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We’re endlessly fascinated and impressed by all the different types of researchers who are gracefully prowling around the Archive. Truly, all human life is here.Just recently, Amanda Bright, an ailurophile from Toronto, tweeted to tell us about the research she is doing on the origins and history of the modern cat fancy. Amanda was already familiar with the Newspaper Library at Colindale from the time when she lived in England, and had previously carried out some research there. So…

PulhamiteA review was recently printed in the Alpine Gardener of September 2012 of the book:  Rock Landscapes: The Pulham Legacy by Claude Hitching and Jenny Lilly.This prompted reminiscences on the part of myself and my wife (a keen gardener), as we had seen in 1999 the magnificent Pulhamite garden at Waddesdon manor, which had been restored. As the Waddesdon website says: “The garden was designed to surprise and delight the Baron’s guests at every turn. In his day, a garden…

Newspaper articles from February 1788 reporting on the death of Prince Charles Edward Stuart in Rome‘The Young Pretender’, Prince Charles Edward Stuart, died in Rome on 31 January 1788.Known in Scotland as ‘the King O’er the Water”, ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’ led the Jacobite forces in the 1745 Rising, which ended in a terrible defeat on Culloden Moor.If you’ve ever been out drinking with a Jacobite, you’ll have noticed that that when a toast is made to one of the usurping Hanoverian…

On 30 January 1889, the bodies of Archduke Rudolf and his mistress, Baroness Mary Vetsera, were discovered in the royal hunting lodge at Mayerling.The official verdict is that the star-crossed lovers died in a suicide pact after Rudolf’s father, Franz Joseph I of Austria, demanded that he end the relationship. However, there are theories that Rudolf was murdered (Mary’s body was smuggled out of Mayerling in the middle of the night and Rudolf was described as being ‘mentally unbalanced’) because of…

18th Century newspaper reports about Mozart’s visit to London in 1765Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg on 27 January 1756.So to celebrate Mozart’s birthday, here are some wonderful descriptions (taken from a fascinating 2-page account, published in a newspaper in 1771) of Mozart’s famous visit to London in 1765.When not astonishing his audience with his virtuosity and composing skills, it seems the genius galloped about the room pretending he was riding a horse. Well, he was only eight!Oxford Journal – Saturday 23…

We very much liked the professional medical advice offered in this advert from 1930 – we’re sure that many over-worked businessmen will be thrilled by this free medical advice.Next time we’re at the doctor’s, we’ll be asking the doc to write out a prescription for this magical, cure-all stuff.Nottingham Evening Post – Wednesday 29 October 1930Image © Northcliffe Media Limited. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0000321/19301029/011/0004…

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, the country lawyer who became a revolutionary, died at his estate at Gorki settlement on 21 January 1924.  We trawled through The British Newspaper Archives new stories that reported on Lenin’s death, and the reports are far from complimentary – which is, of course, revealing in itself.Reflecting on Lenin’s death, Churchill wrote: ‘Their worst misfortune was his birth, their next worst – his death’.  There are hundreds of interesting stories about Lenin’s death in The Archive. We have pulled out…

Newspaper story from February 1813 reporting on the retreat in Russia by Napoleon’s Grand ArmyBrr! And brr, again! The weather has gone all ‘retreat from Moscow’-ish!And yet things could certainly be a lot worse…Just to prove the point, here is a newspaper story from February 1813, reporting on the epic retreat of Napoleon’s Grand Army in the Russian winter of 1812-13.624 x 1488Chester Chronicle – Friday 05 February 1813Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000341/18130205/002/0002…

We love hearing stories about what you’re up to in the Archive. Truly, we feel extremely privileged to hear your tales.  So when professional genealogist, Matt Ball, tweeted us about his research on his music hall ancestors we were keen to hear his story.Through his research in The Era and other papers in the Archive, Matt has discovered some terrific stories about his theatrical ancestors. Matt very kindly agreed to be a guest blogger for us, and we’ve published…

Tragically, the beautiful and talented Hollywood actress Carole Lombard died in an airplane crash in Nevada on 16 January 1942.In addition to starring in some terrific screwball comedies, she was also the great love of Clark Gable, who was utterly devastated by her tragic death.Quem di diligunt, adolescens moritur.Subscribe today and discover history as it happened…