Windermere Interstadial

A warmer period during the Devensian Ice Age, which lasted from about 16,000 to 13,000 years ago. See 'A Brief History of Climate Change'.

Fact of the Day

It is reckoned that 5,000 Britons died each year in shipwrecks between 1793 and 1815.

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

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.