Mathew Lyons

Birth of a Pastry Chef

Born into poverty on 8 June 1783, Antonin Carême’s spectacular confectionary constructions made him patissier to royalty.

Sancta Sophia Collapses

Disaster struck on the morning of 7 May 558, when repair works to the Sancta Sophia caused it to collapse.

Cleansing the Causeway

The soldiers of Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus, fought the men of James Hamilton, Earl of Arran, in Edinburgh on 30 April 1520.

The Trail of Tears

The Indian Removal Act was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson on 28 May 1830, forcing the migration of five Native American nations from their homelands.

Death of an Intrepid Traveller

Elizabeth Justice, writer of the first female-authored book of travel writing to be published in English, died on 15 March 1752.

A Test Case for Tolerance

Jean Calas was sentenced to be broken on the wheel in front of the cathedral in Toulouse, on 10 March 1762.

A Dynasty is Founded

On 8 February 1644, Li Zicheng, a rebel warlord, proclaimed the foundation of his own Shun dynasty.