On 2nd January…

1727 - James Wolfe was born in Kent, England. He was a commander of the British army and led them to victory in Canada against the French at the capture of Quebec. This victory led to British supremacy in Canada. Wolfe died of battle wounds shortly after hearing of their victory.

On 3rd January…

1957 - The world’s first electric watch was introduced, it ran on battery power and never needed winding up. Until this time people used to keep their watches working by winding them up using the small dial on the side.

On 4th January…

871 - The Battle of Reading took place between invading Vikings from Denmark and an Anglo-Saxon army led by King Aethelred of Wessex. The Vikings won this battle forcing King Aethelred to retreat, but the war was not yet over, and another battle would take place in four days’ time.

1698 - The Palace of Whitehall was destroyed by a fire. It had been the centre of English royal power for 168 years, ever since Henry VIII took it from Cardinal Wolsey in 1530 and turned it into the most magnificent palace in Britain. The fire began when a maid left some sheets drying near an open fire; they caught alight and the fire quickly spread through the timber framed building. It raged for over 15 hours and by the time it had died down all that was left was the Banqueting House which still stands in Whitehall today.

1809 - Louis Braille was born in France. He was left blind after an accident when he was three years old; he had been playing with his father’s tools when one slipped and plunged into his eye. When he was 15 years old, he successfully developed a simplified version of reading and writing for the blind after an exhibition of one at his school.

On 5th January…

1922 - The polar explorer Ernest Shackleton died of a heart attack on an expedition to try and circumnavigate the Antarctic.

On 6th January…

1852 - Louis Braille, the inventor of Braille, the system of reading and writing for the blind died of tuberculosis.

On 7th January…

On 8th January…

871 - Following their recent defeat at the Battle of Reading just four days previous the Anglo-Saxons faced the Vikings again at the Battle of Ashdown. This time they had more forces and had split into two Anglo-Saxon armies; one was led by King Aethelred I of Wessex and another by his younger brother Alfred (the Great). This time they won the battle and forced the Vikings to retreat but the war was still not yet won as they faced another battle just two weeks later.

1107 - King Edgar of Scotland died. He was the first King of Scotland that united Celtic and Anglo-Saxon blood; his father was King Malcom III, and his mother was Margaret, a granddaughter of King Edmund II of England.

1941 - Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the Boy Scout movement died.

1942 - Stephen Hawking, the famous physicist, was born in Oxford, England. In his twenties he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease which is a disease that stops cells in the brain and nerves in the body from communicating properly leaving the person unable to move. Despite his disability Hawking continued to study and research. He received many honours and awards including a CBE in 1982 from the Queen.