Why is the year 1804, so important in history of transportation?

Why is the year 1804, so important in history of transportation?

A revolution in the field of transportation took place in 1804, when steam railways were introduced for first time. Earlier, horses were used to pull carriages along iron railways that were laid out. Richard Trevithick, a Cornish mining engineer was the first to use a steam engine to haul the trucks.

On February 11, 1804, the engine pulled a 20 ton truck from Merthyr Tydfil to Abercyon in Wales, covering a distance of 15 kilometres. Some people expressed the fear that the wheels would slip on the iron rails, but the trial run turned out to be a success. Trevithick was convinced the railway could be used for passenger travel also. He set up a small railway in London in 1808. He used to give joy rides to people in an engine named Catch-me-who-can.

Shakespeare’s Mistake!

In Shakespeare’s time in England, no one bothered much about spelling. That’s because the idea of always spelling words in the same way was still very new. As a matter of fact even Shakespeare wasn’t consistent in using spelling. He signed his name in several different ways at different times. Shagspeare, Shakespeare and Shaxpere are just a few of the spellings he used!

Who wrote the ‘Essay on the principles of population’?

Who wrote the ‘Essay on the principles of population’?

Thomas Malthus was an English demographer and political economist. He is best known for his highly influential views on population. In ‘An Essay on the Principle of Population’, first published in 1798, Malthus made the famous prediction that population would outrun food supply.

Malthus’s observation was that in nature, plants and animals produce far more offspring than can survive. He argued that Man too is capable of overproducing it left unchecked. Malthus concluded that unless family size was regulated, there would be global famine and mankind would die away.

His theory was widely misunderstood, and raised a lot of controversy. Yet, it transformed him into an international celebrity, and his essay was eventually recognized as what it truly was… the first serious economic study of the welfare of the lower classes.


Believe it or not

Born to Rule

An ancient civilization that flourished in Mesopotamia, which lies in modern day Iraq, practiced a strange ritual to please their gods. During the New Year or during troubled times, the people of Mesopotamia sacrificed the life of their king to satisfy their deities. In real fact, the actual king was given the day off, and helpless commoner was sworn king for the day, jus t so he could be sacrificed! In 1861 B.C. Enlil-Bani was the king’s substitute. But incredibly, just as he was about to be hung, a breathless messenger arrived with the news that the real king had died! Enlil-Bani was saved, and subsequently, ruled Mesopotamia for 24 years!

Birds to the battlefront!

The cavalrymen of Media in the fifth century won many wars against the Greeks riding very unusual mounts into battle. They rode ostriches, not horses!

Saved by April fool’s Day!

In 1634, Nicolas Francois and his wife, Claude, the Duke and Duchess of Lorraine in France, were sentenced to death. They were imprisoned in their palace at Nancy. On April 1, they escaped from to freedom by climbing out of a palace window. Then they swam across the river Meurthe to safety. Witnesses who saw them shouted, to alert the guards, but the guards did nothing! They thought it was just an elaborate April fool’s joke!

Why is Edward Jenner so well known in the field of medicine?

Why is Edward Jenner so well known in the field of medicine?

Edward Jenner was the person who introduced the practice of vaccination which proved to be a boon in the field of medicine. Jenner was a doctor who lived in Berkeley, England. In those days deaths due to small pox were very common.

However, country people noticed that persons who worked with cattle and had contracted with cowpox, never seemed to catch small pox. Dr. Edward Jenner decided to find out if there was any truth in the belief. As the first stage in his experiment he injected liquid from cowpox sores into a young boy called James Phipps. This was in the 1796. The boy caught the disease, but was soon healed.

As the second stage, Jenner injected the boy with smallpox. But it had no effect on the boy’s health. The cowpox had made him immune.

Although, initially there was opposition to the practice of vaccination, it gained rapid popularity all over the world. Because of Jenner’s efforts, small pox has been eradicated from the world, today.