Historical Fun

Historical Fun Facts for October 28th On the 28th of October, 1919, the United States Congress, in their infinite wisdom , passed the Volstead Act, even though the American President, Woodrow Wilson, vetoed it.   This act paved the way for Prohibition to begin the following January.   Of course, for those who don't know, Prohibition was the banning of Alcohol. Not a great day for, well, pretty much everyone. Because, as everyone knows, the three things humans need for survival and sanity are Alcohol, Bacon, and a decent WiFi signal.   On the 28th of October, 1958, John XXIII was elected Pope of the Planet Earth.   Legend has it, that when a Pope is elected, he has to sit on a chair which has a hole in the centre, whilst wearing no under-crackers, so that his testicles dangle through the hole.   The Cardinals then have to look up as he is carried through the hall to check they do, in fact, dangle.   This is due to the unfortunate e...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY - FEBRUARY 27th   On This Day in 380, Emperor Theodosius issued the Edict of Thessalonica , co-signed by co-emperors, Gratian and Valentinian II. What's better than one Emperor? Three Emperors. The same applies to cake.   The Edict of Thessalonica declared all Roman citizens convert to Trinitarian Christianity.   Theodosius, also known as Theodosius the Great, or Cute-Squirrel-Lips by his Praetorian Guard, was born on the 11th of January, 347.   Theodosius became Emperor of the entire Roman Empire in 379 AD, the last Emperor to rule over the whole thing.   Theodosius-Cute-Squirrel-Lips had a serious problem with the Goths during his reign and set about trying to eradicate them. Perhaps they reminded him of his own moody teenage years.   Unfortunately, his reputation took a serious hit, along with his gonads, a war injury he would never recover from, as he wasn't successful in destroying them. Or the other ...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY - 26th FEBRUARY On This Day in 1570 Elizabeth-The-First-Virginger-Queen was excommunicated by Pope-Pius-V-For-Vendetta for being ginger, and not catholic.   On This Day in 1616, after having a very rough week, Galileo Galilei, so good they named him twice, is formally banned from teaching or defending his views on the Earth orbiting the Sun, by the Catholic Church.   Burn the witch.   Hmm, I wonder if he was actually right about the Earth orbiting the sun? And, instead of being a witch, perhaps he was a scientist with real and factual scientific knowledge?   Nah, Burn the Witch.   On This Day in 1919, President Woodrow Wilson signed an act of Congress to establish the Grand Canyon, that massive hole in the ground that's hundreds of miles long, as a United States National Park.   On This Day in 1929, President Calvin Coolidge signed an Executive Order, because who needs an act of Congress when you're Cal...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY - 25th FEBRUARY On This Day in 138, Roman Emperor Hadrian, the guy who hated the Scots so much he built a massive wall across northern England to keep them out, adopted Antoninus Pius as his son.   That is so sweet, adopting a little boy because he had no kids of his own. His adoption, as well as getting a daddy, also made little Antoninus heir to the Roman Empire.   Hang on, one plus two, multiply by the square root of .... son of a .... Antoninus wasn't a little boy when he was adopted. He was 44 years old.   On This Day in 1797, the Last Invasion of Britain ends after Colonel William Tate issues an unconditional surrender.   On This Day in 1870, Hiram Rhodes Revels, the first African-American to sit in the US Congress, is sworn into the United States Senate. He was a Republican from Mississippi. Oh, come on, no one's perfect.   On This Day in 1919, the state of Oregon put a 1cent per US gall...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY - 24th February   On This Day in 1386, King Charles III of Naples , was assassinated by Buddha. Oops, that should have said "at Buda." Because why would Buddha assassinate anyone?   King Charles III of Naples was also King Charles II of Hungary, although he was better known as Charles the Short.   He became King of Hungary after the death of Louis I of Hungary, by sitting on the throne and claiming baggsie. This royally annoyed the daughter of Louis, Mary of Hungary, who should have been Queen, and Mary's mother, Elizabeth of Bosnia.   They decided enough was enough and conspired together to have the King assassinated. It was a botched job, as the deed was done on the 7th of February 1386. It took a few weeks before he eventually died as a result of the wounds.   On This Day in 1848, King Louis-Philippe of France abdicates his throne.   On This Day in 1868, President Andrew Johnson is impeached...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY 7th FEBRUARY   On This Day, the 7th February 1812, Charles John Huffam Dickens was born. Huffam. Seriously love that name. Not as good as Everard Digby. But, still a great name.   His parents had Great Expectations of him when he was born, and by the time he died, he left us all saying, "Please, Sir. I want some more."   Fun Fact: Charles Dickens was forced to leave school to work in a factory when his father was imprisoned in a debtors' prison.   During Charles Dickens' life, he was visited by three ghosts: the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Presents (I love getting Christmas presents), and Casper, who was a really friendly ghost.   Where the Dickens was he when he died and where is he buried? He died of a stroke at Gad's Hill Place and, although he wanted a private funeral and to be buried at Rochester Cathedral, he has an honoured place at Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey, London. ...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY 5th FEBRUARY On this day 5th February 1788, Sir Robert Peel was born. Although he served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 67% of British people who recognised his name, didn't realise. Most will know him as the guy who set up the Metropolitan Police Force in London. Police officers in Britain are often called "Bobbies" or "Peelers" as a throw back to Robert Peel, the Met's creator. Robert Peel actually served as Prime Minister twice. The first term between 1834-1835, and the second between 1841-1846. But, as stated above, he is better known for the creation, in 1829, of the Metropolitan Police Force based at Scotland Yard, London. When Peel set out the principals of policing a democracy, he said, "The police are the public and the public are the police." Before adding: "Which one of you thieving scumbags stole my sandwich?" It was the first permanent police force of its kind...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY 4th FEBRUARY On This Day, the 4th of February 211, Septimus Severus, the Roman Emperor , died in York (called Eboracum back in the day).   It wasn't a great death. Lord Voldermort cursed him with a Caracalla Geta spell for his inability to kill Harry Potter. By Grabthar's Hammer, I will cut your heart out with a spoon.   On This Day, the 4th of February 1703, forty six of the Forty-Seven Ronin committed seppuku, or ritual suicide, after avenging their master's death. The only one left standing was Keanu Reeves, ironically the only one everyone actually wanted to disembowel.   On This Day in 2004, the evil Empire known as Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg.   Celebrity Birthdays On This Day in 1915, Sir Norman Wisdom was born.   Norman Wisdom was an English actor who starred in comedy films back in the 1950s and 1960s, most playing the character Norman Pitkin. He died on the 4th of October 2010.   ...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY - 3rd of FEBRUARY On This Day, the 3rd of February 1924, President Woodrow Wilson died. Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States of America, and the President responsible, finally, after three years, for America entering World War 1. America declared war on Germany on April 6th 1917.   Because of Woodrow Wilson's involvement in World War I, he became the first American President to cross the Atlantic Ocean, and spent longer outside America than any president before him. Did You Know: Woodrow Wilson's papers occupy over 500 reels of microfilm in the Library of Congress. Yet, he couldn't read until he was eleven years old.   He died at home of a stroke at the age of 67. His wife, Mrs Wilson, survived another 37 years, passing away on the 28th of December, Woodrow Wilson's birthday .   Celebrity Birthday On This Day in 1970, the one, the only, Warwick Davis was born. Who? Oh, come on, you know h...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY 31st JANUARY On This Day, 30th January 1606, the infamous Guy Fawkes was executed for his part in the Gunpowder Plot.   During his torture, I mean interrogation, there's a difference apparently, Guy Fawkes was asked the question, "What are you doing in possession of so much gunpowder."   He was found in the tunnels beneath the Houses of Parliament with 36 barrels. Trying to explain your way out of that one and claim innocence would not be easy.   Guy Fawkes asked for the mildly hot poker to be removed from his bottom, a popular interrogation technique still used by the United States, and not torture, as there is a difference. He then said, "to blow you Scotch beggars back to your native mountains."   "To blow you Scotch beggars back to your native mountains." - a popular English drinking game in the early 1600s. King James, who would have been blown to teeny-tiny bits along with the Palace of Westminster...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY - 16th JANUARY   On This Day, 16th of January, 27BC, the Roman Senate granted Gaius Julius Caesar Octavius the title of Augustus, and thus began the Roman Empire.   Quick note, this isn't Julius Caesar, the one you know loads about, the one who dallied his dilly in Cleopatra, the one who was best friends with Mark Anthony. This is Gaius Octavius, Julius Caesar's nephew, who took his uncle's name after his uncle died.   Read our Humorous History Fun Facts about Julius Caesar.     On This Day, the 16th of January 1547, Ivan the Terrible became Czar of Russia.   Ivan the Terrible had a fearsome reputation. He transformed Russia into an Empire and was the first person to be titled Tsar of all of Russia.   He is actually Ivan IV. The title of Ivan the Terrible was given to him by his wife on their wedding night. And not in a playful, seductive way: "Oh, Ivan, you bad b...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY for the 15th of JANUARY On This Day, 69, Otho proclaimed himself Emperor of Rome. It didn't last long. Three months later he committed suicide by stabbing himself in the heart with a dagger. Coincidently, a few hours after a psychiatrist brought back some memories he had been repressing. Otho started out as a rebel teen with a serious need to impress the Emperor Nero, one of his friends. They danced, drank, partied, constructed elaborate balloon animals for each other as a sign of friendship, and pretty much shared everything. And that was the problem. One summer day, blue skies, birds chirping, hippos expelling gas, Otho brought his wife, Poppaea Sabina, to visit Nero. It was love. And not just between Nero and the hippo. The Emperor decided Otho should share his wife. In secret, of course. Always in secret. Don't want that kind of betrayal to get back to your best friend. Nope. And maybe keep the hippo stuff confid...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY for the 12th of JANUARY   On This Day, 12th of January 1993, Zayn Malik was born. Yes, Happy Birthday to Zayne formerly of the hit band One Direction.   Zayne Malik is famous for being afraid of heights, open water, hedgehogs and eyes.   When poor little Zayn was younger, he spent some nervous time wading in the water as a shark circled.   Lucky for him, Zayn suffered from smelly-feet-pongs. It's a terrible and embarrassing condition doctors have never been able to cure.   The shark was so put off by the smelly-feet-pongs, that it decided to stay away. However, a few minutes later, he was kidnapped by aliens. On board the alien star ship, Zayn was forced to stare at the letter "i" for hours on end whilst balancing on a hedgehog on top of a ladder.   This all added to his long list of phobias, which also include being a member of a best-selling boy band. He stays away from open...

On This Day In History - 29th December   On This Day, 29th December, 1170, Thomas Becket had a knight problem on a cold winter's night. That is to say, he was stabbed to death by four knights.   Long story short, in 1161 King Henry II made Thomas Becket the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Church's highest ranking bloke in England.   After nine short years, Henry got really miffed with him, because of reasons. Henry is said to have remarked, "Who will rid me of this troublesome priest?" Which the four knights took as an order to travel back to England and kill Thomas Becket. And then kill him a lot more, slicing and dicing away, hacking and whacking, dipping and skipping.   When King Henry II heard about the death of Thomas Becket, he was heard to say, "What the frigging frack did you do that for? It was a sodding rhetorical question. Bunch of twaddling dingbats. Now, go look rhetorical up in the dictionary. Write it a thousand times on a piece of ...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY - 2nd NOVEMBER   On This Day, 2nd of November, 1470, Edward V was born at Westminster Abbey.   Although the Abbey is the usual burial place for British Monarchs, Edward was the first to be born there. His mother, Elizabeth Woodville, who was married to his father, King Edward IV, had taken sanctuary at the Abbey during the War of the Roses after Edward's father, Edward, had been dethroned. And that's not a term for being knocked off the toilet.   Edward IV's Lancastrian enemy, Henry VI, had been briefly restored to the throne. The one in the palace, not the one in the toilet. A year later, Edward's father, Edward, returned to England from exile and knocked Henry VI off his toilet and retook the throne. After flushing, of course. Henry VI left one heck of a steaming dump in there.   Edward was created Prince of Wales in June 1471 and sent to Ludlow Castle, close to the border of Wales, to...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY FACTS -- 26th OCTOBER   On the 26th of October, 1775, King George III of Great Britain , the nutso-crazy-bonkers king, went before the British Parliament and declared the American colonies in rebellion, authorizing a military response to destroy the American Revolution.   Not if being crazy, nutso, bonkers and declaring war on the Colony were connected, but it's possible.   On the 26th of October, 1776, Benjamin Franklin left for a nice holiday in France. Not, of course, to try and get French support for the American Revolution. He just liked croissants and frogs legs. Also, the wine. Oh, boy, did he like the wine.   On the 26th of October, 1881, in a little place called Tombstone in Arizona , the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral raged, killing three ducks and a turkey.   On the 26th of October, 1999, Britain's House of Lords voted to end the right of hereditary peers to vote in Parliament. It was around the same ti...