50 Historic Anniversaries in May 2013 for you to write about (and make money from!)

Here are 50 newsworthy anniversaries in May 2013 for you to write about (and make money from). The anniversaries are listed 6 months in advance to give you enough time for research and writing.

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.

This list is a small sample of the entries for May in  The Date-A-Base Book 2013. There are more than 300 anniversaries for this month in the book.

The Date-A-Base Book 2013 covers the whole of 2013 from January to December, and gives details of more than 4,000 anniversaries.

The 2014 edition will be available in about 3 weeks.

200 years ago (5 May 1813)
Birth of Søren Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher, theologian, religious writer and critic; had a major influence on Existentialism

200 years ago (22 May 1813)
Birth of Richard Wagner, major German composer, best known for his dramatic operas

200 years ago (25-27 May 1813)
War of 1812 – the Battle of Fort George, Ontario, Canada. U.S. victory, which forced the British to abandon the entire Niagara frontier

150 years ago (10 May 1863)
Death of Thomas ‘Stonewall’ Jackson, Confederate general during the American Civil War

150 years ago (15 May 1863)
Birth of Frank Hornby, British inventor and businessman who created Hornby model trains, Meccano construction sets, and Dinky toys

150 years ago (16 May 1863)
American Civil War – the Battle of Champion’s Hill, Mississippi; Union victory; the pivotal (and bloodiest) battle of the Vicksburg Campaign, which led to the Siege of Vicksburg

150 years ago (21 May 1863)
The Seventh-day Adventist Church was founded in Battle Creek, Michigan, USA

100 years ago (3 May 1913)
The first full-length Indian feature film ‘Raja Harishchandra’ was released, marking the beginning of the Indian film industry

100 years ago (6 May 1913)
Birth of Stewart Granger, British-born American film actor; a popular leading man, known for his heroic roles (‘King Solomon’s Mines’, ‘Scaramouche’, ‘The Prisoner of Zenda’, ‘Beau Brummel’ and others)

100 years ago (8 May 1913)
Birth of Sid James, South African-born British comedy actor; known for the ‘Carry On…’ films, ‘Hancock’s Half Hour’ and ‘Bless This House’

100 years ago (14 May 1913)
The Rockefeller Foundation was founded in New York City, USA

100 years ago (16 May 1913)
Birth of Woody Herman, American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer and bandleader

100 years ago (25 May 1913)
Birth of Richard Dimbleby, pioneering British journalist and broadcaster; one of the greatest figures in British broadcasting history

100 years ago (26 May 1913)
The Actors’ Equity Association was founded in New York City, USA as a trade union to represent live theatrical performers and managers

100 years ago (26 May 1913)
Birth of Peter Cushing, British actor, known for his many horror films, including ‘The Curse of Frankenstein’ and ‘Dracula’

100 years ago (30 May 1913)
The First Balkan War ended with the signing of the Treaty of London

80 years ago (2 May 1933)
Adolf Hitler banned all trade unions in Nazi Germany; all workers had to join the German Labour Front (DAF) instead

80 years ago (10 May 1933)
The Nazis staged massive public burnings of ‘un-German’ books outside Berlin University

80 years ago (12 May 1933)
Great Depression/New Deal: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), which began operating on 22nd May. It created jobs for more than 20 million people and distributed funds of over $3 billion. It was superseded in 1935 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA)

75 years ago (26 May 1938)
The House Committee on Un-American Activities was established in the USA. Its job was to investigate subversive or disloyal citizens, public employees and organisations, particularly those suspected of having links with the communists or fascists

70 years ago (16 May 1943)
Holocaust: the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in Poland ended

70 years ago (16-17 May 1943)
World War II – the Dambusters Raid. Britain’s RAF launched Operation Chastise, deploying bouncing bombs to bypass anti-torpedo nets and breach dams, causing catastrophic flooding in Germany’s Ruhr Valley

65 years ago (14 May 1948)
David Ben-Gurion declared Israel an independent state as the British mandate in Palestine came to an end. The neighbouring Arab states of Egypt, Transjordan, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq invaded Israel the following day in support of the Palestinians, and Saudi Arabia invaded 3 days later

65 years ago (20 May 1948)
Chiang Kai-shek became the first President of the Republic of China

65 years ago (26 May 1948)
The first apartheid government was elected in South Africa. Daniel Malan became the first apartheid prime minister (inaugurated 4th June)

60 years ago (6 May 1953)
The first successful open-heart surgery on a human, using a heart-lung machine, was performed by John Gibbon in Pennsylvania, USA

60 years ago (25 May 1953)
Road haulage in Britain was denationalised

60 years ago (29 May 1953)
New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest

50 years ago (1 May 1963)
Jim Whittaker became the first American to reach the summit of Mount Everest

50 years ago (3-7 May 1963)
The Birmingham Campaign, Alabama, USA. Police used high-power fire hoses on African-American protesters who were campaigning against racial segregation and attempting to integrate themselves. Many of the protesters were children, and the shockingly violent images, along with reports of mass arrests of children, brought the U.S. civil rights movement to worldwide attention. The campaign succeeded, and over the following days and weeks the city was desegregated

50 years ago (24 May 1963)
Death of Elmore James, ‘the King of the Slide Guitar’, American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter; had a significant influence on the development of rock music

50 years ago (25 May 1963)
The Organisation of African Unity was established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. (It was succeeded by the African Union in 2009)

40 years ago (3 May 1973)
Sears Tower (now Willis Tower) in Chicago, Illinois was completed. At the time it was the world’s tallest building, and it is still the tallest building in the USA (at the time of writing)

40 years ago (14 May 1973)
NASA launched Skylab – the USA’s first manned space station. The first manned mission to Skylab launched on 25th May, and included 3 space walks to repair damage that Skylab sustained during launch

40 years ago (17 May 1973)
The Watergate hearings began in the U.S. Senate, and were televised nationally

40 years ago (19 May 1973)
Cod Wars: Britain sent Royal Navy frigates to protect fishing trawlers in the disputed area around Iceland

40 years ago (25 May 1973)
The album ‘Tubular Bells’ by Mike Oldfield was released. It was the first album released by Virgin Records

30 years ago (4 May 1983)
U.S. President Ronald Reagan declared public support for the Nicaraguan Contras who aimed to overthrow the Sandinista government

30 years ago (20 May 1983)
The journal ‘Science’ reported the discovery of the virus that causes AIDS

30 years ago (25 May 1983)
Death of King Idris I of Libya, the first and only king of Libya

25 years ago (8 May 1988)
Death of Robert A. Heinlein, American science fiction writer

25 years ago (9 May 1988)
The new Australian Parliament House in Canberra was officially opened

25 years ago (11 May 1988)
Death of Kim Philby, British intelligence officer and Soviet double agent, a member of the Cambridge spy ring

20 years ago (24 May 1993)
Eritrea became independent from Ethiopia

15 years ago (4 May 1998)
‘Unabomber’ Theodore (‘Ted’) Kaczynski was given four life sentences by a court in Sacramento, California, USA

15 years ago (23 May 1998)
The people of Northern Ireland voted to accept the Good Friday Agreement, with 75% in favour of a Northern Ireland Assembly

10 years ago (5 May 2003)
Death of Walter Sisulu, South African anti-apartheid activist, Secretary-General of the African National Congress (ANC) (1949-54)

10 years ago (11 May 2003)
Death of Noel Redding, British rock bassist (The Jimi Hendrix Experience)

10 years ago (24 May 2003)
Death of Rachel Kempson, Lady Redgrave, British stage, film and television actress; matriarch of the Redgrave/Richardson acting dynasty

10 years ago (30 May 2003)
Death of Mickie Most, British record producer, founder of RAK Records; discovered many successful pop artists including The Animals, Herman’s Hermits, Donovan, Lulu, Mud, Suzi Quatro and Hot Chocolate

– – – – – – –

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 more
(total value: over £150!)
Click here for full details

What If…? 10 Creative Writing Prompts for November

We begin with an apology:

If you tried to buy The Date-A-Base Book 2013 last week (or any of our other great books) and found that the ideas4writers website was down – we’re very sorry. The company that hosts the site decided to move us over to a new machine – on the same morning that the blog went out. And they screwed it up rather badly. It took us three days to fix everything, but we’re fully back online again now, so please try again.

(If you find anything on the site that isn’t working, please could you let us know so we can fix it. We’re at mail@ideas4writers.co.uk – thanks.)

Normal service is resumed:

Here’s this month’s selection of “What If . . . ?” creative writing prompts to inspire you – let’s see what you can do with these!

What if . . .

1. you ran away?

2. tortoises went a lot faster?

3. the instructions didn’t make any sense?

4. you stuck blindly to the rules?

5. a sixth sense told you not to get on board?

6. the last piece was missing?

7. you finally did something about it?

8. you were sure you’d seen that person somewhere else?

9. people found you intimidating?

10. you could never resist a bargain?

– – – – – – –

Become a lifetime member of ideas4writers for just £49.95 (or the equivalent in your local currency) and you’ll receive The Date-A-Base Books for 2012, 2013, 2014 (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 online writing software (writing engines), and more
(total value: over £150!)
Click here for full details

ideas4writers: inspiring you since 2002!

The Date-A-Base Book 2012 (free download)

Here’s a gift for you: The Date-A-Base Book 2012 (full version) – over 2,250 newsworthy and notable anniversaries in 2012 for you to write about and make money from.

(Right-click on the link and choose Save Target As or Save Link As to save it to your computer. Then open it using Adobe Reader or Foxit Reader.)

If you find it useful, the 2013 edition is available here and the 2014 edition should be out at the end of November.

We also have lots of other great books to inspire your writing (and your brain) at www.ideas4writers.co.uk.

ideas4writers: inspiring you since 2002!

50 Historic Anniversaries in April 2013 for you to write about (and make money from)

Here are 50 newsworthy anniversaries in April 2013 for you to write about (and make money from). The anniversaries are listed 6 months in advance to give you enough time for research and writing.

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.

This list is a small sample of the entries for April in  The Date-A-Base Book 2013. There are more than 320 anniversaries for this month in the book.

The Date-A-Base Book 2013 covers the whole of 2013 from January to December, and gives details of more than 4,000 anniversaries.

The 2014 edition will be available at the end of November.

500 years ago (2 Apr 1513)
Spanish explorer Ponce De Leon sighted Florida, and the following day landed there and claimed it for Spain

300 years ago (11 Apr 1713)
The War of the Spanish Succession ended with the signing of the Treaty of Utrecht. Spain ceded Gibraltar and Menorca to Britain, and France ceded parts of Newfoundland to Britain

150 years ago (29 Apr 1863)
Birth of William Randolph Hearst, American newspaper publisher and proprietor who built up the largest chain of newspapers in the USA

125 years ago (17 Apr 1888)
The English Football League was founded at the Royal Hotel, Manchester

100 years ago (9 Apr 1913)
Ebbets Field baseball park opened in New York City, USA. It was the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1913 until 1957. (Demolished 1960)

100 years ago (21 Apr 1913)
Birth of Dr Richard Beeching, Chairman of British Railways; axed thousands of miles of British railway lines in the 1960s

100 years ago (21 Apr 1913)
Birth of Norman Parkinson, British portrait and fashion photographer; best known for his work for the magazines ‘Harper’s Bazaar’, ‘The Bystander’ and ‘Vogue’

100 years ago (24 Apr 1913)
The Woolworth Building opened in New York City, USA. It is one of the oldest skyscrapers in the city, and at the time of opening it was the world’s tallest building

80 years ago (4 Apr 1933)
The U.S. Navy airship ‘USS Akron’ crashed into the sea off New Jersey during severe weather, killing 73 people

80 years ago (5 Apr 1933)
The Civilian Conservation Corps was established in the USA as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal programme to relieve rampant unemployment

80 years ago (7 Apr 1933)
Prohibition: the Cullen-Harrison Act came into effect, legalising the sale of beer and wine with up to 3.2% alcohol for the first time since 1920

80 years ago (15 Apr 1933)
Birth of Elizabeth Montgomery, American television actress, best known for playing Samantha in ‘Bewitched’. (Died 1995)

80 years ago (19 Apr 1933)
Birth of Jayne Mansfield, award-winning American stage and film actress; one of Hollywood’s leading blonde bombshells of the 1950s. (Died 1967)

80 years ago (22 Apr 1933)
Death of Sir Henry Royce, British industrialist; co-founder of Rolls-Royce Ltd, manufacturer of luxury cars and aircraft engines

80 years ago (26 Apr 1933)
The Gestapo, Nazi Germany’s official secret police force, was established

75 years ago (6 Apr 1938)
Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE – better known by its brand name Teflon) was discovered (accidentally) by American research chemist Dr Roy J. Plunkett at DuPont Laboratories, New Jersey

75 years ago (23 – 24 Apr 1938)
Germans living in the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia demanded complete autonomy from Czechoslovakia. This led to the Munich Agreement in September, when Nazi Germany annexed the Sudetenland

75 years ago (26 Apr 1938)
The Jewish Property Declarations: Jews residing in the German Empire with total assets worth more than 5,000 Reichmarks were ordered to declare them (because the Nazis intended looting them)

70 years ago (19 Apr – 16 May 1943)
The Holocaust: the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, Poland – the Jewish resistance’s revolt against Nazi Germany’s efforts to transport those who remained in the ghetto to Treblinka extermination camp

65 years ago (1 Apr 1948)
The Big Bang theory was first proposed in a paper by the Russian-born American theoretical physicist and cosmologist George Gamow and his associates, and published in the magazine ‘Physical Review’

65 years ago (7 Apr 1948)
The World Health Organization (WHO) was founded in Geneva, Switzerland as a specialised agency of the United Nations

60 years ago (3 Apr 1953)
‘TV Guide’ magazine was first published in the USA

60 years ago (11 Apr 1953)
The U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare (now the Department of Health and Human Services) was established

60 years ago (16 Apr 1953)
Queen Elizabeth II launched the Royal Yacht ‘Britannia’ in Scotland

60 years ago (25 Apr 1953)
The formal announcement of Francis Crick and James D. Watson’s discovery of the double helix structure of DNA was published in the scientific journal ‘Nature’. (They had made the discovery in February.)

50 years ago (6 Apr 1963)
Britain and the USA signed the Polaris Sales Agreement. The USA agreed to supply Britain with Polaris submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and Britain would supply and fit its own warheads. (From 1982 Trident missiles were supplied instead)

40 years ago (1 Apr 1973)
Value Added Tax (VAT) was introduced in the UK at a rate of 10%, as it was required to bring its system of taxation into line with other European countries when it joined the European Economic Community (EEC)

40 years ago (4 Apr 1973)
The World Trade Center in New York City, USA was officially opened

40 years ago (8 Apr 1973)
Death of Pablo Picasso, Spanish artist, co-founder of the Cubism movement; one of the greatest artists of the 20th century

30 years ago (18 Apr 1983)
Disney Channel launched in the USA

30 years ago (21 Apr 1983)
One pound coins went into circulation in England and Wales

30 years ago (22 Apr 1983)
The West German news magazine ‘Der Stern’ reported that it had acquired 60 volumes of Adolf Hitler’s diaries (later proven to be fakes)

30 years ago (30 Apr 1983)
Death of Muddy Waters, American blues guitarist and singer

25 years ago (9 Apr 1988)
Death of Dave Prater, American soul singer (Sam and Dave), best known for the song ‘Soul Man’

25 years ago (12 Apr 1988)
American singer and actor Sonny Bono was elected mayor of Palm Springs, California

25 years ago (14 Apr 1988)
Death of John Stonehouse, British politician and fraudster who famously attempted to fake his own death in 1974

25 years ago (15 Apr 1988)
Death of Kenneth Williams, British actor and comedian, star of numerous radio and TV shows and 26 ‘Carry On’ films

20 years ago (5 Apr 1993)
Britain’s Child Support Agency (CSA) began operating. Its main task was to collect maintenance payments from absent fathers

20 years ago (19 Apr 1993)
The compound of the Branch Davidians religious cult in Waco, Texas was destroyed by fire after federal agents attacked the buildings with armoured vehicles. There were 82 people inside, including 17 children

20 years ago (22 Apr 1993)
The first popular web browser, Mosaic 1.0, was officially released by the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA)

20 years ago (24 Apr 1993)
Death of Oliver Tambo, South African politician and anti-apartheid activist, president of the African National Congress (ANC) (1967–91); spent over 30 years in exile

20 years ago (27 Apr 1993)
A plane carrying the Zambian national football team crashed off the coast of Gabon. All 25 passengers and 5 crew were killed, including 18 players, the team coach, and support staff. The team had been flying to Senegal to play a World Cup qualifying match

20 years ago (30 Apr 1993)
The world’s number 1 female tennis player, Monica Seles, was stabbed in the back during a match in Hamburg, Germany by an obsessive fan of Steffi Graf

20 years ago (30 Apr 1993)
Virgin Radio (now Absolute Radio) launched in the UK (as Virgin 1215)

10 years ago (2 Apr 2003)
Death of Edwin Starr, American soul singer, known for the song ‘War’

10 years ago (9 Apr 2003)
Iraq War – the fall of Baghdad. U.S. troops took control of Iraq’s capital city. Jubilant Iraqis celebrated the end of Saddam Hussein’s regime by tearing down a statue of him

10 years ago (10 Apr 2003)
Death of Little Eva, American pop singer, best known for the song ‘The Loco-Motion’

10 years ago (14 Apr 2003)
The Human Genome Project was successfully completed. (There are still a few tiny gaps in the DNA sequence that are too costly to fill, or would require the development of new technology, but it is thought that all of the genes have been mapped)

10 years ago (17 Apr 2003)
Death of Dr. Robert Atkins, American physician, cardiologist and nutritionist, best known for the Atkins Diet

10 years ago (28 Apr 2003)
Apple launched the iTunes Music Store (now the iTunes Store)

– – – – – – –

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 more
(total value: over £150!)
Click here for full details

Writing ideas collection Volume 5 now available

We have just released the final 7  e-books in our ideas collection. These books are all part of our Non-fiction, Poetry and Children collection. See below for more details.

You do not need to be a member of ideas4writers to buy these books – they are available to everyone (for the first time ever!)

You can buy any of the items individually, or you can buy the complete collection in a single volume.

(Lifetime members: please note that you do not need to buy these ebooks – they are included in your membership and you can download them from the members’ section at our main website: www.ideas4writers.co.uk)

All books are PDF format.

Magazine Articles
301 ideas, 148 pages, £10.99
Full details + sample idea

*
*
*

Non-fiction Books
160 ideas, 82 pages, £5.99
Full details + sample idea

*

*

*

Poetry
125 ideas, 58 pages, £4.99
Full details + sample idea

*

*

*

*

Teens/Young Adult
73 ideas, 41 pages, £3.99
Full details + sample idea

*

*

*

*

Travel Writing
75 ideas, 33 pages, £3.99
Full details + sample idea

*

*

*

*

Writing for Children
201 ideas, 91 pages, £6.99
Full details + sample idea

*

*

*

*

The Complete “Non-fiction, Poetry & Children” Collection

935 ideas, 454 pages, £19.99
(you save £16.95 by buying the complete volume)
Full details

——————–

Become a lifetime member of ideas4writers for just £49.95 and you’ll get our complete 5,000+ writing ideas collection (all 6 volumes), plus our Date-A-Base Books, The Fastest Way to Write Your Book, The Fastest Way to Get Ideas, How to Win Short Story Competitions, unlimited use of our forums and writing engines, and much more (total value over £150)
Find out more here

——————–

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

What If…? 10 Creative Writing Prompts for October

Here’s this month’s selection of “What If . . . ?” creative writing prompts to inspire you – let’s see what you can do with these!

What if . . .

1. you would do anything to get promoted?

2. you wrote something that made you throw up?

3. your child was (perhaps secretly) studying a subject you objected to?

4. you were addicted to playing games/doing sudoku/crosswords and never did any work?

5. your partner told a story that went too far and he/she revealed too much?

6. you got distracted?

7. you realised you’d been going in completely the wrong direction?

8. you took orders for a book you hadn’t even written yet?

9. you did something really embarrassing and needed to make sure no one ever got to hear about it?

10. you decided to clone a much-loved dead celebrity?

Have you read my latest book yet?

How to Win Short Story Competitions (co-written with  award-winning writer and competition judge Geoff Nelder). Available on Kindle from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk or as a downloadable PDF from ideas4writers.

Here’s a review (5 stars!) from Yorkshire Rose:
“I like the style of this book which is in the form of a conversation with Dave asking pertinent questions and Geoff supplying full and satisfying answers. There’s a wealth of information inside including a ‘Do and Don’t’ list when entering competitions; what the judges look for, and an enlightening discussion on Geoff’s marking system when he is wearing the judge’s hat. It is a good, useful read containing many valuable hints and tips, and could become a handy ‘dip-into-anytime’ book. Because of its conversational aspect one isn’t overwhelmed by huge chunks of information to try and absorb at one go. It is nicely broken up into smaller and more manageable pieces by the type of questions we would all ask given the opportunity. I found it an interesting and informative read. The included links to various helpful websites are a good touch, too. I have no hesitation in recommending the book to all short story writers whether aspiring competition entrants or not.”

Members’ News

ideas4writers member Dave Samson has a new short story collection available:

. . .  and the man who loved cats

is a collection of nine haunting stories: a woman is stalked by a caller; a young couple move into a house besieged by cats; a commuter is uplifted; a family man with dubious motivation aids an attractive neighbour; a backpacker vets prisoners’ letters; a jilted man becomes suicidal; a woman kills her husband and uses acid to dispose his body; a man worries about his wife’s fidelity; a blinded neo-Nazi discovers a new life.

Freebie alert!
Dave is giving away Kindle versions of three of his stories (CSR, Solitary and Skin) to anyone who will write a review and post it on Amazon.

Click here to request your copies.

50 Historic Anniversaries in March 2013 for you to write about (and make money from)

Here are 50 newsworthy anniversaries in March 2013 for you to write about (and make money from). The anniversaries are listed 6 months in advance to give you enough time for research and writing.

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.

This list is a small sample of the entries for March in  The Date-A-Base Book 2013. There are more than 300 anniversaries for this month in the book.

The Date-A-Base Book 2013 covers the whole of 2013 from January to December, and gives details of more than 4,000 anniversaries.

The 2014 edition will be available at the end of November.

600 years ago (20 Mar 1413)
Death of King Henry IV of England, succeeded by his son Henry V

500 years ago (9 Mar 1513)
Leo X was elected Pope. (Proclaimed 11th March, crowned 19th March)

200 years ago (8 Mar 1813)
The Philharmonic Society of London (now the Royal Philharmonic Society) held its first concert

200 years ago (19 Mar 1813)
Birth of David Livingstone, Scottish missionary and explorer in Africa

150 years ago (3 Mar 1863)
The U.S. Congress passed the first national conscription law and began enrolling men aged 20 to 45 into the Union Army. Conscription was only enforced if there were insufficient volunteers in a particular state; those selected could avoid it by nominating a substitute or paying a fee

150 years ago (4 Mar 1863)
Idaho Territory was officially organised in the USA

150 years ago (25 Mar 1863)
The first U.S. Army Medal of Honor was awarded to Jacob Parrott

150 years ago (30 Mar 1863)
George I became King of Greece

100 years ago (4 Mar 1913)
Woodrow Wilson was inaugurated as the 28th President of the USA

100 years ago (6 Mar 1913)
Birth of Stewart Granger, British-born American film actor, known for his dashing leading-man roles (‘King Solomon’s Mines’, ‘Scaramouche’, ‘The Prisoner of Zenda’, ‘Beau Brummel’ and others)

100 years ago (10 Mar 1913)
Death of Harriet Tubman, American abolitionist and humanitarian. After escaping from slavery she led hundreds of other slaves to freedom

100 years ago (12 Mar 1913)
The city of Canberra, Australia was officially named. This event is now celebrated annually as Canberra Day, which is held on the second Monday of March

100 years ago (18 Mar 1913)
Death of King George I of Greece (assassinated), succeeded by Constantine I

100 years ago (25 Mar 1913)
Birth of Sir Reo Stakis, Cypriot-born Scottish hotel magnate who founded the Stakis Hotel group (now owned by Hilton)

100 years ago (30 Mar 1913)
Birth of Frankie Laine, American singer and actor; had a string of hits and sang theme songs for many Westerns as well as for the TV series ‘Rawhide’

100 years ago (31 Mar 1913)
Death of John Pierpont Morgan, American financier, banker and industrial organiser who formed General Electric and U.S. Steel Corporation by merging smaller companies

80 years ago (4 Mar 1933)
Franklin D. Roosevelt was inaugurated as the 32nd President of the USA

80 years ago (22 Mar 1933)
The first Nazi concentration camp opened in Dachau, Germany

80 years ago (23 Mar 1933)
The German Reichstag passed the Enabling Act, allowing Adolf Hitler and his cabinet to pass laws without requiring a parliamentary vote

75 years ago (1 Mar 1938)
Death of Gabriele D’Annunzio, Italian poet, novelist, dramatist, short story writer, journalist, and political leader; the leading writer in Italy during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and one of the most colourful and striking personalities of his day

75 years ago (3 Mar 1938)
Oil was discovered in Saudi Arabia

75 years ago (13 Mar 1938)
Nazi Germany annexed Austria and incorporated it into the Third Reich as the province of Ostmark

75 years ago (17 Mar 1938)
Birth of Rudolf Nureyev, Russian ballet dancer. (Died 1993)

60 years ago (5 Mar 1953)
Death of Joseph Stalin, leader/dictator of the Soviet Union (1922–53)

60 years ago (5 Mar 1953)
Death of Sergei Prokofiev, Russian composer, pianist and conductor; one of the major composers of the 20th century

60 years ago (24 Mar 1953)
Death of Queen Mary of the United Kingdom, Queen Consort of George V, mother of Edward VIII and George VI, grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II

50 years ago (5 Mar 1963)
Death of Patsy Cline, American country music singer

50 years ago (16 Mar 1963)
Death of William Beveridge, 1st Baron Beveridge, British economist and social reformer whose ‘Beveridge Report’ formed the basis of Britain’s welfare state

50 years ago (21 Mar 1963)
The U.S. Federal Penitentiary on Alcatraz Island, San Francisco Bay, closed

50 years ago (22 Mar 1963)
Profumo Affair: the British Secretary of State for War, John Profumo, made a statement in the House of Commons in which he denied there was any impropriety in his relationship with Christine Keeler, a model who was also in a sexual relationship with a drug dealer and a Soviet naval attaché. (In June he admitted that he had lied about this, and resigned)

50 years ago (22 Mar 1963)
The Beatles released their first album ‘Please Please Me’

50 years ago (27 Mar 1963)
Dr Richard Beeching, the chairman of British Railways, issued a report (‘The Reshaping of British Railways’) which led to the closure of thousands of miles of railway lines and stations across the country – about a third of the rail network

40 years ago (8 Mar 1973)
In a referendum, the people of Northern Ireland voted to remain within the United Kingdom

40 years ago (8 Mar 1973)
The IRA carried out its first bombing operation in Britain since WWII, planting four car bombs in London. Two of them exploded, killing 1 person and injuring about 200

40 years ago (17 Mar 1973)
The new London Bridge opened in the UK

40 years ago (29 Mar 1973)
Vietnam War: the USA’s military involvement in the war ended as the last U.S. troops left South Vietnam

30 years ago (2 Mar 1983)
Compact Disc players and discs went on sale in the USA and Europe for the first time. Only 16 albums were available on CD at that time. (Compact disc players were first released in Japan on 1st Oct 1982)

30 years ago (18 May 1983)
Death of King Umberto II of Italy

30 years ago (23 Mar 1983)
U.S. President Ronald Reagan proposed the ‘Star Wars’ defence system, using satellites to detect and destroy enemy missiles

30 years ago (26 Mar 1983)
Death of Anthony Blunt, British art historian and Soviet spy

25 years ago (16 Mar 1988)
Iran-Iraq War – Halabja poison gas attack. Thousands of people were killed when Iraqi government forces used chemical weapons against the Kurdish town of Halabja

25 years ago (16 Mar 1988)
Iran-Contra Affair: Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North and Vice-Admiral John Poindexter were indicted on charges of conspiring to defraud the USA

25 years ago (18 Mar 1988)
Death of Percy Thrower, British gardener, TV/radio broadcaster and writer; Britain’s first celebrity gardener

20 years ago (5 Mar 1993)
Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson was banned from athletics for life after testing positive for drugs for a second time

10 years ago (8 Mar 2003)
Death of Adam Faith, British singer and actor

10 years ago (10 Mar 2003)
Death of Barry Sheene, British motorcycle racer

10 years ago (11 Mar 2003)
The International Criminal Court held its inaugural session in The Hague, the Netherlands

10 years ago (15 Mar 2003)
Death of Dame Thora Hird, British actress

10 years ago (18 Mar 2003)
Death of Adam Osborne, British-born American computer pioneer who introduced the first portable personal computer, the Osborne 1

10 years ago (20 Mar 2003)
The Second Gulf War began as U.S. and British forces invaded Iraq and carried out air strikes on the capital, Baghdad

– – – – – – –

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 more
(total value: over £150!)
Click here for full details

Members’ News

Long-term member Geoff Nelder‘s new novel ARIA: Left Luggage is now available in paperback and on Kindle from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

Published by LL-Publications, this intriguing science fiction novel is the first part of a trilogy, and it has a unique premise: infectious amnesia.

Here’s the blurb:

Today, Jack caught a bug at work. He catches a bus home. By the time he disembarks in the desert town of Rosamond, all the other passengers and the driver have fuzzy heads. Jack had caught an amnesia bug, and it’s infectious.

Imagine the ramifications:

The passengers arrive home infecting family; some shop en route infecting everyone they meet. The bus driver receives more passengers giving them change for last week’s prices and today’s amnesia.  Some passengers just started work at the power plant, the water treatment works, the hospital, fire station.  All to shut in weeks.

Ryder realizes what’s going on but can he persuade friends to barricade themselves in a secluded valley, hiding from the amnesia bug?

It’s fascinating stuff – and the video trailer is also worth watching: http://youtu.be/oh0AAXIe8VU

 

You might also be interested in the book I co-wrote with Geoff: How to Win Short Story Competitions. Available on Kindle from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com or as a PDF ebook from the ideas4writers website.

What If…? 10 Creative Writing Prompts for September

Here’s this month’s selection of “What If . . . ?” creative writing prompts to inspire you – let’s see what you can do with these!

What if . . .

1. you decided to fake it?

2. someone was determined to find out your email address but you didn’t want him (or her) to have it?

3. you recommended a friend but lived to regret it?

4. Shakespeare had been an artist?

5. you meant to change the name of one of the characters before your book was published, but you forgot?

6. one of your senses started working in a different way?

7. you switched off the wrong thing?

8. too many people turned up?

9. you took part in a drinking competition?

10. you were banned from appearing in public?

Have you read my latest book yet?

How to Win Short Story Competitions (co-written with  award-winning writer and competition judge Geoff Nelder). Available on Kindle from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk or as a downloadable PDF from ideas4writers.

 

Here’s a review (5 stars!) from D. Wilkinson:
“Plenty of great advice that will benefit any writer of fiction, including useful links to current competitions and writing groups. The marking scheme for short story competitions opened my eyes and it will definitely change my approach when I plan a story in the future. Lots of fantastic information packed into a quick and easy read. Highly recommended.”