Farinata (‘made of flour’), a classic Italian street food, apparently enjoys two provenance myths according to BBC History Magazine [1]....

February 26th, 1852: 450 perish as the troopship HMS Birkenhead is wreaked off Danger Point on the Western Cape of South Africa. HMS...

The last battle on British soil is commonly accepted as being the French invasion at Fishguard in 1797. Under the command of...

February 22nd, 1797: ‘Britain invaded’ [1]. On February 22nd, 1797 over 1,200 French troops landed near Fishguard in Pembrokeshire, South...

Mehen is an ancient Egyptian game references to which have been found already in the predynastic period before 3100 BC. The gameboard is...

February 8th, 1587: After 19 years of imprisonment, Mary Queen of Scots is beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle. Why? Fotheringhay Castle was...

February 1st, 1709: Alexander Selkirk, believed to be the inspiration for Daniel Defoe’s 1719 novel ‘Robinson Crusoe’, was rescued after...

January 29th, 1856: The Victoria Cross is introduced. In 1854, after 39 years of peace, Britain found itself fighting a major war against...

The Royal Game of Ur, also known as the ‘Game of Twenty Squares’, is a two-player strategy race board game first played in ancient...

The BBC’s series ‘Digging for Britain’ has returned to screens this month. Hosted by Prof Alice Roberts (pictured), the programme...

January 12th, 1976: Crime writer Agatha Christie dies aged 85. In her posthumously published Autobiography, she briefly details her...

January 7th, 1536: Catherine of Aragon, first of Henry VIII’s six wives, dies. It is said that Henry dressed all in yellow, with a white...

January 6th, 1066: Harold Godwinson, formerly Earl of Wessex, is crowned king of England in Westminster Abbey. Harold was born in the...

Cleopatra VII was the last ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty, ruling Egypt from 51 BC - 30 BC. She is celebrated for her beauty and her love...

December 31st, 1705: Catherine of Braganza, widow of Charles II whom she had married in 1662, died in Lisbon, Portugal. Most notably,...

December 30th, 1945, a cold Sunday morning, saw the cargo ship Tilapa docked in Bristol. It was carrying the first bananas to be seen in...

It is widely held, and oft repeated, that ancient Britons, and most especially the Picts, painted or tattooed their bodies with Woad. We...

December 27th, 1675: A Royal Proclamation orders the closure of all coffee houses in London because they are seen as hotbeds of...

December 24th, 1914: A German seaplane carried out the first air raid on British soil, dropping bombs on Dover. There were no casualties....

Origins Exactly how and when coffee was discovered is uncertain. A legend of its stimulating effects being identified in Ethiopia is...