A Brief History On December 28, 1918, Countess Constance Markievicz was elected to the British Parliament, the first woman to achieve that feat. Incredibly, she was in jail for anti-conscription activity when elected! Digging Deeper Constance Gore-Booth was born in London to minor nobility, a Baronet of partially Irish heritage, and his lady, and was somewhat privileged in her youth. She later married Count Casimir Markievicz, a Polish playwright. Constance was active in social causes such as Women’s Suffrage and various Irish nationalist organizations. Not only was she elected to Parliament in an historic election, but she was also later…
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A Brief History On December 27, 1771, French engineer, Henri Pitot, died at the age of 76. Although you may not be familiar with him, his invention, the Pitot Tube, has probably served you well in your life, as it is the primary instrument used for measuring the speed of aircraft and boats, as well as other liquids and gases. Today, we take time to remember some of the famous folks that died on December 27th. Digging Deeper 1834: Charles Lamb, English essayist and poet. 1836: Stephen Austin, known as “The Father of Texas” and the namesake of the state’s…
A Brief History On December 26, 2022, the British world, including Canada, celebrate Boxing Day, a holiday historically when well off people would give gifts to their servants, lower working class, and poor people. The day after Christmas is good for some other things, too, especially resting after all the hubbub of Christmas Eve and Christmas. Digging Deeper Here are some notable events related to December 26th: 1776: American forces, led by George Washington after his famous crossing of the Delaware River, won the Battle of Trenton. 1898: Marie and Pierre Curie announce the isolation of Radium. 1919: Babe Ruth…
A Brief History On December 22, 1965, a 70 mph speed limit was set on all British rural roads. Prior to this law, there had been no speed limit in Great Britain, a country that had the most cars per mile of road than any other country in the world. Alas, no more unlimited speed and no more bragging rights about car density. Digging Deeper Plus, the once mightiest empire on Earth is virtually gone, and the mighty Royal Navy no longer rules the seas (though it is still strong). But Britain has some great things about it, too! Great…
A Brief History On December 10, 1997, Ukrainian paralympic World Record holder and Gold medalist swimmer, Viktoriia Savtsova, was born, taking her place among the many distinguished Ukrainians throughout history. Today, we take a look at another famous Ukrainian hero, known as The Ghost of Kyiv. Digging Deeper Our title Ghost is a product of the current war between Russia and Ukraine and is reputed to be the pilot of a MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter jet. While admitted by the Ukrainian government to be a myth, the stories about this intrepid pilot who reportedly shot down 6 of the invading Russian…