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Percival G. Spencer
Percival Green Spencer (11 November 1864, Islington, London – 11 April 1913, Highbury, London) was a British pioneering balloonist and parachutist. Spencer was part of the third generation of a family of professional balloonists. He was the eldest son of Charles Green Spencer (1837–1880), who was the son of Edward Spencer (1799–1849). Edward Spencer, a solicitor, was a friend and trusted assistant of the noted balloonist Charles Green, ascending with Green 27 times and soloing 40 times. Charles Spencer founded the balloon manufacturing firm of C. G. Spencer & Sons. All five of Percival's siblings also followed the family profession. He and his brothers Arthur (1866–1940) and Stanley (1868–1906) were considered the leading authorities on ballooning. Percival first ascended in a balloon at the age of eight with his father over the Crystal Palace. In a November 1909 letter to the editor of '' Flight'' magazine, he claimed to have made eight "Cross ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Percival Green Spencer Crossed The Channel
Percival (, also spelled Perceval, Parzival), alternatively called Peredur (), was one of King Arthur's legendary Knights of the Round Table. First mentioned by the French author Chrétien de Troyes in the tale ''Perceval, the Story of the Grail'', he is best known for being the original hero in the quest for the Grail, before being replaced in later English and French literature by Galahad. Etymology and origin The earliest reference to Perceval is in Chrétien de Troyes's first Arthurian romance '' Erec et Enide'', where, as "Percevaus li Galois" (Percevaus of Wales), he appears in a list of Arthur's knights; in another of Chrétien's romances, '' Cligés'', he is a "renowned vassal" who is defeated by the knight Cligés in a tournament. He then becomes the protagonist in Chrétien's final romance, ''Perceval, the Story of the Grail''. In the Welsh romance '' Peredur son of Efrawg'', the figure goes by the name Peredur. The name "Peredur" may derive from Welsh ''par'' ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pearson's Magazine
''Pearson's Magazine'' was a monthly periodical that first appeared in Britain in 1896. A US version began publication in 1899. It specialised in speculative literature, political discussion, often of a socialist bent, and the arts. Its contributors included Upton Sinclair, George Bernard Shaw, Maxim Gorky, George Griffith, H. G. Wells, Rudyard Kipling, Rafael Sabatini, Dornford Yates and E. Phillips Oppenheim, many of whose short stories and novelettes first saw publication in ''Pearson's''. It was the first British periodical to publish a crossword puzzle, in February 1922. History British publisher C. Arthur Pearson established and served as the editor of the monthly magazine from 1896 to 1899. He removed himself as editor as blindness set in but continued as its publisher. Succeeding editors included: * Percy W. Everett (1900–1911) * Philip O'Farrell (1912–1919) * John Reed Wade (January 1920–April 1939) * W.E. Johns (May 1939–November 1939). The magazine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1913 Deaths
Events January * January 5 – First Balkan War: Battle of Lemnos (1913), Battle of Lemnos – Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis forces the Turkish fleet to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it will not venture for the rest of the war. * January 13 – Edward Carson founds the (first) Ulster Volunteers, Ulster Volunteer Force, by unifying several existing Ulster loyalism, loyalist militias to resist home rule for Ireland. * January 23 – 1913 Ottoman coup d'état: Ismail Enver comes to power. * January – Stalin (whose first article using this name is published this month) travels to Vienna to carry out research. Until he leaves on February 16 the city is home simultaneously to him, Hitler, Trotsky and Josip Broz Tito, Tito alongside Alban Berg, Berg, Freud and Jung and Ludwig Wittgenstein, Ludwig and Paul Wittgenstein. February * February 1 – New York City's Grand Central Terminal, having been rebuilt, reopens as the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1864 Births
Events January–March * January 13 – American songwriter Stephen Foster (" Oh! Susanna", " Old Folks at Home") dies aged 37 in New York City, leaving a scrap of paper reading "Dear friends and gentle hearts". His parlor song "Beautiful Dreamer" is published in March. * January 16 – Denmark rejects an Austrian-Prussian ultimatum to repeal the Danish Constitution, which says that Schleswig-Holstein is part of Denmark. * January 21 – New Zealand Wars: The Tauranga campaign begins. * February – John Wisden publishes ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, The Cricketer's Almanack for the year 1864'' in England; it will go on to become the major annual cricket reference publication. * February 1 – Danish-Prussian War (Second Schleswig War): 57,000 Austrian and Prussian troops cross the Eider River into Denmark. * February 15 – Heineken N.V., Heineken brewery founded in Netherlands. * February 17 – American Civil War: The tiny Confederate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (founded in 1821) are published by Times Newspapers, since 1981 a subsidiary of News UK, in turn wholly owned by News Corp. ''The Times'' and ''The Sunday Times'', which do not share editorial staff, were founded independently and have only had common ownership since 1966. In general, the political position of ''The Times'' is considered to be centre-right. ''The Times'' is the first newspaper to have borne that name, lending it to numerous other papers around the world, such as '' The Times of India'', ''The New York Times'', and more recently, digital-first publications such as TheTimesBlog.com (Since 2017). In countries where these other titles are popular, the newspaper is often referred to as , or as , although the newspaper is of na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ram Chandra Chatterjee
Ram Chandra Chatterjee (died 9 August 1892) was first Indian aeronaut to fly solo. He is also an acrobat, gymnast, balloonist, parachutist and patriot. He was the first Indian to fly in a balloon and land in a parachute. He was also the first Indian to take up ballooning as a profession. His daring acts with the balloon and the parachute made him a national hero. Early life Ram Chandra Chatterjee was a resident of Kansaripara, in the locality of Shimulia in North Kolkata. He started his career as an acrobat in the National Circus Company of Nabagopal Mitra, the founder of Hindu Mela. He was a flying trapeze player. Later he became the director of Great United Indian Circus Company. He also worked as teacher of gymnastics in the Government Normal School. Interest in ballooning When Percival G. Spencer, a British balloonist arrived in Kolkata for his show, Chatterjee requested him to teach the art of ballooning. Spencer complied and Chatterjee had to pay him five hundre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid digital subscribers. It also is a producer of popular podcasts such as '' The Daily''. Founded in 1851 by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones, it was initially published by Raymond, Jones & Company. The ''Times'' has won 132 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any newspaper, and has long been regarded as a national "newspaper of record". For print it is ranked 18th in the world by circulation and 3rd in the U.S. The paper is owned by the New York Times Company, which is publicly traded. It has been governed by the Sulzberger family since 1896, through a dual-class share structure after its shares became publicly traded. A. G. Sulzberger, the paper's publisher and the company's chairman, is the fifth generation of the family to head the p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Griffith
George Griffith (1857–1906), full name George Chetwynd Griffith-Jones, was a prolific British science fiction writer and noted explorer who wrote during the late Victorian and Edwardian age. Many of his visionary tales appeared in magazines such as ''Pearson's Magazine'' and '' Pearson's Weekly'' before being published as novels. Griffith was extremely popular in the United Kingdom, though he failed to find similar acclaim in the United States, in part due to his utopian socialist views. A journalist, rather than a scientist, by background, what his stories lack in scientific rigour and literary grace they make up for in sheer exuberance of execution. :"To-night that spark was to be shaken from the torch of Revolution, and to-morrow the first of the mines would explode...the armies of Europe would fight their way through the greatest war that the world had ever seen." – from Griffith's most famous novel ''The Angel of the Revolution''. Life He was the son of a vicar who ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flight International
''Flight International'' is a monthly magazine focused on aerospace. Published in the United Kingdom and founded in 1909 as "A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport", it is the world's oldest continuously published aviation news magazine. ''Flight International'' is published by DVV Media Group. Competitors include Jane's Information Group and '' Aviation Week''. Former editors of, and contributors include H. F. King, Bill Gunston, John W. R. Taylor and David Learmount. History The founder and first editor of ''Flight'' was Stanley Spooner. He was also the creator and editor of ''The Automotor Journal'', originally titled ''The Automotor Journal and Horseless Vehicle''.Guide To British Industrial History: Biographies: ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Islington
Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy High Street, Upper Street, Essex Road (former "Lower Street"), and Southgate Road to the east. Modern definition Islington grew as a sprawling Middlesex village along the line of the Great North Road, and has provided the name of the modern borough. This gave rise to some confusion, as neighbouring districts may also be said to be in Islington. This district is bounded by Liverpool Road to the west and City Road and Southgate Road to the south-east. Its northernmost point is in the area of Canonbury. The main north–south high street, Upper Street splits at Highbury Corner to Holloway Road to the west and St. Paul's Road to the east. The Angel business improvement district (BID), an area centered around th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in its exhibition space to display examples of technology developed in the Industrial Revolution. Designed by Joseph Paxton, the Great Exhibition building was long, with an interior height of , and was three times the size of St Paul's Cathedral. The introduction of the sheet glass method into Britain by Chance Brothers in 1832 made possible the production of large sheets of cheap but strong glass, and its use in the Crystal Palace created a structure with the greatest area of glass ever seen in a building. It astonished visitors with its clear walls and ceilings that did not require interior lights. It has been suggested that the name of the building resulted from a piece penned by the playwright Douglas Jerrold, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Library Of New Zealand
The National Library of New Zealand ( mi, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa) is New Zealand's legal deposit library charged with the obligation to "enrich the cultural and economic life of New Zealand and its interchanges with other nations" (''National Library of New Zealand (Te Puna Mātauranga) Act 2003''). Under the Act, the library's duties include collection, preserving and protecting the collections of the National Library, significant history documents, and collaborating with other libraries in New Zealand and abroad. The library supports schools through its Services to Schools business unit, which has curriculum and advisory branches around New Zealand. The Legal Deposit Office is New Zealand's agency for ISBN and ISSN. The library headquarters is close to the Parliament of New Zealand and the Court of Appeal on the corner of Aitken and Molesworth Streets, Wellington. History Origins The National Library of New Zealand was formed in 1965 when the General Assembly Li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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