James G. R. Cronin

Henry V’s campaign

11 August 1415. 610 years ago Henry V of England and an army of 12,000 sail from Southampton, bound for France on a campaign to reassert English sovereignty during the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453).

John Bryson / TIME&LIFE Pictures / Getty

10 August 1975. David Frost purchases exclusive rights to interview former US President Richard Nixon. An estimated 45 million viewers tuned in for the first broadcast on 4 May 1977 about Watergate, the largest television audience for a political interview in history.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge wanted to ‘bid farewell’ to writing at 22, letter reveals Young poet details low mood and disappointment in love in 1795 letter, written not long before he met Wordsworth

#SamuelTaylorColeridge letters discovered

www.theguardian.com/books/2025/a...

Nagasaki I’m ruins, US National Archives

9 August 1945. The eightieth anniversary of the second atomic bombing of Japan. The primary target was Kokura, but the target was obscured by cloud cover, and the airmen, critically low on fuel, broke orders and selected the secondary target of Nagasaki 100 miles (160 km) away.

Pictured: Endurance under steam and sail trying to break through pack ice in the Weddell Sea on the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1915 Paget colour photograph by Frank Hurley.

8 August 1914. Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship "Endurance" leaves Plymouth, England, for Buenos Aires, Argentina, as part of Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. Endurance was lost in the ice in January 1915.

British recruitment poster using German disregard for the Treaty of London (1839) securing Belgium independence and neutrality as a casus belli

“For we carried our packs with Marshal Saxe
When Louis was our King.
But Douglas Haig's our marshal now,
And we're King George's men
After One hundred and seventy years
We're fighting for France again.”

— from “The Irish Guards” by Rudyard Kipling

7 August 1914. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) lands in France to repel German western advance.

The route of the Spanish Armada, 1588.

7 August 1588. English commander Francis Drake sent eight fire-ships loaded with flammable materials into the anchored Spanish Armada fleet at Calais (see map), causing the Spanish to cut their anchors and scatter in disarray to avoid the burning vessels.

On his death date #otd 6 Aug 1221, here’s St Dominic by an unknown Italian artist, c. 1500-1540

(Musée du Louvre)

New Missile Crisis or No Real Change? Experts Weigh In on End of Russia’s Intermediate-Range Missile Moratorium - The Moscow Times Russia’s decision to abandon its moratorium on deploying intermediate-range ballistic missiles could set the stage for a new arms crisis, experts warn.

Russia’s decision to abandon its moratorium on deploying intermediate-range ballistic missiles could set the stage for a new arms crisis, experts warn.

PHOTO OF THE DAY. A watch stopped at the exact moment the atomic bomb hit Hiroshima #OTD in 1945 📷 Mark Carnaby

Hiroshima in ruins

6 August 1945. Eightieth anniversary of the first atomic bombing of the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Many survivors, the hibakusha, became witnesses for peace. As they have grown older, global conflicts have intensified. To them, the risk of a nuclear escalation feels more real than ever.

“Free Nelson Mandela” by The Specials (also known as The Special AKA) 1984. Note that the cover shows a photograph of Mandela from the period of his trial as there were no contemporary photographs of him as he aged in prison.

How much one British pop song helped to free Nelson Mandela edition.cnn.com/2013/12/06/s...

Pictured: Nelson Mandela and wife Winnie raising fists upon his release from Victor Verster prison on 11 February 1990 after 27 years of incarceration.

5 August 1962. South African activist Nelson Mandela was arrested on charges of leaving the country without a passport and inciting workers to strike; it was the beginning of 27 years of imprisonment from 1964 to 1990, for his role in the struggle against the apartheid system of racial segregation.

FACT OF THE DAY. 4 August 1962. Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe died (aged 36) in a bedroom of her Los Angeles home due to a suspected overdose barbiturates. Forensic tests put the time of death between 8:30PM and 10:30PM. Her housekeeper said she found Marilyn dead at 3:00AM on 5 August 1962.

Title page of the first printed edition of the Zohar, Mantua, 1558.

4 August 1558. First printing of Zohar ( meaning, “Splendour” or “Radiance”) in Spain, popularises Jewish study of Kabbalah. The Zohar is the central work of the Jewish mystical tradition of Kabbalah.

Pictured: Title page of the first printed edition of the Zohar, Mantua, 1558.

A British crow is asking passersby if they're alright.

This map demonstrates Germany’s Schlieffen Plan (1905) in action. This plan replicated the successful tactic of the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71). In its modified form it was designed to counter the treat of a two-front war by rapidly defeating France before turning German focus to Russia. Although the original plan was never fully implemented, its modified version was put into action but ultimately failed due to unexpected Belgian resistance, the early arrival of British forces, and a modified German approach that weakened the right wing of the attack. Halting the German advance in September 1914 would lead to the stalemate of trench warfare and the war of attrition that characterised the Western Front from 1914 to 1918.

3 August 1914. Germany invades Belgium and declares war on France, beginning World War One. Hoping to defeat France quickly before Russia had a chance to mobilise her forces, Germany attacked through neutral Belgium, a country Britain had sworn to protect.

8.33pm Monday 28 July 2025

Pictured: calligraphic details from the virtual presentation of the Great Book of Ireland exhibit at the Glucksman

The Great Book of Ireland is an imaginatively curated exhibition currently on show at the Glucksman Gallery, Cork
www.glucksman.org/exhibitions/...
It evokes the manuscript tradition of Ireland’s Golden Age in the creation of a deluxe manuscript for a modern Ireland.

How The Potsdam Conference Shaped The Future Of Post-War Europe The Potsdam Conference was the last meeting of the ‘Big Three’ Allied leaders during the Second World War. At Yalta in February 1945, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, American President Frank...

2 August 1945. Eightieth anniversary of the ending of the Potsdam Conference between Joseph Stalin, Harry Truman and Winston Churchill (replaced on 26 July by Clement Attlee after Churchill lost the 1945 general election). www.iwm.org.uk/history/how-...

1 August 1834. The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 comes into effect, abolishing slavery throughout the British Empire.

The German and Russian emperors, imperial cousins, wearing one another’s dress uniforms as a symbol of their projected close political relationship.

31 July 1914. German Emperor Wilhelm II threatens war and orders Russia to demobilise.

The “Willy-Nicky” telegrams (29 July - 1 August, 1914) mark a final frantic attempt by European monarchy to halt events leading to the First World War (1914-18) net.lib.byu.edu/estu/wwi/191...

Southport riots begin 30 July 2024

30 July 2024. A mob of up to 300 riot in Southport, England, injuring 50 police officers, whipped up by misinformation on social media, claiming the attacker was a Muslim asylum seeker, the day after a knife attack at a children's dance event. The claim was pushed by far-right social media accounts.

A Symbol of the Palestinian Resistance for the Internet Age Viral videos of the Palestinian teenager Ahed Tamimi confronting Israeli soldiers reveal how the conflict is evolving with technology.

Yasmeen Serhan, “A Symbol of the Palestinian Resistance for the Internet Age,” The Atlantic, 5 January 2018
www.theatlantic.com/internationa...

The iconic image of Tamimi as the acceptable face of Palestinian resistance in Western eyes.

29 July 2018. Palestinian teenage “activist” (“terrorist sympothizer,” Israeli authorities) Ahed Tamimi, from the West Bank, is released from prison after serving eight months in detention.

SDG’s particularly off track: SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), SDG 14 (Life Below Water), SDG 15 (Life on Land), and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).

2025 marks tenth anniversary of #UN #SDGs … While the messaging seems persuasive enough, only 35% of targets are on track for 2030 deadline or making moderate progress, and 18% are even going backwards, according to UN Secretary-General António Guterres. See: press.un.org/en/2025/sgsm...