Explore Orlando

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27 May-3 June 1940: About 340,000 retreating British, French...

National or international item

27 May-3 June 1940

About 340,000 retreating British, French and Belgian soldiers were safely evacuated from the beaches of Dunkirk on the French coast.

November 1938: The Movement for the Care of Children from...

National or international item

November 1938

The Movement for the Care of Children from Germany was formed in Britain in response to the murder of Jews at Kristallnacht; Kindertransport ships carried child refugees from Germany.

19 February 1947: Malcolm Lowry's Under the Volcano, a novel...

Writer or writing item

19 February 1947

Malcolm Lowry 's Under the Volcano, a novel begun in Cuernavaca, Mexico, about a decade earlier and finished in a shack near Vancouver despite life-threatening alcoholism, was published in New York.

22 February 1797: Irish-American colonel William Tate landed...

National or international item

22 February 1797

Irish-American colonel William Tate landed a small French invasion force at Fishguard Bay, Wales. This followed a larger-scale attempt through Ireland begun on 15 December 1796 which was abandoned the next month.

1641: Pierre Corneille published his classical...

Writer or writing item

1641

Pierre Corneille published his classical tragedyHorace, which had been first performed the previous year.

Mary Delany

MD 's writing was unpublished in her lifetime during the eighteenth century, but letters, occasional poems, and other writings (a libretto, a romance) were as much part of her daily life as her art works...

1921: A local bank named Fox, Fowler and Co., based...

National or international item

1921

A local bank named Fox, Fowler and Co. , based in Somerset, issued the last private (that is, non-Bank of England ) bank notes to be legal tender in Britain.

15 January 2001: Jimmy Wales founded (or co-founded with Larry...

Building and people item

15 January 2001

Jimmy Wales founded (or co-founded with Larry Sanger ) a free, online, user-generated encyclopedia, and named it Wikipedia. It arose from a free, online, but edited encyclopedia, Nupedia, which Wales had launched in 2000.

By August 1813: Some materials from John Aubrey's archive...

Writer or writing item

By August 1813

Some materials from John Aubrey 's archive on famous persons, later known as Brief Lives, were published.

April-May 1839: The Chartist Llanidloes riots took place,with...

National or international item

April-May 1839

The Chartist Llanidloes riots took place,with significant participation by women.

8 October 1915: A British advance on Loos in France, launched...

National or international item

8 October 1915

A British advance on Loos in France, launched on 25 September, was finally beaten back with huge losses.

4 July 1828: The House of Lords affirmed Lord Eldon's...

Building and people item

4 July 1828

The House of Lords affirmed Lord Eldon 's epoch-making decision which awarded custody of three children whose mother was dead to the mother's sisters instead of to the father.

16 May 1911: King George V unveiled the Queen Victoria...

Building and people item

16 May 1911

King George V unveiled the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace, and knighted its designer, Thomas Brock .

8 August 1918: Fisher's Education Act passed: among other...

Building and people item

8 August 1918

Fisher 's Education Act passed: among other reforms it modified the system of grants, abolished fees for elementary schools, and empowered Local Education Authorities to raise the upper age limit of compulsory education to fifteen...

1899: Mary Lucy Pendered published her novel An...

Women writers item

1899

Mary Lucy Pendered published her novelAn Englishman: A Romance of a Shop. It appeared in a revised edition thirteen years later.

December 1930: N. C. W. News, from the National Council...

Building and people item

December 1930

N. C. W. News, from the National Council of Women of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, ended publication.

1992: Polytechnics in Britain, with some Colleges...

Building and people item

1992

Polytechnics in Britain, with some Colleges of Further Education, were upgraded to the status of universities.

29 March 2014: Same-sex marriage became legal in Britain....

Building and people item

29 March 2014

Same-sex marriage became legal in Britain. The following month two women became the first English gay couple to marry in a church: at Bournemouth in Dorset.
“News in brief”. Guardian Weekly, p. 17.

May 1953: The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was...

Building and people item

May 1953

The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was marked by a special bonus on the butter ration: four extra ounces to add to each person's weekly eight ounces.

February 1886: A poem about women as bread-winners, signed...

Writer or writing item

February 1886

A poem about women as bread-winners, signed Ella—Type-lifter, appeared in the Scottish Typographical Circular.

1681-5: Of 217 Catholic estates sequestered during...

Building and people item

1681-5

Of 217 Catholic estates sequestered during the last four years of Charles II 's reign, over half were worth less than £100.

Charlotte Maria Tucker

Charlotte Maria Tucker was a phenomenally prolific and popular novelist, writer of tracts and short stories, and poet for children and adults. Most of her works have a religious and didactic intent. She is reported...

Agatha Christie

AC , the Duchess of Death, produced eighty books, including sixty-six novels and detective fictions, and fourteen of short stories as well as poetry and suspense drama. At the height of her career she...

14 January 1741: Frederick II of Prussia declared that Silesia,...

National or international item

14 January 1741

Frederick II of Prussia declared that Silesia, which he planned to take from Maria Theresa of Austria, was as good as conquered.
Browning, Reed. The War of the Austrian Succession. St Martin’s Press.
43

1855: The Metropolis Local Management Act was ...

National or international item

1855

The Metropolis Local Management Act was passed.