Episodes

George IV’s impressive Library included all the novels of Jane Austen, for whom he had a particular fondness. But what was not known (until a receipt was discovered in the Royal Archives in 2018) was that the Prince Regent had almost certainly been Austen’s very first customer – buying a copy of ‘Sense and Sensibility’ […]

The brutal murder of Alan R. Schindler Jr. on 27th October 1992 revealed the harsh realities faced by LGBTQ+ individuals in the military. Schindler, a young Navy radioman, who suffered bullying and isolation due to his sexual orientation, had attempted to report the harassment, but faced obstacles due to the military’s exclusionary policies on gay

Peyo’s comic album ‘Johan and Peewit’ provided the platform for The Smurfs’ debut on 23rd October, 1958 – a cameo that their Belgian creator considered an unremarkable side-hustle. But the tiny blue creatures (“Schtroumpfs”, in the original text) went on to become a global cultural phenomenon. Within a year, the Smurfs got their own stories,

Jesus failed to show up on the day that came to be known as ‘The Great Disappointment’ – 22nd October, 1844. It was an embarrassment for the New England preacher, William Miller, who had prophesied Christ’s return; and devastating for his 100,000+ followers in North America alone.  Miller had calculated the end of the world

Berated by the tabloids as exhibitionist pornography, Madonna’s coffee table book, ‘Sex’, quickly sold out upon its release on 21st October, 1992. Influenced by artists Robert Mapplethorpe and Cindy Sherman, the book included images of full-frontal nudity, simulated gay sex, mixed race couples, threesomes and trans imagery. Madonna vigorously defended it, in a series of

Losing control of his monoplane at 2,000 ft, First Lieutenant Harold R. Harris made history on 20th October, 1922, when he became the first person to use a manually-activated parachute to save his life. He landed in the grape arbor of a family house in Dayton, Ohio, narrowly missing the occupants, and escaping with just

In front of the world’s TV cameras, 18-month-old Jessica McClure – affectionately known as “Baby Jessica” – was lifted from a disused well in Midland, Texas on 16th October, 1987, having been trapped down there for two and a half harrowing days.  Jessica had slipped into the eight-inch-wide shaft while playing in her aunt’s backyard.

Future President Abraham Lincoln had yet to grow his iconic facial fuzz when he received a letter from Grace Bedell – an 11 year-old resident of Westfield, New York – dated 15th October, 1860.  “I have yet got four brothers… and if you let your whiskers grow I will try and get the rest of them

Accused of planning the assassination of her cousin Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots stood trial for treason on 14th October, 1586. Mary’s coded letters, delivered to her co-conspirators in beer barrels, had been intercepted by Sir Francis Walsingham, who had deciphered and copied them and built a case against the former Scottish monarch. In

Margaret Travers Symons was the first woman to make herself heard in the British House of Commons – albeit without permission – on 13th October, 1908. During a tour of Westminster, the suffragette campaigner escaped her escort and interrupted a debate on children’s issues, making a bold demand for votes for women. Meanwhile, outside Parliament,