100 years ago – 27 Feb 1912
Death of Lawrence Durrell, Indian-born British novelist and poet, best known for ‘The Alexandria Quartet’

It should of course be his BIRTH on this date, not his death. He died in November 1990.

If we hear about any more errors we’ll list them here.

The list presented here is just a fraction of that available in The Date-A-Base Book 2012. There are more than  175 anniversaries for this month in the book, which also covers the whole of 2012.

The Date-A-Base Book 2013 (Part 1: Jan-June) is also available if you need to work further ahead.

We have painstakingly cross-checked every entry, but you are advised to check all facts again as part of your research. Please let us know of any errors you find.

350 years ago (15 Jul 1662)
The Royal Society in London, England was granted a royal charter by King Charles II. It is thought to be the world’s oldest scientific society

250 years ago (13 Jul 1762)
Death of James Bradley, British Astronomer Royal, discovered the aberration of starlight, which provided the first direct evidence that the Earth revolved around the Sun, and discovered the nutation (slight wobble) of the Earth’s axis

250 years ago (17 Jul 1762)
Death of Peter III, Tsar of Russia, killed in a conspiracy led by his wife, who succeeded him as Catherine II

200 years ago (22 Jul 1812)
Peninsular War – the Battle of Salamanca, Spain. British, Portuguese and Spanish forces led by Arthur Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington) defeated the French

175 years ago (19 Jul 1837)
Brunel’s steamship the ‘SS Great Western’ was launched in Bristol, UK

150 years ago (1 Jul 1862)
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was established in the USA, and the first national progressive rate income tax was introduced

150 years ago (12 Jul 1862)
The Medal of Honor was introduced – America’s highest military award

150 years ago (14 Jul 1862)
Birth of Gustav Klimt, prominent Austrian artist, a founder of the Vienna Secession movement

150 years ago (16 Jul 1862)
American astronomer Lewis Swift discovered Comet Swift-Tuttle. (It was also discovered independently by Horace Parnell Tuttle on 19th, and he was recognised as the co-discoverer)

150 years ago (24 Jul 1862)
Death of Martin Van Buren, 8th President of the United States

125 years ago (26 Jul 1887)
Esperanto, the international artificial language, was introduced to the world by L. L. Zamenhof, a Polish eye doctor

100 years ago (1 Jul 1912)
Birth of David Ross Brower, American environmentalist, founder of several environmental organisations including Friends of the Earth

100 years ago (14 Jul 1912)
Birth of Woody Guthrie, American folk singer, songwriter and musician

100 years ago (17 Jul 1912)
Death of Henri Poincaré, important French mathematician, theoretical physicist and philosopher who made significant innovations in geometry, differential equations, electromagnetism, and other fields

100 years ago (23 Jul 1912)
Birth of Michael Wilding, British film and television actor, Elizabeth Taylor’s 2nd husband

100 years ago (30 Jul 1912)
Death of Emperor Meiji of Japan

100 years ago (31 Jul 1912)
Birth of Milton Friedman, influential American economist and educator, winner of the 1976 Nobel Prize for Economics

100 years ago (31 Jul 1912)
Birth of Irv Kupcinet (‘Kup’), American newspaper columnist and TV talk show host

80 years ago (19 Jul 1932)
Lambeth Bridge in London was officially opened by King George V

75 years ago (2 Jul 1937)
Death of Amelia Earhart, American aviation pioneer, the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. (Disappeared over the Pacific on this date)

75 years ago (5 Jul 1937)
Spam luncheon meat was launched by Hormel Foods in Austin, Minnesota, USA

75 years ago (7 Jul 1937 to 9th)
The Second Sino-Japanese War began with the Marco Polo Bridge Incident (the Battle of Lugou Bridge). Japanese troops made an assault on an important access point to the city of Beijing, China. This developed into a full-scale war, and then into the Pacific theatre of war during WWII

75 years ago (11 Jul 1937)
Death of George Gershwin, popular American composer and pianist who wrote Broadway musicals in collaboration with his brother Ira, as well as orchestral pieces such as ‘Rhapsody in Blue’

75 years ago (18 Jul 1937)
Birth of Hunter S. Thompson, American journalist and writer, creator of Gonzo journalism, where reporters get involved in the action themselves, and become central figures in the stories. (Died 2005)

75 years ago (20 Jul 1937)
Death of Guglielmo Marconi, Italian physicist who made major contributions to modern long-distance radio communication, joint winner of the 1909 Nobel Prize for Physics for developing the wireless telegraph

70 years ago (1 Jul 1942 to 27th)
World War II – the First Battle of El Alamein, Egypt. The Allies prevented the Germans and Italians from advancing into Egypt

70 years ago (6 Jul 1942)
Anne Frank and her family went into hiding in a secret annex at her father’s workplace in Amsterdam

70 years ago (17 Jul 1942)
World War II – the Battle of Stalingrad began. (Ended February 1943)

70 years ago (22 Jul 1942)
Holocaust: the Nazis began the mass transportation of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto in Poland to the Treblinka extermination camp

70 years ago (31 Jul 1942)
Oxfam was founded in the UK (as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief)

65 years ago (2 Jul 1947)
Roswell Incident, New Mexico, USA. A UFO apparently crash-landed on a ranch, and debris with strange markings and unusual properties was found. The U.S. Air Force claimed it was just a weather balloon

65 years ago (9 Jul 1947)
Buckingham Palace announced the engagement of Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) to Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten

60 years ago (23 Jul 1952)
The European Coal and Steel Community was established as the Treaty of Paris came into effect. (It expired exactly 50 years later, on 23rd July 2002)

60 years ago (23 Jul 1952)
Egyptian Revolution: King Farouk I of Egypt was overthrown and forced to abdicate in favour of his infant son, in a military coup led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. (Egypt was declared a republic in June 1953)

60 years ago (26 Jul 1952)
Death of Eva Perón (‘Evita’), revered First Lady of Argentina (1946-52)

50 years ago (1 Jul 1962)
Burundi and Rwanda became independent from Belgium

50 years ago (2 Jul 1962)
The first Wal-Mart store opened in Rogers, Arkansas, USA

50 years ago (5 Jul 1962)
Algeria became independent from France

50 years ago (6 Jul 1962)
Death of William Faulkner, American novelist and short story writer, winner of the 1949 Nobel Prize for Literature

50 years ago (10 Jul 1962)
The American communications satellite Telstar was launched. It transmitted the first trans-Atlantic TV signal to Europe that same day, though the first official broadcast was on 23rd July. It could only relay a signal for 20 minutes per orbit

40 years ago (1 Jul 1972)
The first Gay Pride march in Britain took place in London

40 years ago (7 Jul 1972)
Death of King Talal of Jordan

40 years ago (21 Jul 1972)
Bloody Friday: the IRA exploded 22 bombs in Belfast, Northern Ireland, killing 9 people and injuring 130

30 years ago (4 Jul 1982)
Death of Terrence Higgins, British AIDS victim. The Terrence Higgins Trust, a charity which campaigns on AIDS- and HIV-related issues, was founded in his memory

30 years ago (9 Jul 1982)
Michael Fagan broke into Buckingham Palace, London and spent 10 minutes talking to the Queen in her bedroom

30 years ago (20 Jul 1982)
Hyde Park and Regent’s Park bombings, London, UK. Two IRA bombs killed 11 soldiers and injured 50 other people

30 years ago (29 Jul 1982)
Death of Vladimir Zworykin, Russian-born American electronics engineer and inventor, known as the father of modern television

25 years ago (3 Jul 1987)
Former Nazi leader and Gestapo chief Klaus Barbie (‘the Butcher of Lyon’) was sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes against humanity

25 years ago (11 Jul 1987)
The world’s population reached 5 billion

25 years ago (29 Jul 1987)
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and French President François Mitterrand ratified the Treaty of Canterbury – the agreement to build the Channel Tunnel. (Construction began on 15th December)

20 years ago (31 Jul 1992)
Death of Leonard Cheshire, British RAF pilot, humanitarian and philanthropist, founder of Leonard Cheshire Disability

15 years ago (1 Jul 1997)
Britain returned Hong Kong to China

15 years ago (17 Jul 1997)
The F.W. Woolworth Company closed the last of its department stores in the USA after increasing competition led to declining sales

15 years ago (20 Jul 1997)
The second IRA ceasefire in 3 years came into effect in Northern Ireland. There were sporadic outbreaks of violence afterwards, but the ceasefire lasted, leading to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in May 1998

10 years ago (2 Jul 2002)
American businessman and adventurer Steve Fossett became the first person to circumnavigate the world solo in a balloon

10 years ago (8 Jul 2002)
Death of Ward Kimball, Academy Award-winning American animator and director, known for his work with Disney

10 years ago (9 Jul 2002)
The African Union was founded, replacing the Organisation of African Unity

10 years ago (9 Jul 2002)
Death of Rod Steiger, award-winning American stage, film and TV actor (‘On the Waterfront’, ‘The Pawnbroker’, ‘Doctor Zhivago’, and others)

10 years ago (23 Jul 2002)
Death of Leo McKern, Australian-born British film, stage and TV actor, best known for playing the title role in the TV series ‘Rumpole of the Bailey’

10 years ago (27 Jul 2002)
Ukraine air show disaster. A military jet crashed into the crowd at an air show in Lviv, western Ukraine, killing more than 80 people and injuring over 100. It was the world’s worst air show disaster

——————–

You’ll find lots more anniversaries in
The Date-A-Base Book 2012, which covers the whole of 2012 and lists over 2,250 newsworthy and notable anniversaries – more than three times as many entries each month as we feature here in the blog. You’ll find out about  hundreds of fascinating anniversaries that other writers don’t know about – giving you a huge advantage!

The Date-A-Base Book 2012 is a terrific source of ideas for writers, journalists, film-makers, editors, researchers, producers, teachers, students, speakers and event planners.

Click here for more details
(You’ll also be able to download the complete chapter for January 2012)

The Date-A-Base Book 2013 (Part 1: Jan-June) is also available.

——————–

Become a lifetime member of ideas4writers for just £49.95 and you’ll receive The Date-A-Base Books for 2012 and 2013 (plus all future editions) as well as The Fastest Way to Write Your Book, The Fastest Way to Get Ideas, our complete 5,000+ collection of writing ideas, unlimited use of our forums and exclusive writing software, and much more (total value: over £150!)
Click here for full details

——————–

Visit the ideas4writers website: www.ideas4writers.co.uk
Email us: enquiries@ideas4writers.co.uk

Here’s another selection of What If writing prompts to inspire you – see what you can do with these!

What if . . .

1. you could understand what animals were saying – and they weren’t happy?

2. one of your children topped the record charts – and you didn’t even know they were musical?

3. your friend was xenophobic?

4. you could sense that something was wrong?

5. a stranger told you to go and see a dentist / hairdresser / cosmetic surgeon / or buy a new wardrobe, and they would pay for it no matter how much it cost?

6. you were addicted to love?

7. the host of the fancy dress party forgot to tell you the theme had changed?

8. fate was determined to kill you?

9. animals were expected to obey the same laws as people?

10. you were under house arrest?

- – – – – – – – – – – – – – -

Do you like What Ifs? Here are 4,400 more!

The Fastest Way to Get Ideas – 4,400 Essential What Ifs for Writers.

Instant inspiration for your short stories, novels, articles, characters, plots, settings and more! Fully categorised and alphabetical for easy reference. e-book (PDF). 256 pages.

Just £6.99!

Click here for full details

——————–

Become a lifetime member of ideas4writers for just £49.95 and you’ll receive The Fastest Way to Get Ideas, The Fastest Way to Write Your Book, The Date-A-Base Books for 2012 & 2013 (plus all future editions), our complete 5,000+ writing ideas collection, unlimited use of our exclusive writing software and forums, and much more
(total value: more than £150)
Click here for full details

——————–

Visit the ideas4writers website: www.ideas4writers.co.uk
Follow us on Twitter: @ideas4writers
Email us: enquiries@ideas4writers.co.uk

We are working very hard to get it back online as quickly as possible, but due to the time of year, and the difficulty in getting hold of the right people, it may take a few days.

We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience.

75 years ago (15 June 1937) The Chaco Wars began
This event  began in 1932 not 1937, so it is the 80th anniversary, not the 75th.

50 years ago (14 June 1962) The Boston Strangler’s first victim
We misspelled Strangler as Stranger – sorry about that.

Those are the only errors we know about in the 2012 edition. If we discover any more we’ll list them here.

Happy New Year!

Dave and Kate

Here are 60 newsworthy anniversaries in June 2012 for you to write about (and earn money from). The anniversaries are listed 6 months in advance to give you enough time for research and writing.

The list presented here is just a fraction of that available in The Date-A-Base Book 2012. There are well over 200 anniversaries for this month in the book, which also covers the whole of 2012.

The Date-A-Base Book 2013 (Part 1: Jan-June) is also available if you need to work further ahead.

We have painstakingly cross-checked every entry, but you are advised to check all facts again as part of your research. Please let us know of any errors you find.

300 years ago (28 Jun 1712)
Birth of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, influential Swiss-French philosopher and writer who had a profound impact on people’s lives. His political philosophy inspired the French Revolution

200 years ago (18 Jun 1812)
The War of 1812 began. The USA declared war on Britain

200 years ago (21 Jun 1812)
Birth of Moses Hess, German journalist, one of the founders of socialism and Zionism

200 years ago (24 Jun 1812)
Napoleonic Wars: the French invasion of Russia began

150 years ago (6 Jun 1862)
American Civil War: Battle of Memphis, Tennessee. Union victory

150 years ago (6 Jun 1862)
Birth of Sir Henry Newbolt, British poet, best known for his patriotic and nautical verse, including ‘Vitaï Lampada’

150 years ago (19 Jun 1862)
The USA banned slavery in its territories

150 years ago (25 Jun 1862 to 1st Jul)
American Civil War: the Seven Days Battles. 6 major battles were fought in 7 days as the Union Army attempted to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia. Confederate victory

100 years ago (8 Jun 1912)
Universal Studios was founded in Los Angeles, California, USA

100 years ago (16 Jun 1912)
Birth of Enoch Powell, controversial British politician, known for his strong views on immigration and British identity, and for his opposition to Britain’s entry into the European Economic Community

100 years ago (20 Jun 1912)
Birth of Anthony Buckeridge, British children’s writer, best known for his ‘Jennings’ and ‘Rex Milligan’ novels

100 years ago (23 Jun 1912)
Birth of Alan Turing, British mathematician, logician and computer science pioneer, known for his work as a WWII codebreaker and for developing the Turing machine, which led to the development of the computer

100 years ago (30 Jun 1912)
Regina Cyclone, Saskatchewan, Canada. 28 people were killed and 2,500 left homeless. It remains the most deadly tornado to hit Canada

90 years ago (1 Jun 1922)
The Royal Ulster Constabulary was founded. (It was replaced by the Police Service of Northern Ireland in November 2001)

90 years ago (24 Jun 1922)
The American Professional Football Association was renamed the National Football League

80 years ago (24 Jun 1932)
A bloodless revolution took place in Siam (now Thailand). The absolute monarchy was abolished and a new constitutional state was established. The country’s first constitution took effect on 27th

75 years ago (3 Jun 1937)
Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor, formerly King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, married Wallis Warfield in France

75 years ago (7 Jun 1937)
Death of Jean Harlow, American film actress, the original ‘blonde bombshell’, considered one of the greatest movie stars of all time

75 years ago (10 Jun 1937)
Death of Sir Robert Borden, Prime Minister of Canada (1911-20)

75 years ago (11 Jun 1937)
Death of R.J. Mitchell, British aircraft designer who designed and developed the Spitfire

75 years ago (15 Jun 1937)
Birth of Waylon Jennings, American country music singer, musician and songwriter. (Died 2002)

75 years ago (16 Jun 1937)
Birth of Erich Segal, American novelist, screenwriter and educator, best known for the novel and film ‘Love Story’. (Died 2010)

75 years ago (18 Jun 1937)
Death of Gaston Doumergue, President of France (1924-31)

75 years ago (19 Jun 1937)
Death of J.M. Barrie, Scottish dramatist and novelist who created ‘Peter Pan’

75 years ago (30 Jun 1937)
The 999 emergency telephone service went into operation in Britain – the first such service in the world

70 years ago (1 Jun 1942)
‘Liberty Brigade’ an underground newspaper published in Warsaw, Poland, revealed the first details of the Nazi extermination camps and the gassing of tens of thousands of Jews at Chelmo

70 years ago (4 Jun 1942)
World War II – the Battle of Midway. The USA defeated Japan in the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign

60 years ago (1 Jun 1952)
Russia’s Volga-Don Canal opened to shipping

60 years ago (4 Jun 1952)
Secretary’s Day (now Administrative Professionals’ Day) was first celebrated. (It was moved to April in 1955)

60 years ago (17 Jun 1952)
Death of Jack Parsons, American rocket pioneer and occultist, one of the key founders of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and an associate of Aleister Crowley

50 years ago (2 Jun 1962)
Death of Vita Sackville-West, award-winning British novelist and poet

50 years ago (11 Jun 1962)
Frank Morris and John & Clarence Anglin escaped from the federal prison on Alcatraz Island, San Francisco Bay, California, USA. Their fate remains unknown. The movie ‘Escape from Alcatraz’ is based on their story

50 years ago (14 Jun 1962)
The ‘Boston Strangler’ killed his first victim, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

50 years ago (27 Jun 1962)
The Sabotage Act came into effect in South Africa. It created the offence of sabotage and listed a wide range of acts that would be treated as sabotage, some of which were punishable by death

40 years ago (7 Jun 1972)
The musical ‘Grease’ opened on Broadway

40 years ago (17 Jun 1972)
The Watergate Scandal began when five men were arrested for breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex, Washington D.C., USA

40 years ago (18 Jun 1972)
Staines Air Disaster, near London, UK. 118 people were killed when a passenger jet stalled and crashed after taking-off from Heathrow Airport

40 years ago (29 Jun 1972)
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that all current state death penalty laws were unconstitutional. The death penalty was suspended for 5 years, and all prisoners on Death Row were given life sentences instead

30 years ago (6 Jun 1982)
The Lebanon War began as Israeli forces invaded southern Lebanon

30 years ago (7 Jun 1982)
Elvis Presley’s home ‘Graceland’ was opened to the public

30 years ago (12 Jun 1982)
Death of Dame Marie Rambert, Polish-born British ballet dancer, producer, director and teacher; founder of Ballet Rambert

30 years ago (13 Jun 1982)
Death of King Khalid of Saudi Arabia, succeeded by his half-brother Fahd

30 years ago (14 Jun 1982)
The Falklands War ended. Argentine forces surrendered in Port Stanley

30 years ago (21 Jun 1982)
Birth of Prince William of Wales, second in line to the British throne, son of Charles and Diana, Prince and Princess of Wales

25 years ago (1 Jun 1987)
Death of Rashid Karami, Prime Minister of Lebanon. (Assassinated)

25 years ago (2 Jun 1987)
Death of Andrés Segovia, acclaimed Spanish classical guitarist

25 years ago (22 Jun 1987)
Death of Fred Astaire, American stage and film dancer, actor, singer and choreographer, best known for his roles in musicals and his partnership with Ginger Rogers

25 years ago (24 Jun 1987)
Death of Jackie Gleason, award-winning American stage, film and television comedian, actor and musician, best known for his role as Ralph Kramden in the TV series ‘The Honeymooners’

20 years ago (3 Jun 1992)
Death of Robert Morley, British stage, film and television actor and playwright (‘Pygmalion’, ‘The Man Who Came to Dinner’, ‘The African Queen’, ‘Around the World in 80 Days’, and many others)

20 years ago (22 Jun 1992)
Andrew Morton’s controversial book ‘Diana: Her True Story’ was published. It claimed that Diana, Princess of Wales was deeply depressed and unstable and had attempted suicide a number of times

20 years ago (28 Jun 1992)
Surgeons at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre, USA carried out the first baboon-to-human liver transplant. (The patient died from a stroke on 6th September)

20 years ago (29 Jun 1992)
Death of Muhammad Boudiaf, President of Algeria. (Assassinated)

10 years ago (1 Jun 2002)
Death of Hansie Cronje, South African cricketer, captain of the S. African national team, but banned for life in a match-fixing scandal. (Plane crash)

10 years ago (4 Jun 2002)
Death of Fernando Belaúnde Terry, President of Peru (1963-68, 1980-85)

10 years ago (5 Jun 2002)
Death of Dee Dee Ramone, American punk rock musician and songwriter (The Ramones)

10 years ago (10 Jun 2002)
Death of John Gotti, notorious American organised-crime boss

10 years ago (22 Jun 2002)
Death of Ann Landers (pseudonym of Eppie Lederer), American advice columnist

10 years ago (24 Jun 2002)
Igandu train disaster, Tanzania. 281 people were killed in Africa’s worst ever rail accident. The train’s brakes failed near the top of a hill, causing it to roll backwards into a stationary goods train

10 years ago (27 Jun 2002)
Death of John Entwistle, British rock bass guitarist (The Who)

10 years ago (29 Jun 2002)
Death of Rosemary Clooney, American pop and jazz singer and actress

——————–

You’ll find lots more anniversaries in
The Date-A-Base Book 2012, which covers the whole of 2012 and lists over 2,250 newsworthy and notable anniversaries – more than three times as many entries each month as we feature here in the blog. You’ll find out about  hundreds of fascinating anniversaries that other writers don’t know about – giving you a huge advantage!

The Date-A-Base Book 2012 is a terrific source of ideas for writers, journalists, film-makers, editors, researchers, producers, teachers, students, speakers and event planners.

Click here for more details
(You’ll also be able to download the complete chapter for January 2012)

The Date-A-Base Book 2013 (Part 1: Jan-June) is also available.

——————–

Become a lifetime member of ideas4writers for just £49.95 and you’ll receive The Date-A-Base Books for 2012 and 2013 (plus all future editions) as well as The Fastest Way to Write Your Book, The Fastest Way to Get Ideas, our complete 5,000+ collection of writing ideas, unlimited use of our forums and exclusive writing software, and much more (total value: over £150!)
Click here for full details

——————–

Visit the ideas4writers website: www.ideas4writers.co.uk
Email us: enquiries@ideas4writers.co.uk

The Date-A-Base Book 2013 is here at last – or at least the first half of it is.

Due to the considerable amount of time it takes to compile each edition, and the demand to get each edition out as soon as possible, we’ve split this one into 2 parts. Part 2 (covering July to December) will be published in February.

Part 1 (January to June) is available now and is roughly the same size as the entire 2012 edition.

It’s packed with over 2,000 newsworthy and notable anniversaries in 2013 that you can write about (and make money from), including events, discoveries, inventions, and famous births and deaths.

How to get your copy

ideas4writers full members: download your copy from the Members’ home page – it’s included in your membership so there’s nothing to pay.

Non-members: Visit http://www.ideas4writers.co.uk/2013

The price for non-members is £5.99 for each part (for the PDF ebook version). If you buy Part 1 we’ll give you a discount of £1 off Part 2 when it becomes available.

When Part 2 is published we’ll also release a combined version covering the full year, which will (probably) cost £10.99.

Printed copies will be made available when Part 2 comes out. Due to their size, the printed versions will only be available as 2 separate volumes.

Update on last week:

Our new forums are now up and running, and looking very smart (if a bit empty). If you’re a member, log in at www.ideas4writers.co.uk for a chat, reconnect with old friends, make some new ones, share your ideas, get your writing and computer problems solved, and learn to be a better writer!

The Date-A-Base Book 2013 will be published this week. Or at least Part 1 (covering January – June) will be. Part 2 will be published in February.  Each part is roughly the same size as the entire 2012 edition – so it’s a biggie!

This month’s What If’s:

Here’s another selection of What If writing prompts to inspire you – see what you can do with these!

What if . . .

1. you craved public recognition?

2. you were condemned for proving that something was true?

3. someone tried to convince you that the voices you kept hearing meant you had paranormal powers – but you thought it was because you were insane?

4. you decided to relive your childhood?

5. you could see no end to your problems?

6. you had never had a secret?

7. the company tricked you into resigning so they didn’t have to give you redundancy pay?

8. you were scared of needles and went to extreme lengths to avoid them?

9. you could tell when someone was ill by their smell?

10. you’d had too much to drink?

- – – – – – – – – – – – – – -

Do you like What Ifs? Here are 4,400 more!

The Fastest Way to Get Ideas – 4,400 Essential What Ifs for Writers.

Instant inspiration for your short stories, novels, articles, characters, plots, settings and more! Fully categorised and alphabetical for easy reference. e-book (PDF). 256 pages.

Just £6.99!

Click here for full details

——————–

Become a lifetime member of ideas4writers today for just £49.95 and you’ll receive The Fastest Way to Get Ideas, The Fastest Way to Write Your Book, The Date-A-Base Books for 2012 & 2013 (plus all future editions), our complete 5,000+ writing ideas collection, unlimited use of our exclusive writing engines and forums, and much more
(total value: more than £150)
Click here for full details

——————–

Visit the ideas4writers website: www.ideas4writers.co.uk
Join our Facebook group
Follow us on Twitter: @ideas4writers
Email us: enquiries@ideas4writers.co.uk

Some parts of the site won’t work properly (if they depend on other parts that haven’t have been moved across yet). Don’t worry, it will all be fixed.

When we get back online there will be no forums (in the members’ section) for a couple of days as we’re taking the opportunity to replace the software.

Normality should be restored by 28th November at the latest.

The ideas4writers blog will not be affected, and we’ll post updates as things progress. You’ll also be able to leave comments.

UPDATE: The site is now back online, apart from the forums (see above). If you notice any strange glitches please could you let me know: dave@ideas4writers.co.uk

The list presented here is just a fraction of that available in The Date-A-Base Book 2012. For example, there are 60 anniversaries listed below, but 216 anniversaries for the same month in the book, which covers the whole of 2012. (See the end of this list for more details.)

We have painstakingly cross-checked every entry, but you are advised to check all facts again as part of your research. Please let us know of any errors you find.

1000 years ago (12 May 1012)
Death of Pope Sergius IV

250 years ago (5 May 1762)
Seven Years’ War: Russia and Prussia signed the Treaty of Saint Petersburg, and on 22nd Sweden and Prussia signed the Treaty of Hamburg, ending the war

200 years ago (7 May 1812)
Birth of Robert Browning, British poet

200 years ago (11 May 1812)
Death of Spencer Perceval, British Prime Minister (1809-12), the only British Prime Minister to have been assassinated

200 years ago (12 May 1812)
Birth of Edward Lear, British landscape artist and illustrator, best known as a writer of nonsense verse and limericks

150 years ago (6 May 1862)
Death of Henry David Thoreau, American writer, poet, philosopher and transcendentalist, known for his book ‘Walden’ which discusses simple living in natural surroundings, and for his essay ‘Civil Disobedience’

150 years ago (15 May 1862)
The U.S. Department of Agriculture was established

150 years ago (20 May 1862)
U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act into law. It granted 160 acres of unoccupied public land free of charge to heads of families who agreed to settle there and cultivate it. This accelerated the settlement of the western territories

100 years ago (2 May 1912)
Birth of Axel Springer, German publisher, founder of Axel Springer Verlag AG, one of the largest publishing companies in Europe

100 years ago (11 May 1912)
Birth of Phil Silvers, American actor and comedian, best known for playing Sergeant Bilko in ‘The Phil Silvers Show’

100 years ago (13 May 1912)
The Royal Flying Corps (now the Royal Air Force) was founded in Britain

100 years ago (14 May 1912)
Death of King Frederick VIII of Denmark

100 years ago (16 May 1912)
Birth of Studs Terkel, American writer, historian, broadcaster and actor

100 years ago (18 May 1912)
Birth of Walter Sisulu, South African anti-apartheid activist

100 years ago (18 May 1912)
Birth of Perry Como, popular American singer and television entertainer

100 years ago (26 May 1912)
Birth of Jay Silverheels, Canadian Mohawk Indian actor (played Tonto in the television series ‘The Lone Ranger’)

100 years ago (28 May 1912)
Birth of Patrick White, British-born Australian novelist and playwright, winner of the 1973 Nobel Prize for Literature

100 years ago (30 May 1912)
Death of Wilbur Wright, American aviation pioneer (Wright brothers)

90 years ago (30 May 1922)
The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., USA was dedicated

80 years ago (7 May 1932)
Death of Paul Doumer, President of France (1931-32). (Assassinated)

80 years ago (12 May 1932)
The kidnapping of American aviator Charles Lindbergh’s young son became a murder investigation when his decomposed body was found a few miles from his home in New Jersey

80 years ago (15 May 1932)
Japanese Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi was assassinated during a coup

80 years ago (19 May 1932)
Birth of Alma Cogan, British pop singer. (Died 1966)

80 years ago (21 May 1932)
American aviator Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean

75 years ago (6 May 1937)
The German airship Hindenburg burst into flames as it docked at Lakehurst Naval Air Station, New Jersey, USA. 36 people were killed

75 years ago (12 May 1937)
Coronation of King George VI of the United Kingdom

75 years ago (23 May 1937)
Death of John D. Rockefeller, American industrialist and philanthropist, founder of Standard Oil

75 years ago (27 May 1937)
The Golden Gate Bridge was opened. It links San Francisco and Marin County, California, USA

75 years ago (28 May 1937)
Neville Chamberlain became British Prime Minister

70 years ago (4 May 1942)
World War II: Germany bombed Exeter, UK, destroying the city centre

70 years ago (6 May 1942)
World War II: all American forces in the Philippines surrendered unconditionally to the Japanese

70 years ago (15 May 1942)
The Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps was established in the USA

60 years ago (2 May 1952)
BOAC (now British Airways) launched the world’s first jet passenger service (from London to Johannesburg) as the de Havilland Comet went into commercial service

50 years ago (19 May 1962)
American actress Marilyn Monroe famously sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to President John F. Kennedy during a birthday party/fundraiser at Madison Square Garden, New York City

50 years ago (31 May 1962)
Death of Adolf Eichmann, German Nazi leader who organised the identification and transportation of Jews from occupied Europe to extermination camps. (Executed)

40 years ago (2 May 1972)
Death of J. Edgar Hoover, American director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and its predecessor the Bureau of Investigation

40 years ago (4 May 1972)
The Canadian-founded Don’t Make A Wave Committee changed its name to Greenpeace – the global environmental organisation

40 years ago (8 May 1972)
Vietnam War – Operation Linebacker. U.S. President Richard Nixon announced an intensive and continuous bombing campaign against North Vietnam to disrupt the flow of weapons and supplies. (The operation commenced on 9th May and lasted until October, leading to international condemnation and anti-war protests)

40 years ago (22 May 1972)
Ceylon adopted a new constitution and became the Republic of Sri Lanka

40 years ago (26 May 1972)
The USA and the Soviet Union signed the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in Moscow. (Effective from 3rd October 1972)

40 years ago (28 May 1972)
Death of Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor, formerly King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom

40 years ago (30 May 1972)
The Official IRA in Northern Ireland announced a ceasefire against the British Army and sectarian groups (except in self-defence). It would instead pursue its aims through parliament. The Provisional IRA said it would continue its campaign of terrorism

30 years ago (2 May 1982)
Falklands War: the British submarine HMS Conqueror sank the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano. Over 300 Argentine sailors were killed

30 years ago (27 May 1982 to 28th)
Falklands War: the Battle of Goose Green. British forces recaptured Goose Green from the Argentines

25 years ago (8 May 1987)
Elite soldiers from the British SAS and the Royal Ulster Constabulary ambushed and killed 8 of the IRA’s top terrorists, who became known as the Loughgall Martyrs

25 years ago (8 May 1987)
Death of Doris Stokes, British psychic medium

25 years ago (11 May 1987)
Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie (‘the Butcher of Lyon’) went on trial in Lyon, France. (On 3rd July he was sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes against humanity)

25 years ago (14 May 1987)
Death of Rita Hayworth, American film actress and dancer, one of the most successful and glamorous stars of her era

25 years ago (24 May 1987)
Death of Hermione Gingold, British stage, film and television actress

20 years ago (6 May 1992)
Death of Marlene Dietrich, German-born American stage and film actress and singer

15 years ago (1 May 1997)
The Labour Party won the UK general election in a landslide victory, ending 18 years of Conservative rule. Tony Blair became Prime Minister

15 years ago (6 May 1997)
The Bank of England was granted operational independence by the government, including sole responsibility for setting interest rates

15 years ago (11 May 1997)
The IBM computer ‘Deep Blue’ defeated world chess champion Garry Kasparov in a six-game match. (Kasparov: 1, Deep Blue: 2, drawn: 3)

15 years ago (19 May 1997)
The British government announced that the sponsorship of sporting events by tobacco companies would be banned. (Came into effect July 2003)

10 years ago (1 May 2002)
Death of John Nathan-Turner, British TV producer, best known as the producer of the BBC science fiction series ‘Doctor Who’

10 years ago (3 May 2002)
Death of Barbara Castle, Baroness Castle of Blackburn, British politician who played a prominent role in Labour governments of the 1960s and 70s

10 years ago (6 May 2002)
Death of Wilhelmus (‘Pim’) Fortuyn, Dutch sociologist and politician. (Assassinated)

10 years ago (20 May 2002)
East Timor became an independent nation – the first of the 21st century

10 years ago (20 May 2002)
Death of Stephen Jay Gould, American palaeontologist, evolutionary biologist, science historian and science writer

10 years ago (23 May 2002)
Death of Sam Snead, American golfer

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You’ll find lots more anniversaries in The Date-A-Base Book 2012, which covers the whole of 2012 and lists over 2,250 forthcoming newsworthy and notable anniversaries – more than three times as many entries each month than our standard list above. You’ll find out about  hundreds of fascinating anniversaries that other writers don’t even know about – giving you a huge advantage!

The Date-A-Base Book 2012 is a terrific source of ideas for writers, journalists, film-makers, editors, researchers, producers, teachers, students, speakers and event planners.

Click here for more details (You’ll also be able to see the complete chapter for January 2012)

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