22 March
Please Please Me is the debut studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Parlophone rush-released the album on this day in 1963 in the United Kingdom to capitalise on the success of the singles “Please Please Me” and “Love Me Do”. Continue reading “1963 – The Beatles’ first album, Please Please Me, is released in the United Kingdom”
22 December
The Dreyfus affair was a political scandal that from its beginning in 1894 divided France until it was finally resolved in 1906. The affair is often seen as a modern and universal symbol of injustice, and remains one of the most striking examples of a complex miscarriage of justice, where a major role was played by the press and public opinion. Continue reading “1894 – The Dreyfus affair begins in France, when Alfred Dreyfus is wrongly convicted of treason”
10 December
The Brown Dog affair was a political controversy about vivisection* that raged in England from 1903 until 1910. It involved the infiltration by Swedish feminists of University of London medical lectures, pitched battles between medical students and the police, police protection for the statue of a dog, a libel trial at the Royal Courts of Justice, and the establishment of a Royal Commission to investigate the use of animals in experiments. The affair became a cause célèbre that divided the country. Continue reading “1907 – The worst night of the Brown Dog riots in London”
10 December
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel by Mark Twain, first published in the United Kingdom in December 1884 and in the United States in February 1885. Commonly named among the Great American Novels, the work is among the first in major American literature to be written throughout in vernacular English, characterized by local colour regionalism. Continue reading “1884 – Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is published”
9 December
Coronation Street is a British soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 1960. The programme centres on Coronation Street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on Salford, its terraced houses, café, corner shop, newsagents, textile factory and The Rovers Return pub. The fictional street was built in the early 1900s and named in honour of the coronation of King Edward VII. Continue reading “1960 – The first episode of Coronation Street is broadcast in the United Kingdom”
22 November
The Beatles, also known as the White Album, is the ninth studio album by English rock group the Beatles, released on this day in 1968. A double album, its plain white sleeve has no graphics or text other than the band’s name embossed, and was intended as a direct contrast to the vivid cover artwork of the band’s earlier Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Continue reading “1968 – The Beatles release ‘The Beatles’ (known as The White Album)”
7 November
The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published. Continue reading “1665 – The London Gazette, the oldest surviving journal, is first published”
5 October – On this day
Dr. No is a 1962 British spy film, starring Sean Connery; it is the first James Bond film. Based on the 1958 novel of the same name by Ian Fleming, it was adapted by Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, and Berkely Mather and was directed by Terence Young. The film was produced by Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli, a partnership that would continue until 1975. Continue reading “1962 – Dr. No premiers beginning the James Bond franchise”
26 September – On this day
Abbey Road is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles, is released on this day in 1969 in the UK. The recording sessions for the album were the last in which all four Beatles participated. Continue reading “1969 – The Beatles release Abbey Road, their last recorded album.”
23 September – On this day
The Shawshank Redemption is released in North America in 1994. The film is written and directed by Frank Darabont and starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. Continue reading “1994 – The Shawshank Redemption released in North America.”
September
Firefly is an science fiction television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon, under his Mutant Enemy Productions label. Whedon served as an executive producer, along with Tim Minear. Continue reading “2002 – SciFi series ‘Firefly’ premiered in US”
22 September – On this day
Friends is an American television sitcom, created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which originally aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004. Continue reading “1994 – Sitcom ‘Friends’ debuts”
On this day in 1985, a little-known actor named George Clooney makes his first appearance as a handyman on the popular TV sitcom The Facts of Life. Continue reading “1985 – Clooney makes ‘Facts of Life’ debut”
19 September – On this day
The Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977. The program was a television breakthrough, with the first never-married, independent career woman as the central character. Continue reading “1970 – The Mary Tyler Moore Show an American sitcom premiered on CBS”
