The 4th of March across time

Lots of action today and quite a few places to avoid!

As always, we begin with the good stuff:

1152 A.D. – Frederick I Barbarossa is elected King of the Germans.

1351 A.D. – Ramathibodi becomes King of Siam.

1386 A.D. – Władysław II Jagiełło was crowned King of Poland.

1877 A.D. – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake premiers at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.

And a lot of places to avoid (unless you are feeling really lucky):

1238 A.D. – The Battle of the Sit River was fought in the northern part of the present-day Yaroslavl Oblast of Russia between the Mongol Hordes of Batu Khan and the Russians under Yuri II of Vladimir-Suzdal during the Mongol invasion of Russia.

1793 A.D. – French troops conquer Geertruidenberg, Netherlands.

1804 A.D. – The Battle of Vinegar Hill, colony of New South Wales (Australia), when Irish convicts led the colony’s only significant convict uprising.

1814 A.D. – Americans defeat the British at the Battle of Longwoods between London and Thamesville near present-day Wardsville, Ontario.

1893 A.D. – The army of Francis, Baron Dhanis attacks the Lualaba, enabling him to transport his troops across the Upper Congo and, capture Nyangwe almost without an effort.

1894 A.D. – Over 1,000 buildings are destroyed in a fire in Shanghai.

1899 A.D. – Cyclone Mahina sweeps in north of Cooktown, Queensland, with a 12 m wave that reaches up to 5 km inland – over 300 dead.

1908 A.D. – The Collinwood School Fire, Collinwood near Cleveland, Ohio, kills 174 people.

1930 A.D. – Terrible floods ransack Languedoc and the surrounds in south-west France, resulting in twelve departments being submerged by water and causing the death of over 700 people.

1941 A.D. – The United Kingdom launches Operation Claymore on the Lofoten Islands, during World War II.

1944 A.D. – First U.S. daylight bombing of Berlin and Anti-Germany strikes in northern Italy.

1960 A.D. – French freighter ‘La Coubre’ explodes in Havana, Cuba killing 100. Fidel Castro blames the U.S.

1966 A.D. – Canadian Pacific Air Lines DC-8-43 explodes on landing at Tokyo International Airport, killing 64 people.

1970 A.D. – French submarine Eurydice explodes.

1977 A.D. – The 1977 Bucharest Earthquake in southern and eastern Europe kills more than 1,500.

2001 A.D. – A massive explosion in front of the BBC Television Centre in London, seriously injuring 11 people. The attack was attributed to the Real IRA.

2001 A.D. – Hintze Ribeiro disaster, a bridge collapses in northern Portugal, killing up to 70 people.

Take care and remember,

Stay safe – travel light!

The 27th of February across time

A bit slow today with some opportunities to celebrate and a couple of timespots to avoid.

We begin with a few places to party:

1594 A.D. – Henry IV is crowned King of France at the city of Chartres. Coronation fever!

1844 A.D. – The Dominican Republic gains independence from Haiti.

1967 A.D. – Dominica gains independence from the United Kingdom.

And a few ”beware” places (unless you crave explosions and fire):

1943 A.D. – The Smith Mine #3 in Bearcreek, Montana, explodes, killing 74 men.

2002 A.D. – Godhra train burning, a Muslim mob kills 59 Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya. The incident took place in the town of Godhra in the Indian state of Gujarat at 0630 hrs.

2004 A.D. – The bombing of Superferry 14 by Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines worst terrorist attack kills 116.

That’s all for now,

Stay safe – travel light!

The 21th of February across time

Another day of excitement and opportunity to witness historic events. I hope you are ready because we have cultural advances not to be missed along with intense military drama and certain places to avoid at all costs!

Here we go,
First of all some places to be:

1804 A.D. – The first self-propelling steam locomotive in motion at the Pen-y-Darren ironworks in Wales. Steamy technology for the masses!

1848 A.D. – Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels publish the Communist Manifesto. Get your copy while they are still fresh! Highly collectible…

1878 A.D. – The first telephone book is issued in New Haven, Connecticut. Another nice piece for your collection…

And now beware of the ”places to avoid” section (unless you have a death wish):

1543 A.D. – A combined army of Ethiopian and Portuguese troops defeated a Muslim army led by Ahmed Gragn at the Battle of Wayna Daga. About 24.000 combatants in total and heavy estimated casualties (historically unknown).

1907 A.D. – 125 people perish when the S.S. Berlin sinks near Hoek van Holland.

1916 A.D. – World War I: In France the Battle of Verdun begins.

1970 A.D. – A mid-air bomb explosion and subsequent crash kills 38 passengers and nine crew members near Zürich, Switzerland. Stay away from Swissair Flight 330!

1973 A.D. – Over the Sinai Desert, Israeli fighter aircraft shoot down a Libyan Airlines jet killing 108. Flight 114 is a red flag people…

Take care now and remember,

Stay safe – travel light!

The 17th of February across time

An exciting day for travelling today. We have artistic events, the end of the Prohibition (party on!) and lots of military action.

Let’s go!

Places to be:

1904 A.D. – Madama Butterfly premiers at La Scala in Milan. Not to be missed!

1913 A.D. – The Armory Show opens in New York City, displaying works of artists who are to become some of the most influential painters of the early 20th century.

1933 A.D. – The Blaine Act ends Prohibition in the United States. Are you ready to partyyyy?

1936 A.D. – The world’s first superhero, The Phantom, makes his first appearance in comics. Somebody bring me a first edition copy. Cheers!

Places to avoid (unless you are addicted to pain):

197 A.D. – Battle of Lugdunum (or Battle of Lyon) – Roman Emperor Septimius Severus defeats and kills his rival Clodius Albinus, securing full control over the Empire. Since this battle is said to be the largest, most hard fought and bloodiest of all clashes between Roman forces, we would suggest the more hardcore travellers among you, to witness the event (taking all necessary precautions of course). According to the historian Cassius Dio, the number of combatants (disputed figure-drop us a line on actual numbers if you drop by) involved were 300,000, or 150,000 on either side.

1500 A.D. – Battle of Hemmingstedt near the village of Hemmingstedt in present-day Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Duke Friedrich and Duke Johann attempted (unsuccessfully) to subdue the peasantry of Dithmarschen, who had established a peasants’ republic on the coast of the North Sea. The peasants, although numerically fewer (about 6.000) and lightly armed, managed to use the terrain to trap, drown and render inoperable the advanced military force of the attackers (12.000 total – 4.000 mercenaries from the Netherlands, 2.000 armoured cavaliers, about 1,000 artillery-men and 5,000 commoners). The casualties among the Dithmarshians are not known, but the Danish and the Dutch lost together more than half of their army, making about 7,000 men killed and 1,500 men wounded.

1814 A.D. – Battle of Mormans which resulted in the victory of the French under Napoleon Bonaparte against the Russians and Württembergers under Count Pahlen.

1865 A.D. – Columbia, South Carolina burned as Confederate forces flee from advancing Union forces during the American Civil War.

1944 A.D. – The Battle of Eniwetok Atoll begins. The battle ends in an American victory on February 22.

1944 A.D. – Operation Hailstone begins. U.S. naval air, surface, and submarine attack against Truk (Chuuk), Japan’s main base in the central Pacific, in support of the Eniwetok invasion.

1957 A.D. – A fire at a home for the elderly in Warrenton, Missouri kills 72 people.

1962 A.D. – A storm kills more than 300 people in Hamburg, West Germany.

1979 A.D. – The Sino-Vietnamese War begins.

2006 A.D. – Over 1,000 people perished and buried alive in the town of St. Bernard in Southern Leyte, Philippines mudslide.

I’ll leave you to decide your travel plans now. As always,

Stay safe – travel light!

The 14th of February across time (Happy Valentine’s Day)

Not a good day for travelling really… Mildly boring and all things considering, very dangerous for many timezones.

Better stay at home with your loved one – just saying!

Places to be:

1945 A.D. – President Franklin D. Roosevelt meets with King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia aboard the USS Quincy, officially starting the U.S.-Saudi diplomatic relationship.

1949 A.D. – The Knesset (Israeli parliament) first convenes.

Places to avoid (unless you are feeling invincible):

1349 A.D. – 2,000+ Jews are burned to death by the crowd or exiled from Strasbourg.

1797 A.D. – The day of the Battle of Cape St. Vincent – The British Royal Navy is victorious against a Spanish fleet in action near Gibraltar.

1804 A.D. – The First Serbian Uprising is lead by Karadjordje against the Ottoman Empire.

1879 A.D. – The War of the Pacific breaks out when Chilean armed forces occupy the Bolivian port city of Antofagasta.

1900 A.D. – In South Africa, 20,000 British troops invade the Orange Free State (Second Boer War).

1919 A.D. – The Polish-Soviet War begins.

1945 A.D. – On the second day of the Bombing of Dresden in World War II the British Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces begin fire-bombing Dresden.

1945 A.D. – Bombing of Prague – probably due to a mistake in the orientation of the pilots bombing Dresden.

1981 A.D. – A fire in the Dublin nightclub ”Stardust” kills 48 people.

1990 A.D. – 92 people are killed aboard Indian Airlines Flight 605 at Bangalore, India.

2004 A.D. – In a suburb of Moscow, Russia, the roof of the Transvaal water park collapses, killing more than 25 people, and wounding more than 100 others.

2005 A.D. – Seven people were killed and 151 wounded in a series of bombings by suspected Al-Qaeda-linked militants that hit the Philippines’ Makati financial district in Metro Manila, Davao City, and General Santos City.

Take care this perilous day in time,

Stay safe – travel light!

The 12th of February across time

The journey continues, so let’s see what the 12th of February brings…

Places to be:

1818 A.D. – The Independence of Chile was signed by Bernardo O’Higgins near Concepción.

1951 A.D. – The Shah of Iran Reza Pahlavi is married to Soraya Esfandiary Bakhtiari at Golestan Palace in Teheran. Although the event is of note, the marriage itself will not be a successful one.

Places to avoid (unless you are feeling extremely lucky today):

1429 A.D. – English Forces under Sir John Fastolf defend a supply convoy carrying rations to the army besieging Orleans from attack by the Comte de Clermont and John Stuart in the Battle of Rouvray (or Battle of the Herrings, after the fish actually).

1817 A.D. – Argentine/Chilean patriotic army, after crossing the Andes, defeat Spanish troops on the battle of Chacabuco. The battle ends with about a thousand casualties in both sides.

1894 A.D. – Anarchist Émile Henry in an act of revenge, bombs Paris’s Cafe Terminus, killing one and wounding 20. So, if you happen to be in the city of light at the time and see this man… steer clear…

That’s about it for now,

Stay safe – travel light!