'Dr. Livingstone, I Presume..?' and Sfinci

The missionary and explorer David Livingstone was born on  this day in 1813 in Lanarkshire.  For some six years whilst in Africa all contact with him was lost. In 1869 the New York Herald newspaper sent Henry Morton Stanley to find him; on doing so, he is reported to have announced the now infamous 'Dr. Livingstone, I presume ?' Here is an illustration from the 1872 Illustrated London News. I have also included a link to a rather lovely portrait in the National Portrait Gallery.

On March the 19th 1883 the chemist Sir Norman ( Walter ) Haworth was born in Worcestershire. He became known for his research into the properties of carbohydrates and ascorbic acid - vitamin c, and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1937.

On this day in 1900 the chemist Frederic Joliot-Curie was born in Paris. He was married to Irene Curie, - the daughter of Pierre and Marie Curie. They would jointly be awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1935.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge was opened on March the 19th 1932.

On March the 19th 1965 Rembrandt's Titus sold for a record $7,770,000. Here is a self-portrait:

Today is the Feast Day of Saint Joseph or San Giuseppe, widely celebrated throughout Southern Italy. These marvellously named sfinci it would seem are the order of the day. I'm going to have a go.

Wilfred Owen, John Updike, Luc Besson and a Spacewalk

Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VII, was born on March the 18th 1496. I  had several links to choose from, but was particularly taken with the Catherine Howard jewellery so went for this one. I've also included another link to the Mary Rose, said to have been named after her.

On this day in 1766 Britain repealed the enormously unpopular Stamp Act.

The poet and critic Stephane ( Etienne ) Mallarme was born on March the 18th 1842. With Paul Verlaine, Mallarme was a founder of the Symbolist movement. His work inspired musical pieces by Debussy and Ravel amongst others. In 1875 Mallarme translated Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven, the work was illustrated by Edouard Manet. Here is a beautiful portrait of Mallarme by Manet:

Neville Chamberlain, the future Prime Minister, was born on this day in 1869.

March the 18th 1891 saw the opening of the London-Paris telephone system.

The poet and soldier Wilfred Owen was born on this day in 1893. He was killed in combat one week before the end of the war on November the 4th 1918, aged 25. His mother received the news of his death on Armistice Day. I am including a link to an article by Jeremy Paxman I very much enjoyed. Also here is a link to one of his best known poems in draft, Dulce et Decorum Est, part of the British Library Collection.

Sharing a birthday today too is John Updike, he was born in 1932.

The film director Luc Besson also has a birthday today - he was born in Paris in 1959. I have lost count of the amount of times I watched Le Grand Bleu at university.

On March the 18th 1965 Aleksei Leonov, the Soviet Cosmonaut, made history with the first EVA or Spacewalk.

Today is the Feast Day of Saint Salvatore of Horta ( d. 1567 ).

There is a scene in Le Grand Bleu where they eat huge bowls of pasta on a terrace by the sea, it always makes me ravenously hungry. I had something along these lines Linguine alla Mollica in Sicily a while ago, it is just fabulous.

March 17th - Yippee ! Commodus, Kate Greenaway & Nureyev

Upon the death of Marcus Aurelius in 180, Commodus would become Emperor and rule Rome alone. I know it wasn't his finest hour in the movie Gladiator but I just love that film. Love it.

So here we are - Saint Patrick's Day. He is the Patron Saint of Ireland and March the 17th is celebrated as it is the anniversary of his death in Downpatrick, Ireland. I was interested to discover via the Wikipedia link that two letters written by him survive giving us an account, in part, of  his life.

James IV of Scotland was born on March the 17th 1473.

In 1845, Stephen Perry would receive his patent for the rubber band on March the 17th.

The children's writer and illustrator Kate Greenaway was born on St. Patrick's Day 1846. She studied at what is now the Royal College of Art, which at the time had a separate section for women. Here is an example of her beautiful work:

Lawrence ( known as Titus ) Oates was born on this day in 1880. He would walk to his death in a blizzard on March the 16th 1912. This lovely painting - A Very Gallant Gentleman by John Charles Dollman.

In 1901 on the 17th of March an exhibition was held at the Galeries Bernheim Jeune, in Paris, of Van Gogh's work, some eleven years after his death. It was huge success.

Rudolf Nureyev too shares this birthday -  he was born in 1938.

On March the 17th 1958 NASA launched the Vanguard 1. It is the second US satellite and the first to be solar powered. It has the distinction of being the oldest man-made object in space and it is still orbits the earth today, although communication is lost.

London Bridge was opened on March the 17th 1973 by the Queen. The Bridge connects the City of London to Southwark - a bridge has stood on or near this site since the Roman occupation.

I think we have covered the Feast Day for today - enjoy !

A quick search online produced numerous  Saint Patrick's Day recipes - I'm going to have a go at Dublin Coddle. 

'I am just going outside and may be some time....'

Upon the death of his great uncle Tiberius at the age of 78, Caligula became Emperor of Rome on this day in AD 37.

Caroline Herschel, the astronomer and sister of William, was born on March the 16th 1750. She worked closely alongside her brother and the C.Herschel crater on the moon is named after her. She, along with Mary Somerville, was one of the first women to be made Honorary Members of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1835.

On this day in 1802 President Thomas Jefferson signed a measure authorising the creation of of the United States Military Academy at West  Point.   

This day in 1850 saw the publication of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter.

On March the 16th 1867 Joseph Lister the physician and medical pioneer, would publish his study Antiseptic Principle of the Practices of Surgery. Infection was the primary post surgical cause of death and Lister, having used carbolic soap ( phenol ) in the practice of sterile surgery, revolutionised surgical practice.

On their return journey from the South Pole, it was on March 16th 1912 that, as Captain Scott writes, Lawrence Oates, known as Titus, said to his camp 'I am just going outside and may be some time.' He was born on March the 17th 1880.

On March the 16th 1926 the American physicist and inventor Robert Goddard would launch the first liquid fuelled rocket in Massachusetts.

Bernando Bertolucci celebrates a birthday today, he was born in 1940. 

On this day in 1976 the Prime Minister Harold Wilson resigns. 

Today is the Feast Day, amongst others, of Saint Abban.

I can think of no particularly valid link here but I spent the summer perfecting risotto and have numerous requests for asparagus risotto for supper. Highly recommended. 

Caesar, Columbus, Taylor & Burton

March the 15th is generally considered to be the Ides of March ( latin Idus Martii ). Thought to follow the course of the full moon in the Roman Calendar, the date is the 15th for some months and the 13th for others. Julius Caesar was assassinated on this day in 44BC by among others, Brutus and Cassius.

Christopher Columbus returned to Spain on March the 15th 1493, concluding his voyage to the New World.

Charles II issued the Royal Declaration of Indulgence on this day in 1672.

On March the 15th 1824 Jules Chevalier was born in Richelieu, France. Originally apprenticed as a shoemaker as his parents could not afford to send him to the seminary, he would go on to found the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart.

On this day in 1877 the first Test match was played between England and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Charles Rolls and Henry Royce decided that cars designed and made by them would bear their name. Rolls Royce was Incorporated on March the 15th 1906.

The American Legion was formed in Paris on this day in 1919.

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton were married on March the 15th in 1964.

Today is the Feast Day of Saint Lucretia of Cordoba.

I had fun looking up food in Ancient Rome  - door mice and peacocks included.

Einstein, Sylvia Beach & 'I only told you to.....'

On March the 14th 1489, the Queen of Cyprus, Catherine Cornaro, sold her kingdom to Venice.

In 1794 the inventor Eli Whitney was granted the patent for his cotton gin. Here is an original illustration of the patent:

Albert Einstein was born on this day in 1879 in Ulm, Germany. He would publish his Theory of Relativity in 1905 and later in 1915 his paper on General Relativity. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921.

I'm developing a rather odd interest in signatures, here is Einstein's:

Also born on this day in 1887 was one Nancy Woodbridge Beach who came to be known as Sylvia. She went on to found the bookshop Shakespeare & Company in Paris in 1919. The shop would acquire a strong literary following and a degree of fame following the publication in 1922 of James Joyce's Ulysses.

On March the 14th 1933 Maurice Joseph Micklewhite was born in Southwark, London. He would go onto enjoy huge commercial and critical success as we know him - Michael Caine.

Today is the Feast Day of Saint Boniface of Ross.

On a recent trip to Paris we had the most sensational dish of hot smoked salmon with aubergine. I've included a similar recipe here : smoked salmon with aubergine.

William Buckland, Carnegie's Donation and Jack Kerouac

The geologist and palaeontologist William Buckland was born on March the 12th 1784. He was the first to identify and later produce the first full account of a fossil dinosaur, naming it Megalosaurus.

On March the 12th 1789 the first United States Post Office was established.

The  chemist William Henry Perkin was born on this day in 1838. He discovered the first aniline dye, mauveine.

The celebrated dancer Vaslav Nijinsky was born on this day in 1890.

Coca Cola was first sold in bottles on March the 12th 1894 in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

On this day in 1901 Andrew Carnegie donated 5.2 million dollars to the city of New York to fund the building of sixty-five libraries.

March the 12th 1912 saw the founding of the US Girl Scouts ( then Girl Guides ) in Savannah, Georgia.

Jack Kerouac was born on this day in 1922.

The playwright Edward Albee shares this birthday - he was born in 1928.

On this day in 1994 the Church of England ordained thirty two female priests in Bristol Cathedral.

Today is the Feast Day of Saint Alphege.

The beautiful Watteau drawings are on display at The Royal Academy