Tag Archives: History
Legal Action Settled After 67 Years
One of the world’s longest running cases was settle out of court 67 years after it started in 1941.
The case, known as Re Jahre, concerned a dispute over the recovery of assets alleged to belong to the shipping magnate Anders Jahre. Jahre died aged 90 before the main trial started in 1983. Although the case [...]
7th September 1997: Debate on Devolution for Scotland and Wales
In the early hours of what was a sunny Sunday morning (how unlike today) I drove from Shropshire to London to appear on a London Weekend Television programme debating the forthcoming referendum on giving Scotland and Wales devolved governments.
It was the morning after the funeral of Princess Diana and all along the route into London [...]
5th September 1959: The UK’s First Direct Dial Long Distance Call from a Phone Box
In these days of instant mobile communication it may surprise readers to know that fifty years ago you couldn’t even make a telephone call without the help of an operator.
For a number of years after the telephone service was first introduced if you wanted to make a call, even a local one, you lifted the [...]
Forth Road Bridge Opened by the Queen
At the time the bridge was Europe’s longest suspension bridge and it linked Edinburgh to Perth across the River Forth cutting more than an hour off the journey and opening up Fife to business in the central belt and England.
On the 4th September 1964 day tens of thousands of spectators of whom I was one, [...]
The First Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) Opens for Business on 2nd September 1969
The first automatic teller machine (ATM) made its public debut, dispensing cash to customers at Chemical Bank in Rockville, New York.
That first machine was only able to give out cash, but in 1971, an ATM that could handle multiple functions, including providing customers’ account balances, was introduced
ATMs went on to revolutionize the banking industry, eliminating [...]
Princess Diana Dies in Paris crash
I’m not going to say too much about this sad anniversary. I met her twice, once when she came to open a new ward at a hospital on the Isle of Skye, and the other time when she attended a concert in Edinburgh.
I found her an interesting and interested person. Unlike her husband, Prince Charles, [...]
The Panama Canal Finally Opened on 15th August 1914
The concept of a canal goes back almost to the day that European explorers first landed on the narrow land bridge that links North and South America.
They realised that the abundant natural lakes and waterways offered a unique opportunity to create a water passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans but it wasn’t until technological [...]
