By Tim Lambert The Early Explorers of Antarctica Although it is now a frozen wilderness Antarctica was once much further north and it had a tropical or semi-tropical climate. Forests grew there and life flourished. The Ancient Greeks realized there might be a great continent in the southern hemisphere. Aristotle argued that since the world… Continue reading A Brief History of Antarctica
Category: Articles
A Brief History of Ancient Korea
By Tim Lambert By 4000 BC stone age farmers were living in Korea. By 1000 BC they had learned to use bronze. By about 300 BC they had learned to use iron to make tools and weapons. At first, Korea was divided into tribes but eventually organized kingdoms emerged. There were 3 of them, Goguryeo… Continue reading A Brief History of Ancient Korea
A Brief History of Ancient Japan
By Tim Lambert The First Japanese Human beings have lived in Japan for at least 30,000 years. During the last ice age, Japan was connected to mainland Asia by a land bridge and stone age hunters were able to walk across. When the ice age ended about 10,000 BC Japan became a group of islands.… Continue reading A Brief History of Ancient Japan
Life in the Old Testament
By Tim Lambert The Israelites were monotheists. They worshiped only one God. One of the 12 tribes of Israel, the Levites, were priests. Since they did not own land the other tribes gave the Levites one-tenth of their crops and domestic animals. Furthermore, 48 towns in Israel were set aside for the Levites. In return,… Continue reading Life in the Old Testament
A Dictionary of Historical Terms
By Tim Lambert This is a dictionary of terms used in history A ABRAHAM MAN In Tudor times an Abraham man begged alms by pretending to be mad. The name comes from Abraham Ward in Bedlam. ABSOLUTE MONARCHY This is a political system where the monarch has unlimited power. It was summed up by the… Continue reading A Dictionary of Historical Terms
The Origin of Surnames
By Tim Lambert Occupational Surnames Many surnames are taken from jobs e.g. if a man was a carpenter he might be called John Carpenter and because sons very often followed their father’s occupation the surname stuck. Some occupational surnames are obvious e.g. Smith, Potter, Cooper, Mason, Tailor or Taylor, Spinner, Weaver (Webb was another word… Continue reading The Origin of Surnames
19th Century London
By Tim Lambert The population of London grew from 950,000 in 1800 to 6 million in 1900. At the beginning of the 19th century, rich men built estates at Somers Town, Camden Town, Walworth, Agar Town, Bromley, and Pentonville. Growth also spread to Battersea, Clapham, Camberwell, Brixton, Bayswater, and Peckham. By 1850 Deptford was part… Continue reading 19th Century London
A History of Leisure in the 19th Century
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
A Biography of Geoffrey Chaucer
By Tim Lambert His Early Life Geoffrey Chaucer was a great English writer of the 14th century. Chaucer was born between 1340 and 1343 but we don’t know the exact date. His father was a wine merchant in London. Little is known about the early life of Geoffrey Chaucer. He was first recorded in the… Continue reading A Biography of Geoffrey Chaucer
A History of The Cathars
By Tim Lambert The Cathars were a religious sect that flourished in Southern France and Northern Italy in the 12th and 13th centuries. (They became very common after about 1140). The name Cathar comes from the Greek Kathori, meaning pure ones. In France, they were called Albigensians after the town of Albi. The Cathars were… Continue reading A History of The Cathars