Episodes

Sir Robert Peel received royal assent for the Metropolis Police Improvement Bill on 19th June, 1829 – leading to the creation of London’s first professional police force, who were soon nicknamed ‘Bobbies’ in tribute. The Met’s first constables hit the streets that Autumn, dressed in tailcoats (to signify their role as servants of the people), […]

The world’s first life insurance policy was signed on June 18th, 1583. The person insured was one William Gybbons, who worked as a meat and fish salter, and the beneficiary of the policy was a man named Richard Martin. Curiously, the relationship between the two men has been lost in the mists of time. In

India’s most famous building, Agra’s Taj Mahal, was commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan – following the death in childbirth of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal, on 17th June, 1631.  Renowned for its stunning architecture – a blend of Indian, Persian, and Islamic styles – the mausoleum can be seen not only as a

Rerun: Circulated in some form since the 16th century, the ‘Index of Forbidden Books’ was quietly discontinued by Pope Paul VI on 14th June, 1966. In its 400-year+ history, the Index Librorum Prohibitorum had censored hundreds of authors including the German astrologer Keppler, the philosopher Kant, and Protestant theologians Martin Luther and John Calvin. But

Before McDonalds, there was the Horn & Hardart Automat – a chain restaurant featuring  coin-operated glass windows, which opened its first branch in Philadelphia on 12th June, 1902. The business would grow to serve 800,000 people per day. Customers exchanged nickels for dishes including meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and cherry pie. Beautifully designed with marble counters,

King George VI first tasted a hot dog on June 11th, 1939. The moment occurred during a picnic at the Hyde Park residence of US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. But behind the culinary first for the King, the famous American Royal Picnic would turn out to be an essential moment in the Special Relationship between

The renowned author of “War and Peace,” Count Leo Tolstoy, set off on a pilgrimage to Optina Monastery on 10th June, 1881, disguised as a peasant. Accompanied by his valet, Sergei Arbuzov, Tolstoy traipsed 130 miles from his vast estate; his feet bleeding from blisters thanks to his insistence that he be dressed in authentically

Rerun: Edgy, gritty and sexy, the Broadway production of ‘Grease’ opened at the Broadhurst Theatre on 7th June, 1972, beginning what would become a record-breaking eight-year run.  Despite NOT featuring some of the most well-known hits from the movie – including ‘Grease Is The Word’, ‘You’re The One That I Want’ and ‘Hopelessly Devoted To

When Lord Byron’s 17 year-old daughter, Ada Lovelace, attended a soirée at the home of academic Charles Babbage on 5th June, 1833, the pair hit it off immediately. He invited her to see his ‘Difference Engine’ – an early mechanical calculator – kicking off a correspondence that lasted throughout her life. Their lively, intellectual correspondence,

On June 4, 1411, Charles VI of France granted the people of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon a monopoly to ripen his favourite cheese. Noted for its sharp, tangy, salty flavor and its rich, creamy texture, Roquefort is still under designation protected by French law, and sometimes called ‘le fromage des rois et des papes’ (“the cheese of kings