Fidel Castro, the former Cuban leader, has delivered his first speech to the national assembly since resigning over ill health four years ago.
6th August 1660 (350 years ago today) – Velazquez Died
Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (June 6, 1599 – August 6, 1660) was a Spanish painter who was the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV. He was an individualistic artist of the contemporary Baroque period, important as a portrait artist. In addition to numerous renditions of scenes of historical and cultural…
Channel Listings for History Programmes on UK TV and Radio
I’ve just finished writing a new program which goes through the main UK TV / Radio channels and lists all upcoming history programmes for the next three days. Check it out here! Share this:
1066 and all those baby names
Norman names such as William, Henry and Alice have been popular for 1,000 years. Why did the English copy their invaders?
1066 and all those baby names
Norman names such as William, Henry and Alice have been popular for 1,000 years. Why did the English copy their invaders?
150-Year-Old Lost Ship Found in Arctic
In 1850, the vessel embarked on a search mission to follow the trail of a doomed expedition to find the Northwest Passage.
150-Year-Old Lost Ship Found in Arctic
In 1850, the vessel embarked on a search mission to follow the trail of a doomed expedition to find the Northwest Passage.
Mussolini and Italian Fascism: Factual Tests
Choose from the following two options 20 Factual Questions Complete the gaps exercise Share this:
Essay planning: Mussolini’s Domestic Policies
Essay Planning Task A worksheet which guides students through the steps of writing an effective essay on Mussolini’s domestic policies Share this:
Mussolini and Fascist Italy
Research Task: Short Version Eight main policy areas will be researched (students later boil these down to five, then link them). The teacher will provide details on the first one using a model research piece and students should make notes. The class will then research the other rows and feedback with their findings. Share this:
Introductory Prezi: Mussolini and Fascist Italy
A brief overview of the main themes and the key events. Students should take notes! Share this:
18th July 1610 (400 years ago today) Michelangelo and Caravaggio died
Two of the greatest artists of the Renaissance. Share this:
Orlando Figes to pay fake Amazon review damages
A leading historian who wrote anonymous reviews on the Amazon website praising his own work and criticising rivals is to pay libel damages and costs.
Orlando Figes to pay fake Amazon review damages
A leading historian who wrote anonymous reviews on the Amazon website praising his own work and criticising rivals is to pay libel damages and costs.
Mussolini and Fascist Italy: Overview
Mussolini (a former schoolteacher and socialist) was appointed prime minister in October 1922 . As Duce (leader), he initially headed a coalition of Fascists and nationalists, but soon assumed dictatorial powers, although muted parliamentary opposition continued until the murder of Matteotti in 1924. As an extension activity, read through Mussolini’s answer to the question “What…
Auschwitz ‘I will survive’ dance video is internet sensation
A video showing a Jewish Holocaust survivor and his grandchildren singing and dancing to the tune "I will survive" at the entrance to the Auschwitz death camp has provoked a storm of controversy after receiving more than half a million hits on YouTube.
Auschwitz ‘I will survive’ dance video is internet sensation
A video showing a Jewish Holocaust survivor and his grandchildren singing and dancing to the tune "I will survive" at the entrance to the Auschwitz death camp has provoked a storm of controversy after receiving more than half a million hits on YouTube.
Historical Anniversaries for August 2010
• The following list provides 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 (50 years ago today), 1910 (100 years ago today), 1860 (150 years ago today) etc). •…
Barack Obama compared to Hitler and Lenin in Tea Party billboard
A roadside billboard created by a branch of the Tea Party in Iowa comparing President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler and Vladimir Lenin has been condemned by other groups in the movement.
Barack Obama compared to Hitler and Lenin in Tea Party billboard
A roadside billboard created by a branch of the Tea Party in Iowa comparing President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler and Vladimir Lenin has been condemned by other groups in the movement.
Theory of Knowledge
It has been said that “all history is contemporary history” (Croce) and “History tells us more about the person who wrote it than about the people being written about” (Carr). In this sense, works of history themselves become sources for later generations of historians! In this session, we will look at the three broad interpretations…
‘Biggest canal ever built by Romans’ discovered
One of the biggest canals ever built by the Romans in an ancient port as important as Carthage or Alexandria has been discovered by British archaeologists.
‘Biggest canal ever built by Romans’ discovered
One of the biggest canals ever built by the Romans in an ancient port as important as Carthage or Alexandria has been discovered by British archaeologists.
Historians locate King Arthur’s Round Table
Historians claim to have finally located the site of King Arthur’s Round Table – and believe it could have seated 1,000 people.
11th July 1960 (50 years ago today) Harper Lee releases her critically acclaimed novel To Kill a Mockingbird
Nelle Harper Lee (born April 28, 1926) is an American author, best known for her 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom of the United States for her contribution to literature in 2007…[more] Share this:
The Historians and their Sources
Sources are incomplete, untypical and unreliable, as we found out in our last session. Historians therefore need to: Select sources to use, based on what questions need answering; Interpret those sources and make deductions from them; Organise and present their main conclusions to the public. Arguably, this process of selection and interpretation distorts our “knowledge”…
Historiography: The Historians and their Sources
The first way in which we gain knowledge of the past is through historical evidence (“sources”). Two questions raise themselves: How can we extract knowledge from the sources? (issues of quality and quantity) How useful is the knowledge that we extract in this way? (issues of comprehensibility and the ‘language gap’) [Student worksheet | Extension…
6th July 1960 (50 years ago today) Aneurin Bevan died
Aneurin Bevan was one of the most important ministers of the post-war Labour government and the chief architect of the National Health Service…[more] Share this:
5th July 1810 (200 years ago today) Phineas T. Barnum was born
Barnum is widely but erroneously credited with coining the phrase “There’s a sucker born every minute.”…[more] Share this:
Theory of Knowledge in History
Why and How is History Produced? – student worksheet and teacher notes to help deliver a historiography course. Share this:
4th July 1910 (100 years ago today) African-American boxer Jack Johnson defeats James J. Jeffries (Film!)
As a result of this heavyweight boxing match, race riots broke out across the United States. YouTube Video Share this:
4th July 1910 (100 years ago today) Schiaparelli died
Prolific Italian astronomer whose research ranged widely but whose name is forever associated with Mars, and the controversy over the Martian “canals” which, unwittingly, he helped to unleash…[more] Share this:
France’s new medieval castle
Deep in the forests of central France, an unusual architectural experiment is half-way to completion, as a team of masons replicates in painstaking detail the construction of an entire medieval castle.
Niall Ferguson: ‘What would the left wing do without me?’
He's the media don who makes liberals bristle. Now Niall Ferguson is rewriting economics. He talks to Sean O'Grady about banking in the Third Reich, the failure of Obama and how he's helping Michael Gove
Rare Napoleon memorabilia, including a lock of his hair, sold in New Zealand auction
Rare memorabilia of former French Emperor Napoleon 1st, including a lock of hair cut from his head after he died in exile in 1821 on the remote island of St. Helena, have fetched 140,000 New Zealand dollars ($97,000) at auction.
List of French who collaborated with Nazis to be published online
Thousands of French citizens who collaborated with the Nazis during the Second World War will be unmasked when police reports from the era are finally made public and published online.
Man facing jail over Hitler ringtone
A German man is facing up to six months in jail for having a speech by Adolf Hitler as his mobile phone ringtone.
Every time the 54-year-old man's phone rang, it played a speech by Hitler, in which the former dictator pledged the destruction of world Jewry if Germany was dragged into war.
MazeGame: The Chinese Civil War and the Rise of Mao
Meet some of the key characters relating to the topic, learn about some of the key documents and artefacts, and take a series of tests before being given an overall score in this decision-making adventure. Share this:
1st July 1860 (150 years ago today) Charles Goodyear died
Goodyear’s discovery of what came to be known as vulcanization strengthened rubber so it could be applied to a vast variety of industrial uses, including, eventually, automobile tyres…[more] Share this:
Stalin falls from grace in last bastion – his birthplace
A statue of the former Soviet dicatator Josef Stalin was removed from a plinth in his birthplace in Georgia.
BBC News – History, with rose-tinted hindsight
Why rewrite history books – to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative for the good of the nation, asks David Cannadine in his Point of View column.
Teachers ‘arrested for stealing Auschwitz memento’
Two Canadian teachers who wanted a memento of their trip to Auschwitz have been arrested by Polish police for stealing pins from the camp's railway track, according to reports.
30th June 1860 (150 years ago today) The historic debate about evolution is held at the Oxford University Museum.
Seeking to score a point against Darwin’s disciples, the Bishop of Oxford unwisely baited Thomas Henry Huxley by enquiring whether he would prefer to think of himself descended from an ape on his grandfather’s or grandmother’s side. According to legend he quickly had his comeuppance. Huxley whispered to a neighbour: “The Lord hath delivered him…
Spain under Primo de Rivera
A new version of the Jigsaw-Table Exercise. Share this:
Chinese Civil War – Essay Writing Task
Students are presented with three possible essay titles, which the teacher can either divide between the class as a homework task OR one of which can be randomly chosen in a subsequent lesson and answered by the entire class in timed conditions. Share this:
Nurse in famous WW2 Times Square photograph dies
A nurse famously photographed being kissed by an American sailor in New York's Times Square in 1945 to celebrate the end of the Second World War has died at the age of 91…
Incoming D-Day Memorial chief stands by Stalin bust
While Mr. Reed said he can "appreciate the concern" of locals who have voiced their opposition to the bust, he said the bust can serve as a teaching tool to make visitors recognize the importance of Stalin as one of the leaders in World War II…
Women During World War One
A new and improved version of the Jigsaw-Table exercise. Share this:
22nd July 1910 (100 years ago today) A wireless telegraph sent from the S.S. Montrose results in the identification and later arrest and execution of murderer Dr. Hawley Crippen.
This strange and unusual story begins in 1910 London, with 48 year old American born Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen, MD. (who also enjoyed practicing dentistry) Dr. Crippen was married to Cora, who preferred her stage name ‘Belle Elmore.’ ‘Belle’ was a mediocre theatrical singer in her early 30’s originally from New York and the couple…
Jigsaw Table Exercise: The Chinese Civil War and the Rise of Mao
After the class has had a feedback session based on the individual research tasks, students should complete this interactive exercise which tests their knowledge of the essential points and which additionally provides them with a thorough, completed table of information with which to develop their original notes. Each student is also given a score, which…
Winston Churchill ‘agonised’ over finest hour speech, papers reveal
A new examination of his papers shows how he agonised over every famous phrase – even adding one at the last minute – and how his private secretary was secretly unimpressed by his efforts.
First World War Bosnian postcard finally reaches family
A postcard sent home by a Bosnian soldier in the First World War has finally reached his family after 95 years, thanks to an antique collector who delivered it personally to the man's grandson after buying it at a fair in California.
Benito Mussolini’s diaries ‘hidden near Swiss border’
Diaries and documents belonging to Benito Mussolini are hidden in a secret location near the Swiss border, it has been claimed.
Michelangelo hid anatomical sketches in Sistine Chapel in Church attack
Michelangelo concealed anatomical sketches in the robes and faces of the figures he painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in a coded attack on the Church's disdain for science, researchers believe.
Napoleon ‘hoped to conquer Britain from St Helena’
Napoleon Bonaparte still harboured ambitions of invading Britain even as he was sailing to St Helena where he was exiled, according to a previously unseen diary.
The Soviet Union under Khrushchev
A new version of the Jigsaw table exercise. Share this:
Archaeologist finds World Cup ‘omen’ badge
An archaeologist has discovered an 800 year-old medieval badge emblazoned with three lions.
Hitler memorabilia ‘attracts young Indians’
Slowly but steadily, a decade-old business around the dead and universally despised dictator Adolf Hitler is emerging as a small-scale industry in India.
Winston Churchill’s cigar airbrushed from picture
A photograph of Winston Churchill giving his victory salute has been airbrushed to remove his signature cigar.
Why Bollywood’s film about Hitler is profoundly misguided
The idea that Hitler should be thanked for Indian independence proceeds from the view that, by weakening Britain, Germany forced it to abandon its empire.
Destroying monuments to Stalin a silly attempt to rewrite history: Gorbachev
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”.
The Chinese Civil War – Individual Research Task
For the next task, students are provided with a blank version of this grid. Each student is allocated one cell, and use timelines, textbooks and websites to produce a PowerPoint presentation on it. The class should start by going back through the source pack and deciding where and why each source can be placed in…
The Duke of Northumberland
A new and improved version of the Jigsaw-Table exercise. Share this:
Sir Andrew Burns named as first post-Holocaust envoy
A former UK ambassador to Israel has been named as the government's first envoy for post-Holocaust issues.
Stalin-era mass grave yields tonnes of bones
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.
Historical Anniversaries for July 2010
• The following list provides 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 (50 years ago today), 1910 (100 years ago today), 1860 (150 years ago today) etc). •…
10th June 1910 (100 years ago today) Howlin’ Wolf was born
A legendary bluesman and massive influence upon rock groups such as Led Zeppelin. Take a look at the great man in action here: video. Share this:
Source Pack: The Chinese Civil War and the Rise of Mao
This sourcepack comes complete with questions and is broken up logically into sections relating to three key periods leading to the rise of Mao. Share this:
8th June 1810 (200 years ago today) Schumann was born
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…
German neo-Nazi parties ‘consider merger’
Germany's two main neo-Nazi parties are considering plans to merge in an attempt to gain popularity, according to reports.
Mikhail Gorbachev: Russia’s elder statesman still at home with power
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
Head2Head Virtual Interview with Henry VIII
Now improved with hyperlinks to keywords and an on-screen record of the conversation. Share this:
Medieval life ‘could teach us about debt-free living’
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.
5th June 1910 (100 years ago today) Christopher Cockerell was born
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 Share this:
Russia says probe into 1940 katyn massacre can’t be reopened
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.
Three dead as Second World War bomb explodes in Germany
A Second World War bomb has exploded in central Germany, killing three people.
Timeline Challenge: The Chinese Civil War and the Rise of Mao
Students are put into teams and play this competitive game which tests their knowledge and develops their understanding. Share this:
History Mystery: Antoine de St. Exupery
An ActiveHistory Mystery. The “History Mysteries” lessons are designed as stand-alone projects which each last 3-4 hours. Through engaging historical topics, they teach skills of research, groupwork, structured writing. There is a standard teacher lesson plan and student record sheet / markscheme for each activity. Share this:
Silvio Berlusconi compares himself to Mussolini
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Artists take on the new cult of Stalin
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31st May 1910 (100 years ago today) Elizabeth Blackwell, pioneer for women’s rights, died
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). Share this:
