Charles II's leadership during the Great fire of London was the kind of performance that gives kings a good name
In the early hours of Sept. 2, 1666, 350 years ago, the Great Fire of London ignited in a baker’s shop in a little street called Pudding Lane. It spread havoc over the next four days, laying waste to the old walled city at the centre of London. By the time the fire was extinguished,…
The new British prime minister is apparently an admirer of the Victorian-era urban reforming Radical Joe
Think of the name Chamberlain and the person who springs to mind is the hapless Neville Chamberlain, the man who is – perhaps unfairly – remembered as the appeaser of Adolf Hitler. But he wasn’t the first Chamberlain to make his mark on British politics. A generation earlier, Neville’s father cast a long shadow. Joseph…
From pop music to miniskirts to Academy Award-winning films, a cultural revolution was brewing in England – for a while
You have to hand it to the English. From Brexit to the latest Royal happenings, they seem to be permanently in the news. Fifty years ago, the story was all about an apparent revolution in popular culture. Although the vibe had been brewing for a while, Time magazine gave it the official North American imprimatur…
Forget Donald Trump – Wendell Willkie was the man if you're seeking a presidential candidate who defied convention
This year’s Republican convention is a keen disappointment for political junkies. History offers at least one such gathering that was more compelling. Just a few months ago, we hoped to experience that rare animal in American politics – a contested, multi-ballot convention with all the drama we’ve only read about in books. But Donald Trump has…
With one key difference: Barring a miracle, Trump will become the 2016 Republican nominee; Connally was up against Ronald Reagan
Someone recently described Donald Trump as a modern version of Ronald Reagan, which is nonsense. However, there is another 20th century American politician with whom Trump has a significant number of things in common. Now largely forgotten, that man is John Connally. Connally (1917-1993) was perhaps most famous for being in the car with John…
To their dismay, some vice presidents came to realize how irrelevant the role really is
John Nance Garner was a crusty Texan who served two terms (1933-1941) as Franklin D. Roosevelt’s vice president. And he was blunt, declaring that the vice presidency “isn’t worth a pitcher of warm spit.” Indeed, biographer O.C. Fisher maintained that this formulation was a euphemism. Garner actually said that the vice presidency “isn’t worth a…
Armies of disgruntled people are pushing back against an establishment that puts the interests of corporations ahead of citizens
Some years are more important than others. The most important are a culmination, turning points that herald the end of one era and the beginnings of another. The 410 AD sack of Rome by the Gothic forces of Alaric was the moment when the end of the Roman Empire became inevitable. Other dates in history…
Where Ali was flamboyantly boastful, Louis was studiously modest and where Ali was outspokenly defiant, Louis was respectfully deferential
Muhammad Ali’s recent death brought to mind another famous 20th century black American boxer. In his own way and in his own time, Joe Louis was just as famous as Ali. And by some estimations, he was an even better fighter. Born Joseph Louis Barrow in 1914 rural Alabama, Louis moved with his family to…
170 years ago the U.S. first created resentment in Mexico by annexing territory roughly equivalent in size to western Europe
Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump has ignited more than his share of controversies on the campaign trail. At least one lights a fire dangerously close to the foundation of a big chunk of the United States. A couple of weeks ago, an eye-catching photo was taken at an anti-Donald Trump demonstration in California. It featured…
Beating-up on Britain’s Sir Mark Sykes and France’s Francois Georges-Picot for today's mess in the Middle East is just plain silly
It was 100 years ago this May that two diplomats – Britain’s Sir Mark Sykes and France’s Francois Georges-Picot – concluded a secret agreement dividing the (prospective) post-war Middle East into British and French spheres of influence. And by virtue of ignoring local demographic realities, their agreement has been blamed for many of the region’s…