Today In History with The Retrospectors

11:13

I Am Anastasia

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/02/06

Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia was executed by the Bolsheviks in 1917 - yet, on 6th February, 1928, a mentally troubled Polish factory worker claiming to be her was welcomed to New York by Romanov associates.Anna Anderson’s claim to be the Tsar’s daughter climaxed in a 32-year legal saga, the longest in German history. But posthumous DNA testing debunked her claim, revealing no connection to the Royal family.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover how decades of Soviet misinformation

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10:41

The Plastic That Changed The World

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/02/05

On this day in 1909 Leo Baekeland announced his invention of Bakelite to the American Chemical Society.Having already earned a fortune selling his photographic patent to Kodak, the Belgian-born chemist had opened his own lab in Yonkers, experimenting with formaldehyde and phenol. The resulting material, which he called Bakelite, could be used in everything from toys to automobiles, and was marketed as ‘The Material of 1,000 Uses!’In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover the explosive

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10:07

The First Groundhog Day

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/02/03

Long before Bill Murray turned up, Gobbler's Knob, Punxsutawney hosted its first ever Groundhog Day on 2nd February, 1887 - as a day for huntsmen to eat the local rodent.Over time, the delightful, yet absurd, theory emerged that a groundhog sighting its shadow could predict six more weeks of winter, or herald an early spring. The concept traces its origins to ancient superstitions around Candlemas Day, brought to Pennsylvania by German settlers. But sadly the stats don’t back up the belief!In this

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10:07

The First Groundhog Day

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/02/02

Long before Bill Murray turned up, Gobbler's Knob, Punxsutawney hosted its first ever Groundhog Day on 2nd February, 1887 - as a day for huntsmen to eat the local rodent.Over time, the delightful, yet absurd, theory emerged that a groundhog sighting its shadow could predict six more weeks of winter, or herald an early spring. The concept traces its origins to ancient superstitions around Candlemas Day, brought to Pennsylvania by German settlers. But sadly the stats don’t back up the belief!In this

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9:59

The Hashish Club

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/02/01

Rerun: Theophile Gautier’s account of ‘green jam’ cannabis consumption at the drug-addled dinner parties of the ‘Club des Hachichins’ - alongside literary figures Alexandre Dumas, Victor Hugo and Honoré de Balzac - was first published in Revue des Deux Mondes on 1st February, 1846.The Club, founded by psychiatrist Dr Jacques Joseph Moreau to establish the psychedelic effects of eating copious amounts of marijuana, met in Arab fancy dress; its members mashing their drugs up with with cinnamon cloves,

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10:18

TV's First Soap Opera

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/01/31

These Are My Children premiered on NBC on 31st January, 1949; the world's first televised soap opera. It lasted only four weeks on air, was broadcast live, and had a tiny budget, but influenced the production of the genre for decades.As dramas primarily created by and for women, soap operas typically attracted sniffy reviews from male critics, yet proved enormously popular with their initial audience of 1950s housewives. Creator Irna Phillips’ own backstory mirrored the dramatic storylines she

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10:37

Bring Me The Head of Oliver Cromwell

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/01/30

Revolutionary leader Oliver Cromwell was executed on 30th January, 1661 - despite having been dead for more than two years. His body was exhumed from its tomb in Westminster Abbey on the instruction of King Charles II, who sought retribution for those involved in the trial and execution of his father, Charles I.Along with other Regicides, Cromwell’s corpse was disinterred and subjected to public abuse. On the anniversary of Charles I’s beheading, Cromwell’s head was mounted on a spike and stuck on

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10:45

Bush, Frum and the Axis of Evil

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/01/29

George W. Bush’s controversial State of the Union address from 29th January, 2002 - saw the introduction of the phrase ‘the Axis of Evil’.Speechwriter David Frum had initially grouped Iraq, Iran and North Korea together as an ‘Axis of Hatred’ - but Bush himself chose to replace the word ‘hatred’ with ‘evil’, a choice viewed by most Americans as striking the right tone, but many international commentators as a stepping-stone to indiscriminately invading Iraq.In this episode Arion, Rebecca and Olly

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10:36

The Man Who Sold The Wind

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/01/26

French artist Yves Klein concluded his artwork "Zone de Sensibilité Picturale Immatérielle" on 26th January 1962 - by throwing half the gold he received for the artwork into the Seine, and burning the ownership receipt. This conceptual performance, forgotten for decades, is now often credited by art critics for presaging the world of NFTs and blockchains.Known for his daring, influential art, Klein's more famous works include orchestrating a monotone silence symphony and copyrighting a colour:

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9:48

Soundtracking the Royal Wedding

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/01/25

Walking down the aisle to Wagner’s ‘Here Comes The Bride’ and departing to Mendelssohn’s ‘The Wedding March’ remains a popular choice at wedding ceremonies - a precedent established by the Princess Royal Victoria and Prince Frederick of Prussia, who married at St James’s Palace on 25th January, 1858.Unfortunately for Mendelssohn, he’d been dead eleven years by the time his tune became a viral hit - but he treasured his patronage by Victoria and Albert, once describing Buckingham Palace as “the only

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11:18

I've Struck Gold!

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/01/24

The California Gold Rush was ignited by James Marshall’s discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill on January 24th, 1848. The news led to a lawless and chaotic surge of wannabe prospectors heading to the State, enduring perilous journeys to do so.Over 300,000 people arrived in just seven years, transforming a region previously inhabited by just 8,000 white settlers. But not everybody struck it rich, and, despite owning the land the gold was found on, the discovery dashed John Sutter’s dreams of

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10:28

The Elephants of War

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/01/23

Elephants have played a surprisingly important role on the battlefield, even before the birth of Christ; notably in 5th Century BCE India, and during the Punic Wars in Africa.But on 23rd January, 971, the Southern Han division of the Chinese military retired their famous elephant corps forever - after facing a massive aerial assault from crossbowmen from the Song Dynasty, who had defeated them in battle.War elephants were not just formidable attackers, but also served as platforms for archers,

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10:32

Bjorn Borg's Retirement Bombshell

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/01/22

When tennis fans learned that their idol, multiple Grand Slam winner Bjorn Borg, might be about to retire from the professional game, at the age of only 26.Why did the Swedish star, whose young female fanbase were sometimes called the ‘Borgasm’ by the tabloids, rest his racket at the height of his powers? It turns out that a multitude of factors, from burnout to death threats, played a part in Borg’s decision, which he’d been mulling for a couple of years.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly

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10:17

I Impregnated Lucy

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/01/19

When Lucille Ball's character gave birth on "I Love Lucy" on 19th January 1953, 44 million people tuned in: an astonishing 72% of TV-owning Americans, surpassing the number who watched President Eisenhower’s inauguration the following day.The episode, ‘Lucy Goes To The Hospital’, almost didn't make it to TV due to the strict morality codes of the 1950s, which frowned upon any explicit content, including pregnancy.Despite network concerns, Ball and real-life husband Desi Arnaz (who played her

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10:10

Arriving At Botany Bay

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/01/18

Rerun: ‘The First Fleet’ - the eleven ships carrying around 1400 people from Britain, most of whom were convicted criminals - landed in New South Wales on 18th January, 1788.Australia had been home to indigenous people for at least 50,000 years - but was a barren and shocking destination for 'the poms', who’d endured an epic 252-day voyage to get there; a journey about which Robert Hughes wrote: “before them stretched the awesome lonely void of the Indian and Southern oceans, and beyond that lay

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9:58

Ireland's First Divorce

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/01/17

Heavily influenced by the Church, Article 43 of the Irish Constitution forbade divorce - a law that stood until 17th January, 1997, when a Judge granted a terminally ill husband the right to divorce the woman from whom he’d already separated so that he could marry his current partner.This followed a contentious referendum in 1995, which had only narrowly favoured the legalisation of divorce. The campaign was heated, with dramatic predictions, divisive billboards, and fears of family breakdowns; but

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10:29

Shooting 'Dr. No'

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/01/16

It had a budget of just $1 million, a lead actor wearing a toupee, and the baddie in the first draft of the script was a monkey. But the first James Bond film, ‘Dr. No’, which began shooting in Jamaica on 16th January, 1962, kicked off a phenomenally successful franchise that’s still a staple of cinema today.Its star, Sean Connery, had been picked out by producers after his appearance in a Disney production, but was marketed as a former lorry driver with little acting experience. Concerned that

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10:32

Wikipedia: Hello World

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/01/15

Rerun : Wikipedia launched with the cheery words “Hello World!” on 15th January, 2001.The project arrived almost by accident, as the side-project of a more serious effort by tech entrepreneur Jimmy Wales to create an online encyclopedia called Nupedia.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why before Wikipedia came about Wales briefly peddled pornography; discuss why 9/11 was unexpectedly beneficial to Wikipedia’s growth; and reveal how many times Olly watched the Hindenburg disaster on

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10:09

Motown Begins

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/01/12

When Berry Gordy, Jr. founded Tamla Records in Detroit on 12th January, 1959, he reshaped popular music forever. With an iconic artist roster that included The Temptations, Stevie Wonder and The Jackson 5, Motown’s ability to identify and nurture talent - inspired by the principles of a car production line - were unprecedented.Gordy's journey, from a professional boxer and owner of a jazz record store to becoming a songwriter and producer, underscored his innate understanding of popular appeal. ‘The

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10:26

England's First Lottery

Today In History with The Retrospectors ·

2024/01/11

Rerun: With a top prize of £5,000 and a celebrity backer in the form of Queen Elizabeth I, England embarked on its first ever national lottery draw at St Paul’s Cathedral on 11th January, 1569.The results continued to be announced, day and night, for four months; a particularly prolonged process due to the fact that the prizes had to be divided into twelve, as the organisers had only sold a twelfth as many tickets as had been predicted.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the cost of

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