This day in history

The discovery of x-rays came from experimenting with Crookes tubes, an early experimental electrical discharge tube invented by English physicist William Crookes around 1869-1875. In 1895, Wilhelm Röntgen discovered X-rays emanating from Crookes tubes and the many uses for X-rays were immediately apparent. One of the first X-ray photographs was made of the hand of Röntgen's wife. The image displayed both her wedding ring and bones. On January 18, 1896 an X-ray machine was formally displayed by H.L. Smith.

In the 1940s and 1950s, X-ray machines were used in stores to help sell footwear. These were known as fluoroscopes. However, as the harmful effects of X-ray radiation were properly considered, they finally fell out of use. Shoe-fitting use of the device was first banned by the state of Pennsylvania in 1957. (They were more a clever marketing tool to attract customers, rather than a fitting aid.)

Whiskers wrote:Singer Dolly Parton born 1946

Whiskers wrote:King George V died 1936

Kitkat wrote:

Whiskers wrote:King George V died 1936

Please excuse my ignorance (I'm not very up on royalty and all the pomp, poop and sham that goes with it) - but is that the same guy that's the subject of our Movie of the Week this week?  ('The Madness of King George')?

Whiskers wrote:Barak Obama orders the closure of the Guantanamo prison camp  2009

Whiskers wrote:"Desert Island Discs" first transmission  1942

Whiskers wrote:Two 10-year-old boys are charged with the abduction and murder of two-year-old James Bulger in Liverpool  1993

Kitkat wrote:a suggestion to perhaps make it a bit more interesting and maybe generate some discussion on the event in history that is being marked ....  :idea:  to accompany the daily headline with some kind of link to the event?

The Treaty of Paris, also known as the Treaty of 1763, was signed on 10 February 1763 by the kingdoms of Great Britain, France and Spain, with Portugal in agreement, after Britain's victory over France and Spain during the Seven Years' War.

The signing of the treaty formally ended the Seven Years' War, known as the French and Indian War in the North American theatre, and marked the beginning of an era of British dominance outside Europe. The two nations returned much of the territory that they had each captured during the war, but Britain gained much of France's possessions in North America. Additionally, Britain agreed to protect Roman Catholicism in the New World.

Exchange of territories
During the war, Britain had conquered the French colonies of Canada, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Tobago, the French "factories" (trading posts) in India, the slave-trading station at Gorée, the Sénégal River and its settlements, and the Spanish colonies of Manila (in the Philippines) and Havana (in Cuba). France had captured Minorca and British trading posts in Sumatra, while Spain had captured the border fortress of Almeida in Portugal, and Colonia del Sacramento in South America. In the treaty, most of these territories were restored to their original owners. Britain however made considerable gains. France and Spain restored all their conquests to Britain and Portugal. Britain restored Manila and Havana to Spain, and Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Gorée, and the Indian factories to France. In return, France ceded Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Tobago to Britain. France also ceded the eastern half of French Louisiana to Britain; that is, the area from the Mississippi River to the Appalachian Mountains. Spain ceded Florida to Britain. France had already secretly given Louisiana to Spain in the Treaty of Fontainebleau (1762). In addition, while France regained its factories in India, France recognized British clients as the rulers of key Indian native states, and pledged not to send troops to Bengal. Britain agreed to demolish its fortifications in British Honduras (now Belize), but retained a logwood-cutting colony there. Britain confirmed the right of its new subjects to practice Catholicism.

France ceded all of its territory in mainland North America, but retained fishing rights off Newfoundland and the two small islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, where it could dry that fish. In turn France gained the return of its sugar colony, Guadeloupe, which it considered more valuable than Canada. Voltaire had notoriously dismissed Canada as "Quelques arpents de neige", "Some acres of snow".

Canada question

• British perspective
  
  While the war was fought all over the world, the British began the war over French possessions in North America. After a long debate in Britain of the relative merits of Guadeloupe, which produced £6 million a year in sugar, versus Canada which was expensive to keep, Britain decided to keep Canada for strategic reasons and return Guadeloupe to France. While the war had weakened France, it was still a European Power. British Prime Minister Lord Bute wanted a peace that would not aggravate France towards a second war. This explains why Britain agreed to return so much while being in such a strong position.
  
  Though the Protestant British feared Roman Catholics, Britain did not want to antagonize France through expulsion or forced conversion. Also, Britain did not want French settlers to leave Canada to strengthen other French settlements in North America. This explains Britain’s willingness to protect Roman Catholics living in Canada.
  
  
• French perspective
  
  Unlike Lord Bute, the French Foreign Minister the Duke of Choiseul expected a return to war. However, France needed peace to rebuild. French diplomats believed that without France to keep the Americans in check, the colonists might attempt to revolt.  In Canada, France wanted open emigration for those who would not swear allegiance to the British Crown such as nobility. Lastly, France required protection for Roman Catholics in North America considering Britain’s ill attitudes towards Roman Catholics.
  

Whiskers wrote:First British cheque written  1659

promising to pay Messrs Morris and Clayton “400 pounds only”.


http://instaroyal.co.uk/the-first-british-cheque-was-written-on-february-16-1659-promising-to/

Jamboree wrote:

Whiskers wrote:First British cheque written  1659

promising to pay Messrs Morris and Clayton “400 pounds only”.


http://instaroyal.co.uk/the-first-british-cheque-was-written-on-february-16-1659-promising-to/

And here it is in black & white (maybe faded a bit to a grey and brownish beige).

Whiskers wrote:The Gregorian Calendar succeeded the Julian Calendar  1582


 

Before today’s Gregorian calendar was adopted, the older Julian calendar was used. It was admirably close to the actual length of the year, as it turns out, but the Julian calendar was not so perfect that it didn’t slowly shift off track over the following centuries. But, hundreds of years later, monks were the only ones with any free time for scholarly pursuits – and they were discouraged from thinking about the matter of "secular time" for any reason beyond figuring out when to observe Easter. In the Middle Ages, the study of the measure of time was first viewed as prying too deeply into God’s own affairs – and later thought of as a lowly, mechanical study, unworthy of serious contemplation.

As a result, it wasn’t until 1582, by which time Caesar’s calendar had drifted a full 10 days off course, that Pope Gregory XIII (1502 - 1585) finally reformed the Julian calendar. Ironically, by the time the Catholic church buckled under the weight of the scientific reasoning that pointed out the error, it had lost much of its power to implement the fix. Protestant tract writers responded to Gregory’s calendar by calling him the "Roman Antichrist" and claiming that its real purpose was to keep true Christians from worshiping on the correct days. The "new" calendar, as we know it today, was not adopted uniformly across Europe until well into the 18th century.

Here are a few more historical aspects of our calendar.

• Has the year always started on 1 January?
  
  
  
  • Then what about leap years?
    
  
  
  
• What is the origin of the names of the months?
  
• How did Dionysius date Christ’s birth?
  
• Was Jesus born in the year 0?
  
• Why do the 9th thru 12th months have names that mean 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th?
  
• Why does February have only 28 days?