Inventor of Jigsaw Puzzle Dies
John Spilsbury, the engraver behind the ‘dissected’ map, died on 3 April 1769.
Months Past
Fall of Africa’s Greatest Empire
The Battle of Tondibi, which resulted in the defeat of the Songhay army, took place on 13 March 1591.
Discovery of the Periodic Table
Dmitri Mendeleev identified a general theory underlying all elements on 1 March 1869.
The Edict of Thessalonica
On 27 February 380, divine punishment and imperial retribution were threatened for those who rejected the Nicene creed.
Publication of the Futurist Manifesto
Futurism was launched like a political movement on the front page of Le Figaro on 20 February 1909.
Execution of the Tailor-King
The bodies of Jan Bockelson, and two other leaders of the Anabaptist sect, were hung outside the church of St Lambert on 22 January 1536.
Baptism of Leo Africanus
The great native historian of Africa was baptised by Pope Leo X on 6 January 1520.
The First Performance of ‘Silent Night’
A recital took place at the church of St Nicholas in Oberndorf in Salzburg, on the evening of 24 December 1818.
Birth of an Imperial Historian
Anna Komnene, author of Alexiad, was born on 1 December 1083.
Lesbian ‘Obscenity’ Suppressed
The publishers of Radclyffe Hall’s The Well of Loneliness were prosecuted for obscenity on 9 November 1928.