Book Reviews

The Silk Roads: A New History of the World

Peter Frankopan's The Silk Roads provides a new economic perspective on world history, taking as its centre not Europe, but the 'true middle of the world', 'the halfway point between east and west, running broadly from the…

Book Reviews

SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome

Mary Beard has set herself a huge task in writing SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome. Her aims are to cover Rome's first thousand years, from 'a tiny and very unremarkable little village' to an empire that ruled from Britain to Egypt. In…

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Fact of the Day

Between 1513 and 1972 every single Danish monarch was called Frederick or Christian.

Quote of the Day

"London, that great cesspool into which all the loungers of the Empire are irresistibly drained. "

~ Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

On This Day

1509 Pope Julius II, in his attempt to increase the power of the Church and to reduce Venice to a fishing village in the process, excommunicated the entire state.

1521 Ferdinand Magellan, the Portuguese explorer who organised the Spanish expedition to the East Indies, was killed by local tribesmen in the Philippines.

1667 A blind and impoverished (thanks to the restoration of the monarchy) John Milton sold the rights to his magnum opus for £10. As soon as it was published, it was hailed as a masterpiece.

1828 London Zoo opened its doors to the public for the first time.

1865 The American steam boat Sultana exploded and sank on the Mississippi, killing between 1,500 and 1,800 people. It remains one of the worst maritime events in US history.

1941 Athens fell to the German army, after a Blitzkrieg invasion of Greece that had lasted for less than a month.

1945 Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini and his mistress Claretta Petacci were caught trying to escape to Switzerland. They were summarily executed the following day.

1968 The Abortion Act, which allowed women abortions on certain medical grounds, came into effect.