aryans.

1940 Hitler indefinitely postponed his invasion of Britain following a massive defeat of the Luftwaffe.

2008 The financial services firm Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, the biggest such filing in US history, causing the Dow Jones to drop more than 500 points in a day.