Huey Pierce Long was born in 1893, almost instantly recognised as being energetic, intelligent and with an assured future. For example, he took on a three-year course in…
Disasters waiting to happen: Leopold II of the Belgians
Leopold was born in 1835 and was King of the Belgians from 1865 – 1909. We are told that he was lively and energetic practically from…
Humour: tall tales
Paul Johnson tells us that when General de Gaulle at last decided to retire to his small chateau at Colombey-les-deux-Églises, he and his wife threw a small…
Disasters waiting to happen: Edward VIII
Edward (born 1894) was the oldest son of George V and Mary of Teck. He should have become King of Great Britain & Northern Ireland, and…
Disasters waiting to happen: John Calvin Coolidge
The thirtieth President of the United States was born in 1872. No-one knew much about him, except his reputation for long silences broken by periods of terseness, until…
Disasters waiting to happen: Count Ciano – not really his fault
Galeazzo Ciano was born in 1903, the son of an admiral in the Italian navy. After a privileged education he entered the foreign service of his country in…
Disasters waiting to happen: Charles X of France
Charles was born in 1757 and was King of France for barely six years. He was a younger brother of Louis XVI, guillotined during the French Revolution, and…
Gibraltar in the news again
President of the Spanish Government Mariano Rajoy spoke to the United Nations recently. He explained the country’s economic situation, which is disastrous, though no fault of his…
What was the Freikorps?
Literally translated from the German, the word means ‘Free Corps’, though this term does not really express the intention behind the nomenklature. Freikorps were para-military formations formed…
‘Emancipation’ of the Catholics
The Christian Church first came into Britain through the north of Ireland and Scotland, probably with St. Augustine. The Roman Catholic Church was soon established throughout Ireland,…