Mikhail Gorbachev, whose attempts to reform the Soviet Union helped to bring about its demise, says he regrets the destruction of monuments to Joseph Stalin which he described as a “silly, anti-historical act”.

A former UK ambassador to Israel has been named as the government's first envoy for post-Holocaust issues.

Russia has uncovered at least 495 skeletons, many with head gunshot wounds, in a mass grave probably dating back to purges under Soviet dictator Josef Stalin in the 1930s, municipal authorities said.

A legendary bluesman and massive influence upon rock groups such as Led Zeppelin. Take a look at the great man in action here: video.

Schumann’s parents were not musical but they encouraged his interest in music with Piano lessons from the age of 10. However his family was later to be beset by tragedy. When Schumann was in his teens, his father died and his sister committed suicide in quick succession, events that were to have a deep impact…

Germany's two main neo-Nazi parties are considering plans to merge in an attempt to gain popularity, according to reports.

Almost a generation after leaving the Kremlin, Mikhail Gorbachev blames himself – for reforming the Soviet Union so fast that it couldn't survive. Mary Dejevsky meets him

Life in Medieval Britain may not have been comfortable but its inhabitants had a dedication to debt-free living that we could learn from today, a think-tank has claimed.

The hovercraft was invented by Christopher Cockerell in 1956. The theory behind one of the most successful inventions of the 20th century, the Hovercraft, was originally tested in 1955 using an empty KiteKat cat food tin inside a coffee tin, an industrial air blower and a pair of kitchen scales. link

A top Russian official says there's no legal basis for reopening an investigation into the Katyn massacres, when thousands of Polish officers were killed by Soviet secret police.

A Second World War bomb has exploded in central Germany, killing three people.

Elizabeth Blackwell (3 February 1821 – 31 May 1910) was the first female doctor in the United States. She was the first openly identified woman to graduate from medical school, a pioneer in educating women in medicine in the United States, and was prominent in the emerging women’s rights movement. (from Wikipedia entry).

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…

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….

Stalin blocked two attempts to kill Hitler, Russian general says

HITLER FASHION AD Causes Controversy In Sicily

For some of Botticelli’s most famous paintings, take a look at this page. Wikipedia also has a good entry.

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.

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FTSE falls for 4th day on Greek contagion fears

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.

John Babcock, Last Canadian World War I Veteran, Dies at 109

Albert Göring, Hermann's anti-Nazi brother

Titanic star Leonardo DiCaprio wants to play role of Joseph Stalin

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

Last U.S. veteran of World War I turns 109

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).