1900s

Strychnine, Egg Whites, Brandy and a Human Zoo: The Terrible 1904 Olympics

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The third modern olympiad, despite the dropping of such noble sports as kite flying, pigeon racing, cannon shooting and fire fighting, is still talked about as one of the strangest and most misguided sporting events in history. A few reasons: The games was moved from the fairly reasonable location of Chicago to the comparative backwater …

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Alessandro Moreschi, the Last Castrato

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This month’s mix features one of the only recordings in existence by a ‘castrato’ – a man who was castrated as a youth in order to maintain his choirboy-like vocal range. Most recordings featured in my mixes have little, if any, information available about them, and few of the artists even have a biography online, …

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Elsewhere in 1904

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January 8 — The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system January 18 — The Herero Rebellion in German South-West Africa begins January 23 — The Ã…lesund Fire destroys most buildings in the town of Ã…lesund, Norway, leaving about 10,000 people without shelter February 7 — The Great Baltimore …

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1903 in Film

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…aside from The Great Train Robbery of course. Alice in Wonderland The Gay Show Clerk The Kingdom of the Fairies Life of an American Fireman Momijigari Diving Lucy The Sick Kitten Old London Street Scenes Runaway Match Electrocuting an Elephant The Infernal Cauldron Desperate Poaching Affray Mary Jane’s Mishap The Music Lover A Chess Dispute

First flight

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1903 is a marquee year for aviation, mainly because “first flight” sounds much snappier than “first controlled, sustained flight of a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft” – and balloon pioneers are too far back in history to fit in with the age of innovation. All the same, the Wright brothers retain their fascination, their first flight at …

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Bertrand Russell – The Principles of Mathematics

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A book in which Bertrand Russell proved, for the first time, that 1 + 1 = 2. …and he’ll still be going, and still be relevant (in quite a different way) in the 60s. Usual high standard for this episode of the BBC’s In Our Time podcast, in which a group of historians discuss his …

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