This was a major event in the Cold War as it suggested that the USSR were getting the upper hand in the Space Race. The USA became increasingly paranoid about the threat posed by the Soviet Union.

Henry was nicknamed Henry the Great (Henri le Grand), and in France is also called le bon roi Henri (“the good king Henry”) or le Vert galant (“the Green gallant”), a reference to both his dashing character and his attractiveness to women. In English he is most often referred to as Henry of Navarre. He…

Other works by Barry include: Manchester City Art Gallery The Treasury Building, Whitehall, London The Royal College of Surgeons, London Bowood, Wiltshire Cliveden, Buckinghamshire Drumlanrig Castle, Dumfries and Galloway Duncombe Park, North Yorkshire Dunrobin Castle, Highland Edgbaston Hall, West Midlands Eynsham Hall, Oxfordshire Gawthorpe Hall, Lancashire Harewood House, West Yorkshire Highclere Park, Hampshire Hinton Manor,…

Eichmann was the most notorious surviving Nazi at this point and one of the architects of the Holocaust during World War Two. He was later put on trial in Israel and then executed.

King Edward gave his name to the “Edwardian Era” which represents the high-point of British confidence (complacency?) before World War One. He is also the reason why we don’t button up the final button on our waistcoats (if you know your fashion sense…) – because he was too fat to do so, everyone else turned…

For more on this legislation, have a read of this page.

Herzl was the founder of the Zionist Movement, which campaigned for an independent Jewish State. He is historically important in the context of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

A Soviet missile shoots down an American Lockheed U2 spy plane; the pilot Francis Gary Powers is captured.

For an Edison film of Twain in 1909, click here.

The popular countdown timer at www.classtools.net has now been developed with several more tunes – check them out here!

To listen to the recording, click here.

The Sharpeville Massacre, also known as the Sharpeville shootings, occurred on 21 March 1960, when South African police opened fire on a crowd of black protesters, killing 69 people. The confrontation occurred in the township of Sharpeville, in what is now Gauteng province. [Wikipedia Link]

This began the military intervention that escalated into the Vietnam War, which lasted until 1973.

Wikipedia Link

Born 21st Feb. 1910. In 1928, Bader joined the RAF, but, on 14 December 1931 at Woodley airfield near Reading, lost both of his legs in an aircraft crash attempting a slow roll at very low level following jibes about his not wanting to perform aerobatics that day. Bader recovered, undertook refresher training, passed his…

Old Trafford, Manchester United football ground, opened (100 years ago today). The stadium hosted its inaugural game on 19 February 1910, with United playing host to Liverpool. However, the home side were unable to provide their fans with a win to mark the occasion, as Liverpool won 4–3. A journalist at the game reported the…

Louis XV, the penultimate King of France, was born: 15th Feb. 1710 (300 years ago today) “Popular legend holds that Louis said, “After me, the flood” (“Après moi, le déluge”). In fact this quotation is more precisely attributed to Madame de Pompadour, although it is not certain that even she ever said it. The remark…

Winston Churchill becomes Home Secretary in Asquith’s Liberal Government: 14th Feb. 1910 (100 years ago today). In this role he notoriously used troops to put down striking miners in South Wales and to assist police during a house siege in Sidney Street in East London in January 1911.

France tests its first atomic bomb in the Sahara: 13th Feb. 1960 (50 years ago today) Wikipedia Link

100 Years Ago Today: Prince Makalin of Abyssinia and five other members of royalty were welcomed aboard the British battleship HMS Dreadnought. The prince turned out to be prankster Horace de Vere Cole, and the group included Virginia Woolf: 10th Feb 1910. Wikipedia Link

Thomas Crapper, English inventor of the modern toilet, died: 27th Jan. 1910.

Django Reinhardt, jazz guitarist, was was born: 23rd Jan. 1910.

The United Kingdom “Peers v. People” General Election: 15th Jan. 1910.

The Saar Plebiscite: The Saar, which had been given to France for 15 years by the Treaty of Versailles after World War One, voted overwhelmingly to return to Germany. One of Hitler’s earliest foreign policy successes, this event returned territory to Germany whose raw materials were immensely important for Hitler’s re-armament plans.

The marriage of Napoleon Bonaparte and Josephine was annulled: 10th Jan. 1810.

Galileo Galilei discovered the moons of Jupiter: 7th Jan. 1610.

Albert Camus, author of “The Plague”, died (4th Jan. 1960).

I’ve just set up this Facebook page for ActiveHistory.co.uk to provide its users with another way of keeping on top of what’s being added to the site. At the moment it’s just pulling in updates from the site blog, but I’m interested to see if the ability to comment on posts / start discussions turns…

Classroom Roleplay: The Trial of King Louis XVI A one-hour lesson. The class is organised into prosecution, defence and judges and each one has a specific task to prepare for the trial. The roleplay itself is a lively activity which forces the students to think on their feet and critically evaluate the evidence prior to…

• Here are the major events to commemorate in lessons, assemblies and extension tasks in January 2010. • To receive each month’s anniversaries a couple of weeks in advance, follow the ActiveHistory Anniversaries RSS feed. • To add to this list for this or other months, please contact me with your suggestion or send a…