Latest articles by Ben Judge
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10 September 2008: the Large Hadron Collider is switched on for the first time
Features The search for the mysterious Higgs boson kicked off in earnest today in 2008 when the Large Hadron Collider deep below Switzerland was switched on.
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9 September 1513: James IV’s invading Scots army defeated at the Battle of Flodden
Features On this day in 1513, James IV of Scotland led a force of 30,000 Scots in battle against the English in Northumberland, where he and many of his nobles were killed.
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8 September 1888: First Football League matches played
Features After messing about with friendlies, 'Tests' and cup matches for the last couple of decades, football got serious today in 1888, with the start of the world's first football league.
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7 September 1940: the Blitz begins
Features On this day in 1940, Germany’s Luftwaffe began the Blitz, an eight-month campaign of bombing Britain’s major cities, killing over 40,000 people.
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3 September 1967: Sweden switches to driving on right-hand side of the road
Features This day in 1967 was known as ‘Högertrafikomläggningen’ in Sweden. It was the day the country switched from driving on the left side of the road to driving on the right.
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1 September 1859: the ‘Carrington Event’, the biggest solar storm ever recorded
Features On this day in 1859, a huge mass of magnetic particles erupted from the sun and hit the earth, knocking out telegraphs and putting on a spectacular display in the skies.
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The charts that matter: China stimulus drives copper demand
Charts With China promising more infrastructure building, the price of copper continues to rise. Here’s how that’s affected the rest of the charts that matter most to the global economy.
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27 August 1859: The birth of America’s oil industry
Features On this day in 1859, Edwin Drake struck oil in Titusville, Pennsylvania, proving that his pioneering drilling techniques were economically feasible.
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26 August 1768: Captain Cook sets sail on his first voyage of discovery
Features On this day in 1768, Captain James Cook set off from Plymouth on his way to Tahiti and the fabled land of Terra Australis Incognita.
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26 August 1970: the Isle of Wight holds the UK's biggest-ever music festival
Features On this day in 1970, 600,000 people flocked to the Isle of Wight to witness the biggest music festival ever to be held in the UK.
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Graphene: the “miracle material” that will change the world
Analysis Graphene is a layer of carbon one atom wide yet stronger than steel. It could ultimately revolutionise a vast array of industries, says Ben Judge.
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24 August 1947: the first Edinburgh Festival takes place
Features This day in 1947 saw the start of the first Edinburgh Festival – which has grown to become the largest arts festival in the world.
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The charts that matter: gold dips after Buffett buys in
Charts Warren Buffett bought into gold's bull market just as the price slipped again. Here's how the charts that matter most to the global economy reacted.
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20 August 1960: Russia’s ‘space dogs’ recovered alive
Features On this day in 1960, Russian mongrels Belka and Strelka became the first dogs to be recovered alive after having been shot into space.
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19 August 1612: the Lancashire witch trials
Features Ten people were convicted and sent to the gallows on the evidence of a nine-year old girl on this day in 1612, in the infamous Lancashire witch trials.
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18 August 1920: Women guaranteed the vote in the USA
Features On this day in 1920, Tennessee became the last state in America to give women the vote, more than half a century after Wyoming.
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17 August 1896: the motor car claims its first life
Features The unfortunate Bridget Driscoll of Croydon became the first pedestrian to be run over and killed by a motor car on this day in 1896, as she walked in Crystal Palace Park.
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13 August 1521: The fall of the Aztec Empire
Features Tenochtitlán, the capital of the Aztec Empire, fell to the Spanish conquistadors on this day in 1521, bringing an end to Aztec rule.
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12 August 1851: Isaac Singer patents his sewing machine
Features On this day in 1851, Isaac Merritt Singer patented the sewing machine that would take the world by storm, and make him a very rich man indeed.
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11 August 1942: Screen goddess Hedy Lamarr invents Wi-Fi
Features Hollywood starlet Hedy Lamarr received a patent in 1942 for her 'frequency hopping communication system' - the basis of much of today's wireless technology.
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10 August 1842: Mines Act bans women and children from working underground
Features The Mines and Collieries Act was passed on this day in 1842, forbidding any female, and any child below the age of ten, from working underground in the mines.
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6 August 1661: Treaty of The Hague cedes Dutch Brazil to Portugal
Features Holland's swashbuckling adventure in Brazil came to an end on this day in 1661, with the signing of the Treaty of The Hague.
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5 August 1976: Big Ben breaks down for the first time in 117 years
Features The Great Westminster Clock, AKA Big Ben, ran smoothly for over 100 years until, on this day in 1976, metal fatigue took its toll and the clock broke down.
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4 August 1704: Gibraltar is captured by the “Grand Alliance”
Features On this day in 1704 Gibraltar was taken in the name of “Charles III of Spain” by English and Dutch forces as part of the 'War of the Spanish Succession'.
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