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William Willett
William Willett (10 August 1856 – 4 March 1915) was a British builder and a promoter of British Summer Time. Biography Willett was born in Farnham, Surrey, and educated at the Philological School. After some commercial experience, he entered his father's building business, Willett Building Services. Between them they created a reputation for "Willett built" quality houses in choice parts of London and the south, including Chelsea and Hove, including Derwent House. He lived most of his life in Chislehurst, Kent, where, it is said, after riding his horse in Petts Wood near his home early one summer morning and noticing how many blinds were still down, the idea for daylight saving time first occurred to him. This was not the first time that the idea of adapting to daylight hours had been mooted, however. It was common practice in the ancient world, and in 1784 a light-hearted satire by Benjamin Franklin resulted in resurrecting the idea. Although Franklin's suggestion was s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Benjamin Stone
Sir John Benjamin Stone (9 February 1838 – 2 July 1914) was a British Conservative politician and photographer. Life and career Stone was born in Duddeston, Birmingham the son of a manager at a local glass works. The business passed into the hands of Stone, his father and a partner in 1860. It was later sold. By this time Stone had become a successful paper manufacturer. Stone married Jane Parker (1 November 1848 - 6 July 1914) on 5 June 1867. Jane Parker was the daughter of Peter Parker, Esquire of Lothersdale, Yorkshire. Stone was a local Conservative politician, founder of the Birmingham Conservative Association and MP for Birmingham East from 1895 to 1909. He was a member of the Sutton Coldfield Corporation for many years and was the first Mayor of the town in 1886 when the new Municipal Corporation was created; a post he held for four years. He was knighted in 1892 and was appointed High Steward of the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield in 1902. He was also a prolific ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daylight Saving Time
Daylight saving time (DST), also referred to as daylight savings time or simply daylight time (United States, Canada, and Australia), and summer time (United Kingdom, European Union, and others), is the practice of advancing clocks (typically by one hour) during warmer months so that darkness falls at a later clock time. The typical implementation of DST is to set clocks forward by one hour in the spring ("spring forward"), and to set clocks back by one hour in the fall ("fall back") to return to standard time. As a result, there is one 23-hour day in early spring and one 25-hour day in the middle of autumn. The idea of aligning waking hours to daylight hours to conserve candles was first proposed in 1784 by U.S. polymath Benjamin Franklin. In a satirical letter to the editor of ''The Journal of Paris'', Franklin suggested that waking up earlier in the summer would economize on candle usage; and calculated considerable savings. In 1895, New Zealand entomologist and astronome ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1856 Births
Events January–March * January 8 – Borax deposits are discovered in large quantities by John Veatch in California. * January 23 – American paddle steamer SS ''Pacific'' leaves Liverpool (England) for a transatlantic voyage on which she will be lost with all 186 on board. * January 24 – U.S. President Franklin Pierce declares the new Free-State Topeka government in "Bleeding Kansas" to be in rebellion. * January 26 – First Battle of Seattle: Marines from the suppress an indigenous uprising, in response to Governor Stevens' declaration of a "war of extermination" on Native communities. * January 29 ** The 223-mile North Carolina Railroad is completed from Goldsboro through Raleigh and Salisbury to Charlotte. ** Queen Victoria institutes the Victoria Cross as a British military decoration. * February ** The Tintic War breaks out in Utah. ** The National Dress Reform Association is founded in the United States to promote "rational" dress for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chris Martin
Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist, pianist, rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Devon, he went to University College London, where he formed the band with classmates Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman and Will Champion. They found worldwide fame with the release of the song "Yellow (Coldplay song), Yellow" in 2000, receiving acclaim for albums such as ''A Rush of Blood to the Head'' (2002), ''Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends'' (2008) and Coldplay discography, others. He won seven Grammy Awards and nine Brit Awards as part of the band. They have sold over 100 million albums worldwide as of 2021, making them the most successful group of the 21st century. Martin appeared on Debrett's 2017 list of the most influential people in the United Kingdom. Early life Martin was born on 2 March 1977 in Exeter, Devon, England, and is the oldest of fiv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University College London and began playing music together from 1996 to 1998, initially calling themselves Starfish. After independently releasing an extended play, ''Safety'' (1998), Coldplay signed with Parlophone in 1999. The band's debut album, ''Parachutes'' (2000), included their breakthrough single "Yellow" and received a Brit Award for British Album of the Year, a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album and a Mercury Prize nomination. Their second album, ''A Rush of Blood to the Head'' (2002), won the same accolades and included "Clocks", which earned a Grammy Award for Record of the Year. In 2005, they released '' X&Y''; the album was marked by a troubled production and various delays, completing what the band considered a trilogy as wel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brighton And Hove
Brighton and Hove () is a city and unitary authority in East Sussex, England. It consists primarily of the settlements of Brighton and Hove, alongside neighbouring villages. Often referred to synonymously as Brighton, the City of Brighton and Hove is England's most populous seaside resort, as well as the second most populous urban area in South East England. It is administered by Brighton and Hove City Council, which is currently in Green minority control. In 2014, Brighton and Hove City Council formed the Greater Brighton City Region with neighbouring local authorities. It can be considered both a coastal and a downland city benefiting from both the sea and the chalk hill grasslands that it is nestled in. Unification In 1992 a government commission was set up to conduct a structural review of local government arrangements across England. In its draft proposals for East Sussex, the commission suggested two separate unitary authorities be created for the towns of Brighton ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
St Wulfran's Church, Ovingdean
St Wulfran's Church, dedicated to the 7th-century French archbishop Wulfram of Sens, is an Anglican church in Ovingdean, a rural village now within the English city of Brighton and Hove. Parts of the structure date from the early 12th century, and the church is listed at Grade I, a designation used for buildings "of outstanding architectural or historic interest". History A church existed in Ovingdean at the time of the Domesday Book, which recorded it as an ecclesiola ("little church"). This was rebuilt in the early 12th century, and most sources agree that no trace of the Saxon-era building remains. The 12th-century chancel and nave form the basis of the present structure. A tower was added at the west end in the 13th century, as was an aisle on the south side (reached by twin archways cut through from the nave). This aisle no longer exists, and its fate is uncertain; however, ancient scorch marks and discoloured brickwork in the south wall of the nave suggest fire ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blue Plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term is used in the United Kingdom in two different senses. It may be used narrowly and specifically to refer to the "official" scheme administered by English Heritage, and currently restricted to sites within Greater London; or it may be used less formally to encompass a number of similar schemes administered by organisations throughout the UK. The plaques erected are made in a variety of designs, shapes, materials and colours: some are blue, others are not. However, the term "blue plaque" is often used informally to encompass all such schemes. The "official" scheme traces its origins to that launched in 1866 in London, on the initiative of the politician William Ewart, to mark the homes and workplaces of famous people. It has been administe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Daylight Inn
The Daylight Inn is a Grade II listed public house at Station Square, Petts Wood, Orpington, in the London Borough of Bromley. It was built in 1935 for Charrington's Brewery, and designed by their chief architect Sidney Clark. The pub was named in honour of William Willett who came up with the idea of Daylight Saving and lived in Petts Wood. Long-standing legal restrictions meant that no other pub could be built within one mile. Until Wetherspoons opened The Sovereign of the Seas, Petts Wood only ever had one public house. Conservation The pub has undergone several refurbishments over the years, the most notable being in 1996, when the two sides of the pub (saloon bar and restaurant) were knocked into one. It was Grade II listed in 2015 by Historic England as part of a drive to protect some of the country's best interwar pubs. The citation draws attention to the quality of the building including its plasterwork and structural timber framing Timber framing (german ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Influenza
Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms begin from one to four days after exposure to the virus (typically two days) and last for about 2–8 days. Diarrhea and vomiting can occur, particularly in children. Influenza may progress to pneumonia, which can be caused by the virus or by a subsequent bacterial infection. Other complications of infection include acute respiratory distress syndrome, meningitis, encephalitis, and worsening of pre-existing health problems such as asthma and cardiovascular disease. There are four types of influenza virus, termed influenza viruses A, B, C, and D. Aquatic birds are the primary source of Influenza A virus (IAV), which is also widespread in various mammals, including humans and pigs. Influenza B virus (IBV) and Influenza C virus (ICV) pri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Defence Of The Realm Act
The Defence of the Realm Act (DORA) was passed in the United Kingdom on 8 August 1914, four days after it entered the First World War and was added to as the war progressed. It gave the government wide-ranging powers during the war, such as the power to requisition buildings or land needed for the war effort, or to make regulations creating criminal offences. DORA ushered in a variety of authoritarian social control mechanisms, such as censorship: "No person shall by word of mouth or in writing spread reports likely to cause disaffection or alarm among any of His Majesty's forces or among the civilian population" Anti-war activists, including John MacLean, Willie Gallacher, John William Muir, and Bertrand Russell, were sent to prison. The film, '' The Dop Doctor'', was prohibited under the act by the South African government with the justification that its portrayal of Boers during the Siege of Mafeking would antagonise Afrikaners. The trivial peacetime activities no longer pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fighting occurring throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific, and parts of Asia. An estimated 9 million soldiers were killed in combat, plus another 23 million wounded, while 5 million civilians died as a result of military action, hunger, and disease. Millions more died in genocides within the Ottoman Empire and in the 1918 influenza pandemic, which was exacerbated by the movement of combatants during the war. Prior to 1914, the European great powers were divided between the Triple Entente (comprising France, Russia, and Britain) and the Triple Alliance (containing Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy). Tensions in the Balkans came to a head on 28 June 1914, following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
