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Here, you’ll find randomized material from across the textbase’s author profiles and timelines. To jump to the content of your choice, click on its image card.

1855: The Black Dyke Mills Band was started by...

Building and people item

1855

The Black Dyke Mills Band was started by John Foster and Sons of Queensbury in Queenshead near Bradford; the band became synonomous with brass band music in Britain.
Taylor, John Russell, editor. The Penguin Dictionary of Theatre. 3rd ed., Penguin, 1993.
22

January 1979: The Shah of Iran, Muhammad Reza Pahlavi,...

National or international item

January 1979

The Shah of Iran, Muhammad Reza Pahlavi , was ousted from his country by Ayatollah Khomeini , who returned from exile to set up an Islamic republic.
Ajami, Fouad. “Islam’s First Challenge to American Interests”. Guardian Weekly, 17–23 Dec. 2004, p. 25.
25

4 December 1884: Mark Twain published, not in the USA but...

Writer or writing item

4 December 1884

Mark Twain published, not in the USA but at London, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Drabble, Margaret, editor. The Oxford Companion to English Literature. 5th ed., Oxford University Press, 1985.
Camfield, Gregg, editor. The Oxford Companion to Mark Twain. Oxford University Press, 2003.
712
Emerson, Everett. Mark Twain: A Literary Life. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2000.
141-2
Borne Back Daily. 2001, http://borneback.com/ .
4 December 2008

Hannah Webster Foster

HWF published a landmark sentimental novel and a fictional-didactic text at Boston, Massachusetts, in the final decade of the eighteenth century. She also wrote for periodicals.
Hannah Webster Foster Black and white head-and-shoulders reproduction of a portrait of Hannah Webster Foster before 1840. She is wearing a large. stylish hat adorned with ostrich feathers, and a large lacy collar. Her dark hair is in curls.

Florence Dixie

A highly unusual personality, Lady Florence Dixie was also a highly unusual late-Victorian writer. She was a precocious poet: the verses she claimed to have written in childhood awoke an extraordinary chorus of praise. She...
Florence Dixie Black and white photo of Florence Dixie, used as frontispiece to her "Gloriana", 1890. She leans on a wooden railing, facing the viewer, wearing a sailor suit (white blouse with collar like a neckerchief. Her hair is short, with a short fringe. Beneath, her signature is reproduced: "faithfully yours, Florence Dixie."

February 1924: The British government finally extended diplomatic...

National or international item

February 1924

The British government finally extended diplomatic recognition to the Soviet regime in the USSR.
John, Angela V. Evelyn Sharp: Rebel Woman, 1869–1955. Manchester University Press, 2009.
253n21

About 1829: Alfred Novello, brother of Mary Cowden Clarke,...

Building and people item

About 1829

Alfred Novello , brother of Mary Cowden Clarke , launched the family music-publishing business at the family home, then 67 Frith Street, London.
Clarke, Mary Cowden. My Long Life. Dodd, Mead, 1896.
90

14 April 1816: Bussa's Rebellion began in Barbados....

National or international item

14 April 1816

Bussa 's Rebellion began in Barbados.
Rogozinski, Jan. A Brief History of the Caribbean: From the Arawak and the Carib to the Present. Revised, Facts on File, 1999.
183
Walvin, James. Black Ivory: A History of British Slavery. Howard University Press, 1994.
275

By 30 April 1864: George Meredith published Emilia in England,...

Writer or writing item

By 30 April 1864

George Meredith published Emilia in England, a novel that he retitled Sandra Belloni in its second edition, February 1886.
Sutherland, John, b. 1938. The Stanford Companion to Victorian Fiction. Stanford University Press, 1989.
553, 653
Cox, Michael, editor. The Oxford Chronology of English Literature. Oxford University Press, 2002, 2 vols.
The Athenaeum Index of Reviews and Reviewers: 1830-1870. http://replay.web.archive.org/20070714065452/http://www.soi.city.ac.uk/~asp/v2/home.html.

1802: Thomas Wedgwood (of the pottery family) and...

Building and people item

1802

Thomas Wedgwood (of the pottery family) and Humphry Davy experimented with capturing images using silver nitrate; they almost invented photography.
Hannavy, John. Masters of Victorian Photography. David and Charles, 1976.
7-8
Jay, Mike. “Like Cooking a Dumpling”. London Review of Books, Vol.
36
, No. 22, 20 Nov. 2014, pp. 25-6.
25

2 February 1709: Sailor Alexander Selkirk was rescued after...

Writer or writing item

2 February 1709

Sailor Alexander Selkirk was rescued after surviving more than four years as a castway on Juan Fernandez island.
Matthew, Henry Colin Gray et al., editors. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. http://www.oxforddnb.com/.
“On This Day: 2 February 1709”. BBC History.

1857: Peter Andreas Hansen's Tables de la lune...

National or international item

1857

Peter Andreas Hansen 's Tables de la lune (Lunar Tables) was printed by the British government and subsequently used in nautical almanacs.
Hellemans, Alexander, and Bryan Bunch. The Timetables of Science: A Chronology of the Most Important People and Events in the History of Science. Simon and Shuster, 1988.
328
Taton, René, editor. Science in the Nineteenth Century. Translator Pomerans, Arnold J., Vol. 3, Basic Books, 1965.
138

1968: The Runnymede Trust (named after the place...

National or international item

1968

The Runnymede Trust (named after the place where on 15 June 1215 King John signed the Magna Carta) was set up as a voluntary, independent think-tank aiming to promote a successful multi-ethnic Britain.
“About Runnymede”. The Runnymede Trust.

1761: Joseph Priestley published The Rudiments...

Writer or writing item

1761

Joseph Priestley published The Rudiments of English Grammar; adapted to the use of schools. With observations on style.
English Short Title Catalogue. http://estc.bl.uk/.

Before October 1865: John Ruskin published his popular treatise...

Writer or writing item

Before October 1865

John Ruskin published his popular treatise on gender roles, Sesame and Lilies.
Drabble, Margaret, editor. The Oxford Companion to English Literature. 5th ed., Oxford University Press, 1985.
Cox, Michael, editor. The Oxford Chronology of English Literature. Oxford University Press, 2002, 2 vols.

31 May 1721: The Haymarket Theatre, or Opera House, shifted...

Building and people item

31 May 1721

The Haymarket Theatre, or Opera House, shifted from the general opening time of 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The London Stage 1660-1800. Southern Illinois University Press, 1960–1968, 5 vols.
2: 591, 632

4 October 1911: The first electric escalators in the UK were...

Building and people item

4 October 1911

The first electric escalators in the UK were installed, at Earl's Court underground station, London.
Bruno, Leonard. On the Move: A Chronology of Advances in Transportation. Gale Research, 1993.
Palmer, Alan, and Veronica Palmer. The Chronology of British History. Century, 1992.
346
Trotter, David. “Savage Rush”. London Review of Books, Vol.
32
, No. 20, 22 Oct. 2010, pp. 30-1.
31
Frye, Kate Parry. Campaigning for the Vote: Kate Parry Frye’s Suffrage Diary. Editor Crawford, Elizabeth, Francis Boutle Publishers, 2013.
203

May 1870: Leeds Prison in England was still employing...

Building and people item

May 1870

Leeds Prison in England was still employing stocks to discipline female prisoners.
Cowie, Leonard W., and Leonard Woolfson. Years of Nationalism: European History 1815-1890. Edward Arnold, 1985.
169

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.
Lively, Penelope. A House Unlocked. Penguin, 2002.
104

Up to 8 October 1959: The BBC for the first time gave coverage...

National or international item

Up to 8 October 1959

The BBC for the first time gave coverage in its news broadcasts to a General Election campaign.
Briggs, Asa. The BBC: The First Fifty Years. Oxford University Press, 1985.
390

1702: Hanging paper (i.e. wallpaper) was already...

Building and people item

1702

Hanging paper (i.e. wallpaper) was already on sale in London, some of it imported from China.
Saumarez Smith, Charles. Eighteenth-Century Decoration: Design and the Domestic Interior in England. Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1993.
122
Garnett, Oliver. “Paper Chase”. The National Trust Magazine, Vol.
90
, 1 June 2000–2026, p. 88.
88

4 December 2009: The search engine Google initiated the use...

Building and people item

4 December 2009

The search engine Google initiated the use of 57 signals to create profiles of all its users from the searches they carry out.
Pariser, Eli. “In our own little internet bubbles”. Guardian Weekly, 24 June 2011, pp. 32-3.
32

26 May 1891: The directors' meeting of the London Missionary...

Building and people item

26 May 1891

The directors' meeting of the London Missionary Society was first attended by women.
Prochaska, F. K. Women and Philanthropy in Nineteenth-Century England. Clarendon, 1980.
31

16 April 1859: French historian and sociologist Alexis de...

Writer or writing item

16 April 1859

French historian and sociologist Alexis de Tocqueville died of tuberculosis.
Drabble, Margaret, editor. The Oxford Companion to English Literature. 5th ed., Oxford University Press, 1985.

1903: The Poor Prisoners' Defence Act established...

Building and people item

1903

The Poor Prisoners' Defence Act established legal aid for the defence of those facing criminal charges.
Warren, Michael. “A Chronology of State Medicine, Public Health, Welfare and Related Services in Britain: 1066 - 1999”. Michael Warren’s Chronology, 6 Jan. 2003.