1315
The railway earned a special place in history as the first to be designed for steam locomotives only.
The railway at Hetton-le-Hole in County Durham, opened in 1822, was the first to be built entirely with steam locomotives rather than horses in mind. The new technology helped to create thousands of jobs and bring tremendous prosperity to this corner of northeast England.
Posted June 25 2016
1316
The little County Durham line built by George Stephenson and his son Robert was the place where the world’s railway infrastructure really began.
George Stephenson had already built over a dozen steam locomotives and engineered colliery railways at Killingworth in Northumberland, and Hetton in County Durham. Now his growing reputation had brought him another challenge, a little further south at Shildon, and on September 27th, 1825, the world’s railways began to take their now familiar shape.
Posted June 25 2016
1317
Jesus’s apostles receive the gift of God’s Holy Spirit, and the startling effects quickly draw a crowd.
In Jesus’s day, the Roman Empire did not enforce Jewish law but the authorities in Jerusalem did. They required all Jews to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for certain major feasts, one of which was the Feast of Weeks, fifty days after Passover.
Posted June 23 2016
1318
Sir William Herschel not only discovered Uranus and infrared radiation, but composed two dozen symphonies as well.
William Herschel (1738-1822) came to Britain from Hanover hoping to avoid war with France. He became not only one of the country’s greatest astronomers, but also one of its most prolific composers, and his son John was, like William, knighted for services to astronomy.
Posted June 22 2016
1319
Hermia and her lover Lysander elope from Athens, only to become tangled with squabbling fairies in the woods.
The action opens in Athens, where (supposedly) there was a law saying that a father whose daughter had refused the husband he had chosen for her could be put to death.
Posted June 21 2016
1320
There was one form of power that self-taught engineering genius George Stephenson never harnessed.
Robert Peel, the Prime Minister, had to invite Stephenson to his private residence three times before the Tyneside engineer accepted, pleading that he was not suited to fancy company. His visit, when it finally took place, only confirmed something he had long suspected.
Posted June 20 2016