Arthur Miller, Marilyn Monroe and The Crucible
On this day in 1947 American playwright and Pulitzer Prize winner Arthur Miller won a Tony award for his play “All My Sons”. Miller was... Read More
Algernon Swinburne, poet, alcoholic and algolagniac
On this day in 1837 the poet Algernon Charles Swinburne was born. Swinburne was a well-born and clever young man who did well at Oxford... Read More
Oliver Goldsmith, playwright and compulsive gambler
On this day in 1774 the poet, novelist and playwright Oliver Goldsmith died aged 43. Dr Samuel Johnson wrote this epitaph: “Oliver Goldsmith: A Poet,... Read More
Leap Year and other eccentricities
On this day in 1904 was born Hubert Blaine Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff (a.k.a. Hubert Wolfstern) – the shortened name of a man who held the record for the... Read More
Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon
On this day in 49 BC Julius Caesar and his army crossed the Rubicon (it was illegal for a general to bring an army into... Read More
Isaac Asimov admired Tennyson’s Sci-Fi poetry
On this day in 1920 the author and academic Isaac Asimov was born. A brilliant thinker and leading science fiction writer, he was fascinated by... Read More
Samuel Pepys mistakenly hit his wife
The New Year officially begins today. We all want to make a good start to the year, a new beginning, but we don’t always get... Read More