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On 25 October 1854, Lord Cardigan led the charge of the Light Brigade againt the Russians in the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimea.The insane order to attack the gun positions arose due to a miscommunicated message somewhere along the chain of command.156 men of the Light Brigade were killed in the charge and 122 were wounded – 335 horses were also killed during the attack.Included below is a newspaper article from November 1854 that reports on the charge.Read a BNA blog post…

On her 63rd birthday, Annie Edson Taylor climbed into a barrel and went over Niagara Falls.Happily, she survived her incredible journey!The motive that drove Edson Taylor to perform such a terribly dangerous task was her twin desire for financial security and to avoid ending up in the poorhouse.Included below is a contemporary newspaper story that reports on this amazing episode.The Citizen – Saturday 26 October 1901Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000325/19011026/014/0003…

Al Jolson, “The World’s Greatest Entertainer”, died of a heart attack while playing cards in a hotel in San Francisco on 23 October 1950 – he was 64.Jolson had only recently returned from entertaining troops in Korea, and it was reported that he was exhausted – his last words are reputed to be “Boys, I’m going”.Included below is a contemporary newspaper story that reports on the death of ‘the Jazz Singer’.Derby Daily Telegraph – Tuesday 24 October 1950Image © Local World Limited. Image created courtesy…

Jeremy Clay, who works as Features Editor on The Leicester Mercury, has written a fascinating article about the history of newspapers in Leicester – and has very kindly allowed us to publish his article on the BNA blog.************************************************************************The news came late to Leicester. The town’s first paper – The Leicester and Nottingham Journal – was launched in 1753, a year that saw almost seven and a half million copies of newspapers published across England.The four-page Leicester Journal, which ditched the Nottingham tag…

On 21 October 1854, Florence Nightingale (‘the Lady with the Lamp’) and 38 volunteer nurses sailed from Southampton on their way to Scutari in the Crimea.Here’s a newspaper report published on 27 October 1854 thar reports on the departure of Miss Nightingale’s party.Read some more of our blog posts about the Crimean War.Cork Examiner – Friday 27 October 1854Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000425/18541027/028/0003Dundee Courier – Saturday 16 May 1953Image © D.C.Thomson & Co. Ltd. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000564/19530516/105/0005…

On 18 October 1865, Lord Palmerston (aka ‘Pam’, ‘The Mongoose’ and ‘Lord Cupid’), Prime Minister of the UK from 1855-1858 and 1859-1865, passed way – he was 80 years old.As you can imagine, The Archive contains 1,000s of stories about Lord Palmerston.But our eye was caught by this quirky story about a visitor to Westminster who was mortified by once having (accidentally) bumped into Palmertson in the Commons Lobby, and nearly knocking the great man to the ground. Palmerston’s reaction to the collision was…

A contemporary newspaper report on the last moments of ChopinFrederic Chopin, ‘The Poet of the Piano’, died in Paris on 17 October 1849 – he was 39.Here is a very moving newspaper article from November 1849 that reports on the last moments of Chopin.Glasgow Herald – Monday 19 November 1849Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000060/18491119/035/0004Evening Telegraph – Monday 01 March 1909Image © D.C.Thomson & Co. Ltd. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000563/19090301/128/0006…

‘Pardon me sir, I meant not to do it’ – the last words of Marie Antoinette (after stepping on the foot of the executioner)On 16 October 1793, Marie Antoinette, the widow of Louis XVI, was executed at the guillotine in the Place de la Revolution in Paris – she was 37.The Hampshire Chronicle published the details of the event on 28 October 1793.Hampshire Chronicle | 28 October 1793…

On 14 October 1913, 439 miners lost their lives when an explosion occurred at the Universal Colliery in Senghenydd.The accident at Senghenydd in 1913 remains the UK’s worst mining disaster.Included below is a newspaper report of the tragedy, and also a photograph of anxious mothers and children waiting for news of their fathers and husbands, as well as a photo showing some members of the rescue party.Also, on 24 May 1901, an explosion in the same mine killed 81 of the 82 miners who were…

“Patriotism is not enough, I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone” – Edith CavellThe English nurse, Edith Cavell, was executed by a German firing squad on 12 October 1915 – she was 49.A German military court found her guilty of treason, after she had helped Allied soldiers escape from Belgium, which had been occupied by the Germans.Included below are three newspaper stories from October 1915 that report on the execution of Nurse Cavell.Western Daily Press – Saturday 16 October 1915Image © Local World…