Celebrating Cultures across the University of Birmingham
The Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 was one of the most severe incidents of racial violence in U.S. history. The massacre began during the Memorial Day weekend after 19-year-old Dick Rowland, a Black shoeshiner, was accused of assaulting Sarah Page, a 17-year-old White elevator operator of the nearby Drexel Building. The police were called, and … Continue reading “Tulsa Race Massacre 1921”
In 1931 Lázló Biró, a Hungarian-Argentinian newspaper editor frustrated by the amount of time wasted filling up fountain pens and cleaning up smudged pages, noticed that the ink used in newspaper printing dried quickly, leaving the paper dry and smudge-free. He tried using the same ink in a fountain pen but found that it would … Continue reading “75th anniversary of the first commercially successful ballpoint pen going on sale in the USA”
2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the United Nations and its founding Charter. This anniversary comes in a time of great disruption for the world, compounded by an unprecedented global health crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with severe economic and social impacts. But it is also a reminder that times of struggle can become … Continue reading “24 October United Nations Day”
Giovanni Battista (or Giambattista) Piranesi, also known as simply Piranesi, was an Italian artist famous for his etchings of Rome and of fictitious and atmospheric “prisons” – Le Carceri d’Invenzione. His father was a stonemason. Giovanni was apprenticed under his uncle, Matteo Lucchesi, who was a leading architect in Magistrato delle Acque, the state organization responsible for engineering and restoring historical buildings. In … Continue reading “300th anniversary of the birth of Italian artist Giovanni Battista Piranesi”
Bastille Day is a holiday celebrating the storming of the Bastille – a military fortress and prison – on July 14, 1789, in a violent uprising that helped usher in the French Revolution. Besides holding gunpowder and other supplies valuable to revolutionaries, the Bastille also symbolized the callous tyranny of the French monarchy, especially King … Continue reading “Le 14 juillet”
Joan of Arc (1412–1431) was formally canonized as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church on 16 May 1920 by Pope Benedict XV in his bull Divina disponente, which concluded the canonization process that the Sacred Congregation of Rites instigated after a petition in 1869 from the French Catholic hierarchy. Although pro-English clergy had Joan … Continue reading “Centenary of the canonization of Joan of Arc, Maid of Orléans”
Florence Nightingale (12 May 1820-13 August 1910) Florence Nightingale was a British social reformer and statistician and the pioneer of modern nursing. She came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during the Crimean War, in which she organised care for wounded soldiers. She became an icon of Victorian culture, especially … Continue reading “Bicentenary of the birth of Florence Nightingale”
HMS Beagle was a Cherokee-class 10-gun brig-sloop of the Royal Navy, one of more than 100 ships of this class. The vessel, constructed at a cost of £7,803, was launched on 11 May 1820 from the Woolwich Dockyard on the River Thames. The ship took part in celebrations of the coronation of King George IV. … Continue reading “Bicentenary of the launch of HMS Beagle”
75th commemoration of the Liberation of Bergen-Belsen – one man’s story, Stanley’s story Stanley, Rachel Posaner’s grandfather, was part of the British forces involved in the liberation of Bergen-Belsen. Share his story. The annual National Commemoration of Yom Hashoah was planned for the 20th of April 2020 to mark the 75th anniversary of the end … Continue reading “Stanley’s Story”
VE Day (Victory in Europe Day) is a day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War Two of Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday 8 May 1945. The British public is being urged to share stories and memories of those who lived through the war to mark this year’s VE … Continue reading “VE Day 8 May”
