28 February 2013

Timeline March 1 to 4

March 1
1790  US Congress authorized the first U.S. census.
1810  Frederic Chopin, Polish French composer and pianist, was born.
1873  E. Remington and Sons in Ilion, New York begins production of the first practical typewriter.
1893  Nikola Tesla gave the first public demonstration of radio in St. Louis, Missouri.
1896  Henri Becquerel discovered radioactivity.
1904  Glenn Miller, American composer and band leader, was born.
1910  David Niven, English stage and screen actor, was born.
1915  Malak Karsh, Canadian photographer, was born.

March 2
1769  DeWitt Clinton, American who presided over construction of the Erie Canal, Was born.
1791  John Wesley, English founder of Methodism, died.
1904  Theodor Seuss Geisel, who wrote and illustrated the popular 'Dr. Seuss' children's books, was born.
1945  Emily Carr, Canadian artist, died.
1965  The movie version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "The Sound of Music" had its world premiere in New York.
1983  Compact Disc players and discs are released for the first time in the United States and other markets.

March 3
1678  Madeleine de Verchères, Canadian heroine, was born.
1831  George Pullman, American industrialist and inventor, was born.
1847  Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland.
1885  The American Telephone & Telegraph Company was incorporated in New York.
1890  Norman Bethune, Canadian doctor and humanitarian, was born.
1920  James Doohan, Canadian-born actor "Scotty", was born.
1931  The United States adopted The Star-Spangled Banner as its national anthem.

March 4
1394  Henry the Navigator, Portuguese sponsor of voyages of exploration, was born.
1628  The Massachusetts Bay Colony was granted a Royal charter.
1675  John Flamsteed was appointed the first Astronomer Royal of England.
1678  Antonio Vivaldi, Italian composer and violinist, was born.
1681  England's King Charles II granted a charter to William Penn for an area of land that later became Pennsylvania.
1814  Americans defeated the British at the Battle of Longwoods between London, Ontario and Thamesville.

27 February 2013

Timeline February 26 to 28

February 26
1815  Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from the island of Elba to begin his second conquest of France.
1846  William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody, buffalo hunter, Indian scout and Frontiersman-turned-showman,  was born in Scott County, Iowa.
1852  John Harvey Kellogg, American physician who developed dry cereal, was born.
1866  Herbert H Dow, American founder of Dow Chemical Co. was born.
1937  Hagood Hardy, Canadian musician and composer, was born.

February 27
1594  Henry IV was crowned King of France.
1807  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet, was born.
1899  Charles Best, Canadian scientist & co-discoverer of insulin, was born.
1902  John Steinbeck, American Nobel Prize winning novelist, was born in Salinas, Calif.
1932  Elizabeth Taylor, actress, was born.
1986  Jacques Plante, Canadian ice hockey goaltender, died.

February 28
1784  John Wesley chartered the Methodist Church.
1865  Wilfred Grenfell, medical missionary, was born.
1901  Linus Pauling, the American Nobel Prize-winning chemist and political activist, was born.
1935  DuPont scientist Wallace Carothers invented nylon.
1953  Scientists James D. Watson and Francis H.C. Crick published the double-helix structure of DNA, the molecule that contains the human genes.

25 February 2013

Who Do You Think You Are! - Day 3

We have now finished with the final day of WDYTYA, in London.

We arrived about 10 am. Fewer people on the tube early on Sunday. Three were still problems with lines being closed for maintenance.

There were fewer people at the conference today as well.
We decided to take in a few lectures followed by some more booth cruising and a few more purchases. Said hello to Leslie Anderson again. We did not do our third session of volunteering at the Guild of One-Name Studies booth as they were not very busy.

In all a very large and interesting conference.

24 February 2013

Timeline February 24 & 25

February 24
1582  Pope Gregory XIII issued a papal bull outlining his calendar reforms. (The Gregorian Calendar is the calendar in general use today.)
1723  John Burgoyne, British general, was born.
1986  Tommy Douglas, Canadian politician, died.
2008  Cuba's parliament named Raul Castro president, ending nearly 50 years of rule by his brother Fidel.

Februrary 25
1723  Sir Christopher Wren, English architect, died.
1836  Samuel Colt, American inventor, patented his revolver.
1873  Enrico Caruso, Italian operatic tenor, was born.

23 February 2013

Who Do You Think You Are - Day 2

This morning we decided to spend a couple of hours in the Science Museum in London.
We saw exhibits on James Watt and Alan Turing.

Watt was much more versatile than what we learned about him in school. We knew him most for the steam engine, but he was into scientific instrument making, musical instruments, pottery, sculpture reproduction etc.  He also developed the concept of Horse Power in order to have a scientific way of charging his industrial customers for the use of his steam engines. I would describe him as the first "Edison" perhaps.

The exhibit about Turing was interesting also. He was involved with code breaking during WW II and contributed much to the invention and development of computing and computers.

We also had time to skim through the displays on the history of medicine
and the science and art of medicine.
We only scratched the surface of this museum!

Navigating the Tube was a different matter today. Two of the main lines were closed for planned
maintenance. This meant that all of the people moving East and West in London were crammed onto one line instead of three. Great fun!

We finally got to the Kensington Oylmpia in the afternoon in time for our volunteer session at the Guild of One-Name Studies. I only worked for a half hour and then removed myself so I could attend an excellent talk given by John Reid and Glenn Wright. Good show guys! I did not see anyone leave and the talk was quite lively. I didn't have tickets but was able to find a standing room place next to Leslie Anderson. Elizabeth worked her time at the Guild table. After that we went booth cruising again and made a few more purchases.

We also ran into Glenn and had a brief chat with him.

The afternoon crowds were as big as the first day of the conference.
We were tired again by evening and were happy to return to our hotel.

22 February 2013

Who Do You Think You Are

An eyewitness report from the "Who Do You Think You Are" Conference at the Kensington Olympia in  London, England.

After arriving in London and recovering from jet lag we took a ride on the London Eye in the evening. This is a good way to start a visit to London by having a look at the landscape. It was especially good just as after sunset when the lights of London started coming on.

The next day we took the Tube to the Olympia. Navigating the London Tube system can be a bit daunting but if you get an Oyster card and the Tube map and take a bit of time to read the direction signs, it is a great way to get around.

When we arrived at the Olympia by 10:00 am, there was a huge lineup of genealogists snaking around the building. The line moved rather quickly so we were soon in the main concourse. What we had heard about this conference was true. Many of the family history societies from England were there, along with the major online genealogy companies. There must have been close to 10,000 people there all looking to find out more about their families.

We spent the day looking at booths and talking to people. English people are very friendly, as we had several people who wanted to tell their family stories, even when the introduction was, "If you want to get in here and look just let me know." Many English people knew something about Canada or had family there or had used the LAC online files.

We spent an hour plus volunteering at the Guild of One-Name Studies booth. This was interesting  considering the number of people passing by. A difference at this conference is that many booths keep people out in front of the tables to be in contact.

While wandering around we waved at Leslie Anderson in the Ancestry presentation area and then ran into John Reid having a nice lunch.

By the end of the day we were really tired from being on our feet all day.
Back to the hotel by 7:00 pm to rest up and prepare for the next day!

21 February 2013

Timeline February 22 & 23

February 22
1732  George Washington, the first president of the United States, was born in the Virginia Colony.
1819  Spain ceded Florida to the United States.
1909  The sixteen battleships of the Great White Fleet, led by Connecticut, return to the United States after a voyage around the world.

February 23
1633  Samuel Pepys, English diarist and naval administrator, was born.
1685  George Frideric Handel, German born English Composer, was born in Germany.
1836  The siege of the Alamo began in San Antonio, Texas.
1896  The Tootsie Roll was invented.
1941  Plutonium was first produced and isolated by Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg.
1945  U.S. Marines on Iwo Jima captured Mount Suribachi and raised the American flag. The moment was captured in a Pulitzer Prize winning photo by AP photographer Joe Rosenthal.
1997  Scientists in Scotland announced they had cloned an adult mammal, producing a lamb named Dolly.