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On 27 July 1794 during the ‘Reign of Terror’, the National Convention in Paris ordered the arrest of Maximilien de Robespierre.When was was eventually captured Robespierre attemped to kill himself with a pistol, but only succeeded in wounding his jaw.On 28 July 1794, Robespierre was guillotined the Place de la Revolution, along with his brother, Augustin, and 12 others – there had been no trial of Robespierre or the others.Here is a newspaper story, published in August 1794, that reports on the arrest and…

‘Weeping crowds stood all night in the rain outside the presidential palace.’Eva (aka Evita) Peron died from cancer in Buenos Aires on 26 July 1952, aged only 33.Eva Peron was very much a champion of the people – hence the massive outpouring of national grief at her very early death.To mark the day, here is a newspaper story that reports on her death and also provides a very interesting summary of her life.Dundee Courier – Monday 28 July 1952Image © D.C.Thomson & Co. Ltd.…

On 25 July 1909, Louis Bleriot made history by flying over the Channel in an airplane designed and built by himself.The historic flight took 36 minutes and 30 seconds, and in the heavy landing at Dover, Bleriot damaged the plane’s undercarriage and also broke the propeller. Thankfully, Bleriot was unhurt.To mark this momentous achievement, here is a newspaper report on Bleriot’s flight, that was published the day after Bleriot landed in England.Evening Telegraph – Monday 26 July 1909Image © D.C.Thomson & Co. Ltd. Image created…

On 24 July 1883, Captain Matthew Webb, the first man to swim the English Channel, drowned in the Whirlpool Rapids at Niagara River, below the Falls.To mark the sad day, here are two newspaper stories from July 1883 that report on Webb’s drowning, including a report of Captain Webb’s thoughts on how he would successfully perform the swim.Chelmsford Chronicle – Friday 27 July 1883Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000225/18830727/017/0004Nottingham Evening Post – Thursday 26 July 1883Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL…

To celebrate the birth of a son to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, we thought it would interesting to see how the newspapers reported the birth of Queen Victoria’s first child.So included below is a fascinating newspaper report on the birth of Victoria, Princess Royal, on 21 November 1840.We especially enjoyed reading about the royal nursery, royal baby clothes and the royal cradle.We were also struck by the use of the word ‘accouchement’ in the newspaper reports on…

On 23 July 1858, the UK parliament passed the Jews Relief Act 1858, thus finally allowing Jews to enter Westminster as MPs.The newspaper reports from 1858 about the ‘Jew Bill’ and the amended Oath of Allegiance make for fascinating reading, with many MPs vehemently against the passing of the legislation – some of the speeches are very heated and emotional.To give you a sense of the charged atmosphere, here are three newspaper reports that were published the day after the legislation was approved.…

At Euston-Grove on 20 July 1837, the terminus of the London and Birmingham Railway (LBR) was officially opened, with a special excursion train party comprising the directors of the LBR railway and their guests.Sadly, however, the opening did not go entirely according to plan, and on the return jouney to Euston the train came to a very abrupt halt.Here’s a newspaper report that was published just two days after Euston Station opened, that decribes the accident that marred the opening…

More content, more quickly! The BNA tech upgrade – an updateWe hope that you have all been enjoying the lovely Summer weather lately?You may have noticed that there has been a slow-down in the number of pages added to the site recently. There is a fantastic reason for this . . . [drumroll please] . . . We are delighted to announce that we have been busy working on upgrading our newspaper ingest and post-processing system. Once we’re up and running with the new system,…

On 16 and 17 July 1917, Lenin went into hiding and then fled Russia for Finland, after Kerensky’s provisional government outlawed the Bolshevik Party and started to arrest members of the party.Included below are three newspaper stories – published in July 1917 – that report on the chaos in Russia at this time and Lenin’s escape to Finland.Read more BNA blog posts about Lenin.Manchester Evening News – Thursday 26 July 1917Image © Trinity Mirror. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000272/19170726/032/0003Liverpool Echo – Saturday 28…

‘I killed one man to save 100,000’ – Charlotte CordayIn Paris on 13 July 1793, Charlotte Corday gained admission to the flat of Jean-Paul Marat and, after a 15-minute conversation with Marat while he was in the bath, stabbed him to death.Corday was a supporter of the Girondins and witnesses claim that she clearly hated Marat and the MontagnardsThe assassination of Marat was a major factor in creating the paranoid atmosphere that led to the ‘Reign of Terror’.Included below are…