This time in our series First Names First we have Barry ! Below is a chronological list of some of the men born with that name. Pick one and then follow the Wikipedia link to read about these men, and to see what if anything they could contribute your life with. Give a couple of minutes of your life to this. Lives lived all have something to tell us – let them! Continue reading

In the year 1510, Afonso de Albuquerque of Portugal conquers Goa (Feb 27), the Holy League defending the Italian states attacks the French-occupied Genoa (Jul), Goa becomes a Portuguese colony (Nov 23), the first pocket watch is built, sunflowers are brought to Europe - and all these fine people were born: 1510 -xxxxx Mikael Agricola* Finnish Lutheran clergyman/founder of literary Finnish/prominent proponent of the Protestant Reformation - Pernå, Finland, Sweden-Finland (1557/c. Continue reading

The Amida Buddha Statue in Kamakura. Sōtō Zen is the largest of the three traditional sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism. In the year 1227, the Livonian Brothers of the Sword conquer Danish Estonia, and Reval is given town rights under Riga law (Jan), King Valdemar II of Denmark is defeated in the Battle in Bornhöved, whereby the Danish border with the Holy Roman Empire is moved to the Eider River, in effect until 1806 (Jul 22), Genghis Khan dies in Western Xia (Aug 18), Grand Prince Yaroslav II leads a devastating attack from the Novgorod Republic on Baltic Finnic peoples called “Yem” (Häme in modern Finnish) in eastern Fennoscandia, the Japanese priest Dōgen Zenji leaves China, and goes on to introduce Sōtō Zen Buddhism into his native Japan - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

In the year 1282, the attack of Dafydd ap Gruffydd at an English castle, later supported by his brother, leads to the final English conquest of Wales (Mar), the Sicilian Vespers begins against the rule of Angevin King Charles I of Sicily (Mar 30), Peter III of Aragon becomes King of Sicily (Sep 4), the technology of watermarks is introduced by paper manufacturers of Bologna, Archbishop of Canterbury orders all the synagogues of London to close, and forbids Jewish doctors from practicing on non-Jews - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

In the year 2021, supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump attack the United States Capitol (Jan 6), the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases exceeds 100 million worldwide (Jan 26), NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter, part of the Mars 2020 mission, performs the first known powered flight on another planet (Apr 19), the 2020 Summer Olympics begin in Tokyo (Jul 23), the United States withdraws its last remaining troops from Afghanistan, ending 20 years of operations there (Aug 30), El Salvador becomes the first country in the world to accept Bitcoin as an official currency (Sep 7), the number of recorded deaths from COVID-19 surpasses 5 million (Nov 1), Russia’s anti-satellite weapon test creates a cloud of space debris (Nov 16) - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

Metz Cathedral in Metz, Lorraine, France In the year 1552, the privileges of the Hanseatic League are abolished in England (Feb 24), Metz Cathedral is consecrated (Apr 11), Ivan the Terrible conquers Khanate of Kazan (Oct 15), King Edward VI of England founds 35 grammar schools by royal charter, Bartolomeo Eustachi presents his discoveries in Tabulae anatomicae on the structure of the inner ear and heart (but the fear of the Inquisition delays its publication until 1714) - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

Reflections of sun in a drop. Photo credit Aakash Kumar Time for another great quote! We present here a famous or great quotation, and reveal at the end of the article who said that. This time it is all about love! So, who do you think said _Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier. _ We are all like walking suns. And even though some of us prefer to hide behind clouds - or are for a reason or another forced to do so - there is light within all of us. Continue reading

The Rialto Bridge in Venice, Italy In the year 1591, Japanese tea-master Sen no Rikyū commits seppuku on the order of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Apr 21), Ivan the Terrible’s son Tsarevich Dimitriis is found dead, perhaps murdered by his rival Boris Godunov who becomes tsar (May 15), the Portuguese invasion of Jaffna Kingdom in Sri Lanka begins (Oct 26), the Rialto Bridge in Venice is completed – and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

The previous Language Day was published exceptionally already on February 22nd due to the article on Kalevala taking precedence on the 28th, the National Kalevala Day in Finland. But now we are back on the 29th, and this time Language Day deals with a very current topic. War. Let us take an anti-war stance here as well. First the word for war, and then the sentence here below in a few languages. Continue reading

The four suits of playing cards from the 14th century. Here the Trentine pattern, related to the Bergamo and Brescia patterns. In the year 1377, the 10-year old Richard II (grandson of Edward III) is crowned king of England (Jul 16), the Trezzo sull’Adda Bridge in Lombardy is completed, becoming the longest arch bridge in the world to be built for four centuries, Novgorod raids Ostrobothnia in Finland, Prince John of Castile issues prohibitions against card games, followed by the cities of Florence and Basel - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

Most of us grow up thinking that a question deserves an answer. So we answer most questions - especially when we are kids - to the best of our ability, and possibly with a degree of politeness and kindness. And we expect the same favor returned to us - if we do ask. And so the conversations in our lives go on, with us posing questions, expecting ensuing answers, sharing experiences, coming up with deductions, commitments, new ideas, and so forth. Continue reading

Old lottery tickets In the year 1569, the first recorded lottery in England is performed nonstop until May, with the proceeds going to public works (Jan 11), the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania become the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (Jul 1), Siam becomes a vassal of Burma (Aug 2), three northern earls lead a unsuccessful rebellion against Queen Elizabeth I in an attempt to place Mary, Queen of Scots, on the English throne (Nov-Dec) – and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

First Names First has today as first name (more common as a last name though) Whitney which was a very popular name given to girls in the 1980s - even before the fame of Whitney Houston, but especially after that. Below is a chronological list of some of these women. Pick one name and then follow the Wikipedia link to read about them, and to see what if anything they could contribute your life with. Continue reading

Equestrian portrait of Henry IV of France in Paris. Photo credit Jastrow In the year 1594, the Polish king Sigismund is crowned King of Sweden (Feb 19), Henry IV is crowned King of France after converting to Catholicism (Feb 27), Willem Barents makes his first voyage to the Arctic Ocean, in search of the Northeast Passage (Jun 5), the city of Groningen submits to Dutch troops, bringing the whole northern Netherlands under the Dutch Republic (Jul 22), Jesuits found St. Continue reading

Independence Square in Kyiv, Ukraine The city we go to this time in Streets & Squares is Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. Previously also known by its Russian name Kiev, situated in the north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. A city that at the moment is the center of attention of the whole world. As always, clicking on the address links leads you to Google Maps, and clicking on the names to the person’s Wikipedia page. Continue reading

Since years back it has been a popular pastime for some of us to check on YouTube for all sorts of survival and prepper videos. Preppers, i.e. people getting ready to live without societal support in times of disaster, are growing in numbers by the second. National and global events always trigger the escalation of prepping, but even when the times are calmer and seem more secure, and there really doesn’t seem to be a whole lot to worry about for the majority of us, prepping will always be something that people just do naturally. Continue reading

In the year 1558, French troops take Calais, the last continental possession of the Kingdom of England (Jan 7), the Livonian War begins as the Russian tsar Ivan IV attacks Livonia (Jan 22), the city of Pori is founded on the shores of the Gulf of Bothnia (Mar 8), King Sigismund II Augustus appoints an Italian merchant to organise a consolidated postal service in Poland, the origin of Poczta Polska (Oct 17), the Elizabethan era begins in England as Catholic Queen Mary dies and is succeeded by her younger Protestant half-sister Elizabeth, who will rule for 44 years (Nov 17) - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

A traffic sign in Spitsbergen: “Applies to the whole of Svalbard” In the year 1596, the Dutch navigator Willem Barents begins his third and final Arctic voyage (May 18), Willem Barents discovers Spitsbergen (Jun 17), the German lay astronomer David Fabricius discovers Mira (Aug), Diego de Montemayor founds the city of Monterrey, Mexico (Sep 20), the Cudgel War begins in Finland, when poor peasants rise up against the Swedish troops, nobles and cavalry who taxed them (Nov 25), Elizabeth I of England decrees that all Africans should be removed from the British realm, in reaction to the food crisis - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

Monument for Jaakko Ilkka, the Finnish leader in the Cudgel War (Nuijasota in Finnish, 1596-1597) in Ilmajoki, Finland. Photo credit to Antti Helin In the year 1597, Bali is discovered by the Dutch explorer Cornelis Houtman (Feb), the last battle of the Cudgel War is fought on the Santavuori Hill in Ilmajoki, Ostrobothnia (Feb 24), a Dutch expedition returns to Amsterdam after having successfully reached Java, breaking the Portuguese monopoly on Spice trade (Aug 14), Alchemia, a pioneering chemistry textbook, is published by the German polymath Andreas Libavius, Jacopo Peri writes Dafne, now recognised as the first opera - and all these fine people were born: 1597-0112 François Duquesnoy* Flemish Baroque sculptor/active in Rome - Brussels (1643/46) Continue reading

This time in our series First Names First we will have Walter! Below is a chronological list of some of them. Pick one name and then follow the Wikipedia link to read about these men, and to see what if anything they could contribute your life with. Give a couple of minutes of your life to this. Lives lived all have something to tell us – let them! Walter Raleigh* soldier/ explorer/statesman - East Budleigh, Devon, England (1552 or 1554) Continue reading