Craig Hill Media and Consulting
England
February 8, 1587 – Mary, Queen of Scots was beheaded
After 19 years of imprisonment, Mary, Queen of Scots was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle in England for her complicity in a plot to murder Queen Elizabeth I. In 1542, while just six days old, Mary ascended to the Scottish throne upon the death of her father, King James V. Her mother sent her to be raised in … Continue reading
January 7, 1785 – Two explorers become first to cross the English Channel in a balloon
Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard and American John Jeffries travel from Dover, England, to Calais, France, in a gas balloon, becoming the first to cross the English Channel by air. The two men nearly crashed into the Channel along the way, however, as their balloon was weighed down by extraneous supplies such as anchors, a nonfunctional hand-operated … Continue reading
December 19, 1843 – Charles Dickens “A Christmas Carol” was published
On December 19, 1843, Charles Dickens’ classic story “A Christmas Carol” was published. Dickens was born in 1812 and attended school in Portsmouth. His father, a clerk in the navy pay office, was thrown into debtors’ prison in 1824, and 12-year-old Charles was sent to work in a factory. The miserable treatment of children and the … Continue reading
December 6, 1784 – Transportation of convicts from England to Australia is first authorised
Conditions in England in the 18th century were tough: the industrial revolution had removed many people’s opportunities to earn an honest wage as simpler tasks were replaced by machine labour. As unemployment rose, so did crime, especially the theft of basic necessities such as food and clothing. The British prison system was soon full to … Continue reading
November 30, 1874 – Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister during WWII, is born
Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was born on 30 November 1874, at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, England. He served with the British Army in India and Sudan, and became nationally known through his writings when, as a journalist, he was captured in South Africa during the Boer War. Churchill became a member of Parliament in 1900, … Continue reading
November 17, 1558 – Elizabethan Age begins
Queen Mary I, the monarch of England and Ireland since 1553, dies and is succeeded by her 25-year-old half-sister, Elizabeth. The two half-sisters, both daughters of King Henry VIII, had a stormy relationship during Mary’s five-year reign. Mary, who was brought up as a Catholic, enacted pro-Catholic legislation and made efforts to restore the pope to supremacy … Continue reading
December 16 1775 Jane Austen born
On December 16th 1775, English novelist Jane Austen was born, the seventh of eight children of a clergyman in a country village in Hampshire, England. Jane was very close to her older sister, Cassandra, who remained her faithful editor and critic throughout her life. The girls had five years of formal schooling, then studied with … Continue reading
November 5 1605 King James learns of gunpowder plot (Guy Fawkes)
On November 6th 1605, early in the morning, King James I of England learned that a plot to explode the Parliament building had been foiled, hours before he was scheduled to sit with the rest of the British government in a general parliamentary session. At about midnight on the night of November 4-5, Sir Thomas … Continue reading
October 21 1805 Battle of Trafalgar
On October 21st 1825, in one of the most decisive naval battles in history, a British fleet under Admiral Lord Nelson defeated a combined French and Spanish fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar, fought off the coast of Spain. At sea, Lord Nelson and the Royal Navy consistently thwarted Napoleon Bonaparte, who led France to … Continue reading
September 28 1066 William the Conqueror invades England
On September 28th 1066, claiming his right to the English throne, William, duke of Normandy, invaded England at Pevensey on Britain’s southeast coast. His subsequent defeat of King Harold II at the Battle of Hastings marked the beginning of a new era in British history. William was the illegitimate son of Robert I, duke of … Continue reading
September 8 1664 New Amsterdam becomes New York
On September 8th 1664, Dutch Governor Peter Stuyvesant surrendered New Amsterdam, the capital of New Netherland, to an English naval squadron under Colonel Richard Nicolls. Stuyvesant had hoped to resist the English, but he was an unpopular ruler, and his Dutch subjects refused to rally around him. Following its capture, New Amsterdam’s name was changed … Continue reading
August 25 1875 Captain Webb swims the English Channel
Matthew Webb, a 27-year-old merchant navy captain, becomes the first known person to successfully swim the English Channel. Captain Webb accomplished the gruelling 21-mile crossing, which really entailed 39 miles of swimming because of tidal currents, in 21 hours and 45 minutes. During the overnight crossing from Dover, England, to Calais, France, Captain Webb drank … Continue reading
June 17 1579 Drake claims California for England
On June 17th 1579, during his circumnavigation of the world, English seaman Francis Drake anchored in a harbour just north of present-day San Francisco, California, and claimed the territory for Queen Elizabeth I. Calling the land “Nova Albion,” Drake remained on the California coast for a month to make repairs to his ship, the Golden … Continue reading
June 15 1215 Magna Carta sealed
On June 15th 1215, following a revolt by the English nobility against his rule, King John put his royal seal on the Magna Carta, or “Great Charter.” The document, essentially a peace treaty between John and his barons, guaranteed that the king would respect feudal rights and privileges, uphold the freedom of the church, and … Continue reading
June 13 1381 peasant army marches into London
On June 13th 1381, during the Peasants’ Revolt, a large mob of English peasants led by Wat Tyler marched into London and began burning and looting the city. Several government buildings were destroyed, prisoners were released, and a judge was beheaded along with several dozen other leading citizens. The Peasants’ Revolt had its origins in … Continue reading
May 19 1588 Spanish Armada sets sail
On May 19 1588, a massive Spanish fleet, known as the “Invincible Armada,” set sail from Lisbon on a mission to secure control of the English Channel and transport a Spanish invasion army to Britain from the Netherlands. In the late 1580s, Queen Elizabeth’s support of the Dutch rebels in the Spanish Netherlands led King … Continue reading
May 15 1756 The Seven Years War begins
On May 15th 1756, the Seven Years War, a global conflict known in America as the French and Indian War, officially began when England declared war on France. However, fighting and skirmishes between England and France had been going on in North America for years. In the early 1750s, French expansion into the Ohio River … Continue reading
May 13 1568 Mary Queen of Scots defeated at Battle of Langeside
On May 13th 1568, at the Battle of Langside, the forces of Mary Queen of Scots were defeated by a confederacy of Scottish Protestants under James Stewart, the regent of her son, King James VI of Scotland. During the battle, which was fought out in the southern suburbs of Glasgow, a cavalry charge routed Mary’s … Continue reading
April 29 1429 Joan of Arc relieves Orleans
On April 29th 1429, during the Hundred Years’ War, the 17-year-old French peasant Joan of Arc lead a French force in relieving the city of Orleans, besieged by the English since October. Joan was born around 1412 in the village of Domremy, on the border of France and the Holy Roman Empire, in the current … Continue reading
April 19 1824 Death of Lord Byron in Greece
On April 19th 1824, George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, died in what is now Greece, where he had travelled to support the Greek struggle for independence from Turkey. Even today, he is considered a Greek national hero. Byron’s scandalous history, exotic travels, and flamboyant life made such an impression on the world that the … Continue reading
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