Today is the nineteenth anniversary of the start of the Russian apartment bombings, when Vladimir Putin orchestrated a series of attacks that killed hundreds of citizens across Russia in order to boost his popularity and win…
On this day
On this day… – WCH On This Day
On this day… – WCH On This Day

Pictured L-R: a police matron, Hettie, Winnie Mason and Alice Wheeldon in custody
On this day, 6 March 1917, the trial of socialist, suffragette and anti-war activist Alice Wheeldon, along with two of her daughters and her son-in-law, began in London at the Old Bailey. She and her family had been framed by…
Rosa May Billinghurst: The disabled suffragette abused by police and force-fed in prison
On this day: the death of a war hero | In Times Gone By…
Only hours after being awarded the French Légion d’honneur, British Lieutenant Reginald Warneford was killed in an aeroplane crash on the 17th of June, 1915. A 1919 painting depicting the moment th…
Source: On this day: the death of a war hero | In Times Gone By…
D-Day | In Times Gone By…
This image – from the 6th of June, 1944 – shows British troops taking part in the iconic Normandy landings of the Second World War. Some 156 000 troops from more than a dozen nations to…
Source: D-Day | In Times Gone By…
On this day: a nuclear disaster in the USSR | In Times Gone By…
This is the first picture taken of the destroyed nuclear reactor in Chernobyl (Chornobyl in Ukrainian), Ukraine. 27th April, 1986. Taken from a helicopter flying over to assess the damage, the imag…
Source: On this day: a nuclear disaster in the USSR | In Times Gone By…
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1st April in Victorian London | In Times Gone By…
An invitation to the fake “Washing the Lions” event at the Tower of London – an April Fools’ Day joke from the 1850s.
On this day: the murder of Hulda Stumpf | In Times Gone By…
American missionary Hulda Stumpf was murdered in Kijabe, Kenya on the 3rd of January, 1930. Stumpf, who had spoken out in opposition to Female Genital Mutilation, a widespread and often life-threat…
Source: On this day: the murder of Hulda Stumpf | In Times Gone By…
Is Bonfire Night a Pagan Rite?
In the early hours of the 5th of November 1605, Guy Fawkes was found guarding explosives in Westminster Palace. Late January 1606, the man and his fellow Catholic plotters were found guilty of an attempted assassination against King James I; on the last day of the same month, they were hung and quartered; their body parts, distributed all over the country, served as an example against any attempts of conspiracy in the future. By the order of the King’s officials, Londoners were encouraged to celebrate the failure of the Gunpowder Plot by lighting bonfires. The tradition of Bonfire Night has been kept intact ever since.
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When Australian women were accidentally given the vote. | In Times Gone By…
In the nineteenth century, in the state of Victoria in Australia, the Electoral Act 1863 was passed. According to the act, “all persons” who ow…
Source: When Australian women were accidentally given the vote. | In Times Gone By…
On this day: a king for Albania | In Times Gone By…
Otto Witte – a German circus performer – claimed he was crowned King of Albania on the 13th of August, 1913. When Albania broke free of the Ottoman Empire and Serbian occupation, a Musl…
On this day: the annexation of Latvia | In Times Gone By…
The Soviet Union annexed Latvia on the 5th of August, 1940, forcing them to join the USSR. Germany was the only Western nation to recognise the annexation.
Source: On this day: the annexation of Latvia | In Times Gone By…
On this day: the world’s first motor racing contest | In Times Gone By…
The world’s first motorsport contest took place on the 22nd of July, 1894 from Paris to Rouen, France. First, a selection event was held in which sixty-nine cars participated. The main 127 ki…
Source: On this day: the world’s first motor racing contest | In Times Gone By…
On this day: the death of Kate Sheppard | In Times Gone By…
In 1905 Kate Sheppard, New Zealand’s most famous suffragette, died on the 13th of July, 1934. Born to Scottish parents in England in 1847, Sheppard moved to New Zealand in 1869. She became a …
Source: On this day: the death of Kate Sheppard | In Times Gone By…