1683 The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archeology opened in Oxford University. Elias Asmolean donated his collection of curiosities to seed the museum, which was then organised for teaching purposes. The building was designed by Christoper Wren. Feasted my eyes there.
1816 The eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia caused the year without summer. On this day ten inches of snow fell in Massachusetts. The eruption was rated a 7, the only eruption on that level. It blew 150 cubic kilometres of matter into the atmosphere and killed 10,000 in the immediate vicinity. The debris reached forty-three kilometres into the stratosphere. The subsequent effects on agriculture, health, and trade have led to the conclusion that perhaps 90,000 people died as a result. There is a superb episode of Lord Bragg’s ‘In Our time’ about this apocalyptic year.
1844 In London George Williams founded the Young Men’s Christian Association to offer low cost housing to youths migrating to cities for work, as alternatives to taverns, pubs, brothels, and boarding houses. Bible reading and physical exercise were offered to keep things in order.
1859 Queensland separated from New South Wales to make it a self-governing colony. It quickly thereafter established the first parliament in Australia. Ever since Far North Queensland has agitated for separation from Brisbane.
1949 Eric Blair published ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four.’ He insisted that the number be spelled out, but I, for one, don’t know why, though I have read and re-read Bernard Crick’s magisterial edition, and had the pleasure once of seeing Crick discuss the book at Oxford. (Years later when I has Head of Department I found some discretionary funds to contribute to Crick’s visit to the University of Sydney.) People who have never read the book use some of its terminology, like Thought Police, Big Brother, Memory Hole, Thought Crime…. It all sounds like President Tiny as below.
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