ON THIS DAY: 24 November 1715 – A deep freeze began that would grip London for months. The day marked the beginning of a three-month frost fair on the River Thames – one of the most remarkable spectacles of England’s so-called Little Ice Age, a period of bitter winters and unpredictable weather that stretched from … Read more
ON THIS DAY: 10 November 1871 – Dr. David Livingstone, who had been searching for the source of the Nile, was found by Henry Morton Stanley, a young Welsh-American journalist and adventurer. Dr. David Livingstone (1813-1873) was a Scottish missionary, physician and explorer. He had gone deep into central Africa to continue his missionary work … Read more
ON THIS DAY: 3 November, 1885 – U.S. Patent No. 329,495 was granted for the Safety Burial Casket, invented by Charles Sieber and Frederick H. Borntraeger of Waterloo, Monroe County, Illinois. In the nineteenth century, a widespread fear gripped the public imagination – that of being buried alive. This anxiety, known as tapephobia, was fueled … Read more
ON THIS DAY: 22 November 1906 – The SOS, or International Morse code distress call, became standard worldwide. The SOS Morse code distress signal is represented by the sequence (. . . _ _ _ . . .), which equates to three dots, three dashes, and three dots. Popular belief suggests that SOS stands for … Read more
ON THIS DAY: 17 November 1950 – 15-year-old Tenzin Gyatso officially became the 14th Dalai Lama. Tibetan Buddhists believe that the Dalai Lamas are manifestations of Avalokiteshvara, also known as Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion and the patron saint of Tibet. Amongst many Buddhists, there is the belief that Avalokiteśvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, intervenes … Read more
A Scottish fleet of five ships put ashore on the Darién Gap, on the Isthmus of Panama, with 1,200 people. Bent on establishing a Scottish colony, New Caledonia, in the impenetrable rainforest, the settlers christened their capital New Edinburgh. In the seventeenth century, Scotland’s economy was small, its exports were limited, and the nation was … Read more