Roman

On the Ides of March 44 BCE, one of the most famous men in history was assassinated. Julius Caesar, general and politician of the people, had risen too far. It was rumoured he wanted to be king and his very existence could ruin the Republic.

Roman

John Deare's Relief of Caesar's Invasion

Julius Caesar's Invasion of Britain

What could possibly have encouraged the Romans to invade a land on the edge of the known world, whose 'sky is obscured by continual rain and cloud'? Surely the Romans had enough to be doing: in western Europe, they were still occupied with…

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Fact of the Day

The earliest book of English table manners was written by Daniel of Beccles in the time of Henry II. It prohibited elbows on tables, talking with full mouths and scratching armpits. It also gave guidance on what to do if the wife of the host were to make a pass at a guest: he should feign illness.

Quote of the Day

"I have taken great care not to laugh at human actions, not to weep at them, nor to hate them, but to understand them. "

~ Baruch Spinoza

On This Day

1579 Thomas Gresham, merchant, financier, and founder of the Royal Exchange, died suddenly, apparently of apoplexy. He bequeathed his estate, after the death of his wife, to the Corporation of London and the Mercers' Company to set up a college to provide free lectures to the public; Gresham College thus became London's first institution of higher education.

1916 The hospital ship Britannic, sister-ship of Titanic, hit a mine and sank, killing 30.

1918 Ten days after the Armistice, the German navy surrendered to the British in the Firth of Forth.

1920 The assassinations of British intelligence officers ordered by Michael Collins in the Irish War of Independence led to thirty-one dead (from both sides) in what became known as 'Bloody Sunday'.

1974 21 people were killed and 182 injured when bombs exploded in two Birmingham pubs. The IRA was probably responsible, but the real culprits have never been found. The Birmingham Six, originally convicted of the bombings, were released because of dodgy police practices.

1981 The proceedings of the House of Commons were televised live for the first time.