December 26 is the start of Kwanzaa, a celebration of the African American community, culture and family. The celebration runs until January 1, 2025. Kwanzaa emerged during the Black Freedom Movement of the 1960s as a way to reconnect Black communities in the U.S. with important African cultural traditions that were severed by the transatlantic […]
French chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur was born December 27, 1822 in Dole, France. His immense legacy can even be seen in our homes, in the "pasteurized" products derived from one of his discoveries. And it was Pasteur who laid the scientific foundations for the principles of hygiene, which took on such importance during the […]
The Indian National Congress was founded on December 28, 1885. 72 delegates gathered in Mumbai to establish the political party with a goal to create "polite dialogue" between Indians and the colonial British government. The Indian National Congress (INC), founded in 1885, is one of India’s oldest and most prominent political parties. Initially formed as […]
On December 29, 1170 the Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered in the Canterbury Cathedral. “Where is Thomas Becket, traitor to the king and the kingdom?” the knights then rushed at him… roughly manhandling and dragging him, intending to kill him outside the church, or carry him away in chains. The Lives of […]
The first subway system in Asia, Japan's Ginza Line, opened December 30, 1927. The Ginza Line was conceived by a businessman named Noritsugu Hayakawa, who visited London in 1914, saw the London Underground and concluded that Tokyo needed its own underground railway. He founded the Tokyo Underground Railway (東京地下鉄道 Tōkyō Chika Tetsudō) in 1920, and […]
A small, rough & tumble logging town named Ottawa was officially proclaimed the capital of the Province of Canada on December 31, 1857. Almost everybody knows that Queen Victoria selected Ottawa as Canada’s capital. But few are aware that the city’s selection was anything but a gentile affair. In fact, the Queen was only asked […]
Since 1920, the brave, the foolhardy and the crazy indulge in a January 1 ritual, the Polar Bear Dip. The event began in Vancouver and has since spread across Canada, the US, Netherlands, Greenland, New Zealand, UK, South Korea and the Antarctic. The bravest get into swimsuits, break the ice and take a plunge into […]
On January 2, 1921, Czech writer Karel Čapek introduced the world to the word "robot" with the premiere of his science fiction play R.U.R. - Rossum's Universal Robots. The play is set in a future time where human-like androids called robots are mass-produced on an island factory owned by R.U.R. All work on the island […]
Sakamoto Ryōma, samurai, naval hero and rebel was born January 3, 1836 in Kōchi, Tosa Province, Tokugawa Shogunate. A much-loved and romanticized figure in Japan’s history, Sakamoto Ryōma defied his low-ranking samurai origins to wield immense political influence. He is widely celebrated for his pivotal role in toppling the 265-year rule of the Tokugawa shogunate, […]
Louis Braille was born January 4, 1809, in Coupvray, France. In 1825, he developed the 6-point Braille system that enabled vision impaired to read and write. To mark the 200th birthday of Louis Braille, the inventor of a reading and writing system for blind and visually impaired people, TNT Post issued a series of special […]
On January 5, 1987, Margaret Laurence, one of Canada's most beloved writers, died at her home in Lakefield, Ontario, Canada. “I was an extremely fortunate child. As someone who has always been interested in reading and in writing (which I began to do in about Grade 2 or 3), I always had someone there who […]
On January 6, 1924, future bluegrass hall of famer Earl Scruggs was born in Cleveland County, North Carolina, U.S. A mild-mannered North Carolinian from a mill town would strike few as a world-renowned, influential musician and composer. Earl Scruggs, once compared to violinist Niccolo Paganini, not only pioneered the three-finger banjo but played it to […]