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The first death by Robot
Robert Williams was 25 and worked as an American engineer for the Ford Motor Company factory in Flat Rock, Michigan. He was killed by an industrial robot arm on January 25, 1979 when he was struck in the head and killed by the arm of a 1-ton production-line robot as he was gathering parts in a storage facility. The robot was part of a parts-retrieval system that moved material from one part of the factory to another; when the robot began running slowly, Williams reportedly climbed into the storage rack to retrieve parts manually when he was struck in the head and killed instantly. His family sued the manufacturers of…
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There’s No Such Thing as Dying With Dignity!
Just a fairly short one tonight. Inspired by a chat with a friend, I thought I would share a few tit-bits on the subject of a famous funeral that endured a couple of mishaps and all things awkward, that did not discriminate on the basis of class or fame. When Winston Churchill died in January 1965 after suffering a stroke some days before, he was given one of the biggest state funerals ever known, particularly for a “commoner”. The ceremony involved somber journeys on a gun carriage through the streets of London to the service at St Paul’s Cathedral, followed by another procession to the Thames where the bearer party…
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Napoleon’s Strangest Battle
Napoleon was arguably one of the greatest military minds of the his age. However, he was outwitted by a strange opponent. No, not Wellington at Waterloo (learn more about that here: http://www.historynaked.com/battle-waterloo-2nd-abdication-napoleon-bonaparte/ ) nor a beautiful and dedicated queen (read more about Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz here: http://www.historynaked.com/louise-mecklenburg-strelitz-queen-prussia/ ). He was attacked and almost vanquished by common rabbits. It was 1807 and Napoleon had just signed the Treaty of Tilsit between France and Russia. To celebrate this achievement, he wanted to relax and have some fun. Like most upper class gentlemen of that time, hunting was a popular past time. According to the memoirs of Paul Thiébault, a general in Napoleon’s…
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Military Mishaps
Major-General Sir William Erskine was born in 1748, becoming 2nd Baronet on the death of his father, Lieutenant-General Sir William Erskine, in 1795. He twice represented Fife in Parliament, in 1796 and then from 1802-1805. Erskine was appointed one of the senior commanders in the Peninsular War, despite having twice been detained in an insane asylum. The Duke of Wellington, upon querying Erskine’s sanity, was reassured that ‘no doubt he is a little mad at times, but he is lucid at intervals’ although this was soon called into question. Left in charge of both the light infantry and the cavalry at the Battle of Sabugal in 1811, Erskine somehow managed…
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BITE SIZED: The Origins of the Poison Pen Letter
In 1527 the first known letter to England from North America was received, sent by the mariner John Rut to Henry VIII. The world's first adhesive stamp available for public posting at a single price, the Penny Black, was introduced in 1840, replacing the previous system which saw the recipient pay for postage based on the number of sheets and the distance covered.Post isn't always pleasant to receive, and the term 'poison pen' to refer to malicious and anonymous letters was first use [...]
