Category: Daily Life in the Past

By Tim Lambert Early Hospitals The first hospitals were founded in the Ancient World. There were hospitals in India and Sri Lanka before 200 BC. By the 2nd century AD, the Romans had military hospitals called Valetudinaria. In the late 4th century The Roman Empire split in two, east and west. Meanwhile, Christians believed they… Continue reading A History of Hospitals

By Tim Lambert Housework in Pre-Industrial England In Pre-Industrial Europe, housework was much harder work than it is today. Many people simply had hard earth floors, which tended to become dusty and required regular sweeping. Until the 18th century, carpets were a luxury, and they were often hung over tables rather than put on the… Continue reading A History of Housework

By Tim Lambert Early Immigration Into England About 650 BC a people called the Celts arrived in Britain. Then in 43 AD, the Romans invaded. After they left in the 5th century Angles, Saxons, and Jutes from Germany and Denmark invaded. They gradually conquered what is now England. Finally, in 1066 the Normans conquered England.… Continue reading A History of Immigrants in Britain

By Tim Lambert Knickers in the 19th Century Women did not usually wear knickers until the end of the 18th century. However, after about 1800, women also wore underwear called drawers. Today we still say a pair of knickers. That is because in the early 19th century, women’s underwear consisted of two separate legs joined… Continue reading A History of Knickers

By Tim Lambert Several new sports and games were invented during the 19th century. Although a form of tennis was played since the Middle Ages lawn tennis was invented in 1873. Snooker was invented in India in 1875. Volleyball was invented in 1895. In the early 19th century working people had very little leisure time.… Continue reading A History of Leisure in the 19th Century

By Tim Lambert During the 20th century, people had more and more leisure time. In 1900 the average working week was 54 hours. By the 1980s it was 39 hours. Furthermore, in 1900 most people had no paid holidays except bank holidays. In 1939 a new law said that everyone must have one week’s annual… Continue reading A History of Leisure in the 20th Century

By Tim Lambert Early Lesbians Lesbianism has always existed, of course, but less was written about lesbians than about gay men. In the Ancient World, lesbianism was seldom written about. Sappho was a Greek poet who lived about 600 BC. She likely was a lesbian. Unfortunately, little is known about her and little of her… Continue reading A History of Lesbians

By Tim Lambert Early Marriage Marriage occurred in all eras of history and all cultures. Polygamy (a man having more than one wife) was first mentioned in the Old Testament in Genesis. A man named Lamech married two women (Genesis 4:19). Later King David and King Solomon had many wives. Almost everybody in Ancient Israel… Continue reading A History of Marriage

By Tim Lambert Mathematics in the Ancient World Prehistoric people must have used simple arithmetic. However, when people became civilized mathematics became far more important. Proper record-keeping was essential. In Iraq, a people called the Sumerians counted in sets of 60. We still divide hours into 60 minutes and minutes into 60 seconds. We also… Continue reading A History of Mathematics

By Tim Lambert The Month of May The month of May is probably named after Maia the Roman goddess who caused plants to grow. In the past Mayday was a day of rejoicing. It meant the return of warm weather and long summer evenings. In the past winters must have been much harder than they… Continue reading A History of Mayday