Episodes

No European had returned alive from Timbuktu until French adventurer René Caillie, who arrived in the ‘City of Gold’ on 20th April, 1828 after an arduous year-long journey. He was fêted by the Société de Géographie in Paris, who awarded him 10,000 francs in recognition of his daring voyage – and his place in the […]

Child star Shirley Temple made her feature film debut aged six in ‘Stand Up And Cheer’, released at the height of the Depression, on 19th April, 1934 – and never looked back. In one year alone she would star in a further six films, and become a firm favourite of President Roosevelt. Fox Studios were

Britain had no driving test, no enforced rules on drink-driving, and a network of roads reliant on hand signals on 14th April, 1931 – the publication day of surprise national bestseller The Highway Code. Codifying driving etiquette – rather than reducing fatalities – was as much a preoccupation of the book as safe driving per

Joanna of Castile, was, as a young lady, remarked upon for her intellect and good companionship, and married off to prize catch Philip the Handsome – but by the time she died on 13th April, 1555 she was known colloquially by the name that’s stuck ever since: ‘Joanna The Mad’. She had, by then, spent

A chaotic, shambolic and critically panned parody, the first on-screen incarnation of Ian Fleming’s novel ‘Casino Royale’ received its London premiere on 12th April, 1967 – with final edits still being made in the projection room. Nonetheless, it went on to take an extraordinary $40 million at the box office.  Hardnut hero James Bond’s adventures

The first holiday camp in Britain, Butlin’s Skegness, opened to the public on 11th April, 1936 – although one member of the public, a certain Freda Monk from Nottingham, was so keen to attend that she arrived a day early. It cost 35 shillings per week to attend.  South Africa-born Billy Butlin had created the

The most famous armless statue of all time, ‘Venus de Milo’ was discovered by a farmer on the Aegean island of Milos on 8th April, 1829, sparking an international bidding war that saw her eventually donated to the Louvre by Louis XVIII. The French had a particular interest in snapping up a new ancient treasure,

Highwayman Dick Turpin was executed at York on 7th April, 1739, for stealing horses. He was 34.  But, whilst the date and manner of his death are accurately recalled, almost everything else about Turpin has been distorted in the public imagination. Far from being a dashing character who outwitted corrupt authorities and robbed only the

George Eastman filed a patent for the first ever celluloid roll film on 6th April, 1889 – an incremental development following the release of the first Kodak handheld camera, released in 1888, but a truly significant one. Eastman’s original products came preloaded with film, and were marketed as “convenient as a field-glass”. For $10, customers

Deaf and blind since toddlerhood, Helen Keller was seven years old when her teacher, Anne Sullivan, took her to a water-pump on 5th April, 1887 – and she learned the word ‘water’. It was a eureka moment for Keller, who went on to read braille; write in pencil; learn French, German, Greek, and Latin; study