Podcast Episodes
Back to Search23rd December 1750: Ben Franklin accidentally shocks himself while trying to electrocute a turkey
Benjamin Franklin, the American polymath, accidentally electrocuted himself while attempting to kill a ...
3 months, 3 weeks ago
22nd December 1964: Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird strategic reconnaissance aircraft makes its first flight
The SR-71 was used to conduct reconnaissance missions over hostile territory, providing high-quality photographic and electronic intelligence until i…
3 months, 3 weeks ago
21st December 1913: First modern crossword puzzle printed in the New York World newspaper, created by Arthur Wynne
Wynne’s first ‘word-cross puzzle’ was shaped as a symmetrical diamond with a hollow centre, and was developed by Wynne for the 21 December issue of t…
3 months, 3 weeks ago
20th December 1917: Establishment of the Cheka, the Russian Bolshevik secret police
Established following a decree by Lenin on 19 December, the Cheka’s focus was on defending the revolution by removing internal threats to the communi…
3 months, 3 weeks ago
19th December 1777: George Washington leads the Continental Army into winter quarters at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
By the time the Continental Army left Valley Forge in June 1778 it was smaller in number but stronger in organisation and confidence, establishing th…
3 months, 3 weeks ago
18th December 1892: Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker receives its première performance at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg
Composed in the Romantic style, the score received good reviews although responses to the ballet itself were mostly negative. The fortunes of the bal…
3 months, 3 weeks ago
17th December 497 BCE: The first Saturnalia festival celebrated in ancient Rome
The Saturnalia festival was dedicated to Roman god, ...
3 months, 3 weeks ago
16th December 1431: Henry VI became the only English monarch to be crowned King of France
Henry was crowned by the Bishop of Paris, as the Archbishop of Reims was aligned with the French crown. Attendance was limited, and the event failed …
3 months, 4 weeks ago
15th December 1851: The Forest Creek Monster Meeting of Australian gold miners protests taxes
Over 14,000 Australian gold miners gathered at Forest Creek in Victoria for a protest known as the Monster ...
3 months, 4 weeks ago
14th December 1911: Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen becomes the first to reach the South Pole
Amundsen’s team arrived five weeks ahead of British explorer Robert Falcon Scott’s Terra Nova ...
3 months, 4 weeks ago