6th September

The Marquis de la Fayette was born today in 1757. Dashing, brave, romantic and with the obligatory white horse, he fought for the Americans during the War of Independence. The really smooth move came from Colonel C E Stanton when his troops arrived in Paris in 1917. He visited the great man's tomb and said, 'Lafayette, we are here!'

Just brilliant!

In other news ...
There was a glitch in the computer network in Paris today in 1989 when 41,000 people guilty of traffic violations like illegal parking and speeding, received letters charging them with extortion, prostitution and murder.
The Ministry of Justice at once apologized and sent all 41,000 to the guillotine on the grounds that there's no smoke without fire.

21st June

Prince William was born today in 1982, a bonny 7 lb. Like all babies he had blue eyes and his doting father said that the boy had 'sort of blondish hair, but it'll probably turn into something else later.'

He was right - William is now the Hair Apparent.

In other news ...
The flight to Varennes took place today in 1791. What's that? I hear my reader cry - a balloon ascent? A Frenchman beating the Wright Brothers to it by 111 years? No, it was Louis XVI's attempted escape out of the clutches of the Revolutionary government who wanted his head. My gripe is this - all the history books refer to the flight to Varennes as though that was Louis' ultimate destination ('If you're tired of Varennes, you're tired of life' - Dr Johnson). In fact, of course - and no disrespect to Varennes, which I am sure is simply lovely - he was just passing through, trying to get somewhere else when he was recognized.

The upshot? A date with Madame Guillotine.

28th May

On this day in 1932, Dutch engineers finished what was then the world's biggest dam (18 miles long) which turned the Zuider Zee into a huge freshwater lake. Don't be too impressed, however. In the good old days one little boy held back the sea with a finger in a hole in the dyke.
Hence the old joke - how many Dutchmen does it take to make the Zuider Zee.

In other news ...
You know how unfair it is when the wrong person gets the credit? Stand up Dr Joseph Ignace Guillotin, usually credited with the invention of the execution machine of the French Revolution. He was born today in 1738 and, as a member of the Revolutionary Estates General, advocated the contraption on humanitarian grounds because of its speed. The device had already been used in Scotland, Germany and Italy. Just think how peculiar it would sound however - 'Louis XVI was perhaps the most famous victim of Mrs McPherson/Frau Scherendorfer/Signorina Frescobaldi.'

Doesn't have the same ring, does it?