30th May 1960 (50 years ago today) Boris Pasternak died

Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (Russian: ?????? ??????????? ??????????) (10 February 1890 – 30 May 1960) was a Nobel Prize-winning Russian and Soviet poet, novelist and translator of Goethe and Shakespeare. In Russia, Pasternak is most celebrated as a poet. My Sister Life, written in 1917, is arguably the most influential collection of poetry published in the…

27th May 1910 (100 years ago today) Death of Robert Koch

Heinrich Herman Robert Koch (11 December 1843 – 27 May 1910) was a German physician. He became famous for isolating Bacillus anthracis (1877), the Tuberculosis bacillus (1882) and the Vibrio cholerae (1883) and for his development of Koch’s postulates. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his tuberculosis findings in 1905….

12th May 1860 (150 years ago today) Charles Barry, architect of the Houses of Parliament in London, died

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,…

“History in the Headlines” – New RSS address

If you currently follow History in the headlines as an RSS feed, you need to resubscribe to the new and improved version at:
http://feeds.delicious.com/v2/rss/russeltarr/bundle:History_News?count=50

6th May 1910 (100 years ago today) King Edward VII of England died

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…

100 Years Ago Today: Douglas Bader, WW2 Fighter Ace, is born

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…

100 Years Ago Today: Old Trafford hosted its first football match

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…

300 Years Ago Today: Louis XV, King of France, was born

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…

100 Years Ago Today: Winston Churchill becomes Home Secretary

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.

100 Years Ago Today: The Dreadnought Hoax

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

Historiography

I’ve produced this Historiographical Terms Handout for my IB students, just to give them some useful points of reference. Feel free to use it in class – and if you think there’s something obvious I could add / amend / correct please let me know! It covers such themes as intentionalism, structuralism, annales school and…

Key Terminology for Historians

Classroom Posters: 24 Key Terms for Historians Two dozen defined terms, designed to be laminated and placed around the classroom for older students.

Historical Anniversary – 75 Years ago today…

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.

For those of you who use Twitter

I’ve just created this page which provides a list of the various Twitter accounts I use to share information about Activehistory, Classtools, History in the Headlines and Education Technology in the classroom. If you’re a Twitter user, feel free to follow any or all of them!

ActiveHistory on Facebook

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…

The Trial of King Louis XVI: Roleplay Exercise

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…

Top 10 History Films in my school library, 2009

At the International School of Toulouse, we’ve got a library of 150 or so feature films related to historical themes. The most frequently borrowed by students this year were as follows: Most Frequently Borrowed A Knight’s Tale (Medieval Warfare, Chivalry) Marie-Antoinette (French Revolution) Land and Freedom (Spanish Civil War) Cinderella Man (The Great Depression) The…

Anniversaries for January 2010

• 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…

Anniversaries

I’m just setting up a new facility on the site whereby every month you will be presented with a list of important anniversaries that could be commemorated in 2010. • It can be used by teachers preparing assemblies, extension tasks and one-off lessons. • I am limiting the list to multiples of 50 years (1960…

Origin of Surnames Worksheet

An updated version of the Year 7 History Worksheet; now included is a template map of the UK (for students to plot names relating to places) and a diamond9 diagram for students to plot profession-based surnames in rank order of status.

History Essay Planning Tool

History Essay Planner This tool from ActiveHistory helps you to plan History essays! Simply COPY and PASTE your essay questions into this box and press “submit” (if you submit more than one, each should start on a new line). The computer will then provide you with an essay plan for each question! Lesson idea: BEFORE…

History Essay Marker

This tool from ActiveHistory helps to mark your history essays! Simply COPY and PASTE your essay question and your essay into the boxes below. The computer will then provide you with detailed feedback about your essay!