Decoding Linear B
In a BBC interview on 1 July 1952, self-taught linguist Michael Ventris announced that he had deciphered the Linear B script of Minoan Crete.
Mathew Lyons
Death of a Samurai Legend
Miyamoto Musashi was finally defeated on 13 June 1645, but it wasn’t a sword that laid the formidable samurai low.
The Publication of Nineteen Eighty-Four
On 8 June 1949, George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four was published. His final novel, its themes had been present throughout his literary career.
An Exhibition on Rational Dress for Victorian Women
On 19 May 1883 Eliza King and her Rational Dress Association held an exhibition to champion comfortable clothing for Victorian women.
The Death of a Mnemonist
Solomon Shereshevsky died on 1 May 1958. He dreamt of being a hero but achieved greatness of another kind.
The Death of Little Jack the Boy Missionary
On 5 April 1889 John Hore died aged only seven years old. His adventures in East Africa saw him immortalised by Victorian evangelicals as ‘the boy missionary’.
The Vienna Secession is Founded
On 3 April 1897 a young Gustav Klimt led a group of artists in open revolt, seceding from Vienna’s cultural establishment.
The Birth of Ovid
Writing from exile, the Roman poet Ovid revealed his birth date as 24 March 43 BC. But on the cause of said exile, he was unusually reticent.
The Death of Einhard the Historian
Charlemagne’s biographer Einhard died on 14 March 840, his modesty in stark contrast with the story of greatness he wove for his king.
The Original Bonfire of the Vanities
On 7 February 1497, the Piagnoni of Florence set sin ablaze in the original ‘bonfire of the vanities’