The Dining Hall is the perfect place to take a break from your studies. Meet your fellow students or colleagues to chat about anything else the world has to offer. For the most part, any interest you want to share is fair game—just steer clear of contemporary politics.
I have a strong feeling @HistBuff will enjoy this topic
I have a hobby in genealogy and enjoy some of the things I come across while reading about people from a different time. Sometimes "on this day in history" can be interesting and good to talk about.
To keep the idea of not focusing on politics, let's avoid anything after the year 1950.
On this day in history in 1936, Britain’s King George V died after his physician injected the mortally ill monarch with morphine and cocaine to hasten his death. The king was succeeded by his eldest son, Edward VIII, who abdicated the throne 11 months later to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson.
Well, two American presidents were inaugurated on this day, one of them in 1937, 1941, and 1945 and the other in 1949. Luckily Roosevelt and Truman didn't provoke strong political opinions in others.
On 25 January 1533, King Henry VIII secretly and, well, sort of bigamously (he had already wed her in secret a little earlier, but that was too much for his churchmen) married Anne Boleyn.
On 30 January 1948 in New Delhi, the capital of the newly independent India, Nathuram Godse shot and killed Mahatma Gandhi. The vanquisher of the British Raj died by the hand of a fellow Indian.
On February 24, 1582, Pope Gregory XIII signed a decree that permanently erased 10 days from the calendar. The old calendar was mathematically flawed. As a result later in that year, people went to sleep on October 4th and woke up on October 15th.
On March 10, 1876, exactly 150 years ago Alexander Graham Bell is said to have spoken the words: "„Mr. Watson, come here. I want to see you.“ over a telephone.
145 years ago today, on 13 March 1881, Alexander II, the Emperor of Russia, King of Poland, Grand Duke of Finland etc. etc. etc. had a bomb thrown at his carriage speeding along the Catherine Canal in St Petersburg. The carriage being armoured, the Tsar and Autocrat of All the Russias emerged from it unhurt to ascertain the damage and have a look at the captured terrorist. Praising God for yet another escape (Alexander was used to attempt on his life, having survived five or so), the Tsar started walking back to the carriage.
'It's too early to thank God,' Ignaty Grinevitsky cried out before throwing the second bomb on the pavement between himself and the Tsar -- inaugurating the era of suicide terrorism with a bang.
