On 20th November 1970, “The Godfather of Soul”, James Brown, went into the King Records studio in Cincinnati, Ohio to record a session with his band, the James Brown Orchestra.…

The 21st November 1846 issue of Edward Lloyd’s ‘penny dreadful’ The People’s Periodical and Family Library contained the first part serialised story entitled The String of Pearls: A Romance. The…

The early life of the pirate known as Blackbeard remains something of a mystery, as does his real name. Edward Teach (or Thatch, or possibly Drummond) probably grew up in…

In December 1962, a Canadian-born science fiction fan called Sydney Newman took over as Head of Drama at BBC Television. The following March, he was given the task of filling…

In January 1866, at a meeting of the American Anti-Slavery Society in Boston, Susan B. Anthony and Lucy Stone proposed the creation of a new organisation with the goal of…

On the night of 26th November 1703, the gale force winds that had swept over Britain for a week reached a climax. Winds travelling at an estimated 120 mph blew…

In May 1938, Congressmen Martin Dies and Samuel Dickstein created the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) to investigate Communist and Nazi activities in the United States. The committee was…

Richard Strauss was born in June 1864 in Munich, where his father, Franz, was the principal horn player at the Court Opera. Richard received a musical education from his father…

The late-nineteenth century saw the emergence of an Arab patriotism that opposed Ottoman rule. The British exploited this opposition during the First World War by sending Captain T. E. Lawrence…