Latest news with #historicaldocuments
BBC News
3 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Rye man reunited with father's World War Two documents
A man has been reunited with World War Two documents that belonged to his father after they were found in a desk 18 years after he Reid, from Lanark in Scotland, bought the desk at auction four years ago and recently discovered the folder behind a drawer that had been documents had belonged to the late Ian Rodger, from Glasgow, who served in the signal regiment and fought in Italy and Tunisia during the son Sandy Rodger said: "It's a proud and detailed account of an extraordinary endeavour, told by a young man who, with the benefit of hindsight, survived and could be said to have had a 'good war'." Mr Rodger was made aware of his father's documents, that included photographs, letters and maps, following an appeal for information made through the Church of travelled from his home in Rye in East Sussex to Edinburgh to meet Mr Reid and collect the Rodger said he had a collection of his father's old papers and letters from the war but had never seen the contents of the folder 62-year-old explained that in 2021 he cleared out his mother's flat and must have missed the documents that fell behind a desk drawer. Mr Reid bought the desk for £110 and used it regularly at his home over the years, not knowing the historic papers were hidden inside until he found them in March."Sandy is a lovely guy and very proud of his father and it was very moving seeing his reaction as he leafed through the folder and shared anecdotes," he said. Additional reporting from PA Media.
The Guardian
18-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Harvard, jousting with Trump, found a real Magna Carta. It's a grand coincidence
Sometimes, miraculous financial windfalls happen when you need them most. A college student finding $20 in a jacket pocket on a Friday night. A relative who you didn't really even like dropping dead and leaving you with a hefty inheritance. Or an institution of higher learning discovering they have an original copy of the Magna Carta. I'm sure you can relate. Harvard University recently found the antiquities equivalent of a $20 bill in its archives. What was once thought to be an unofficial copy of King Edward I's declaration of principles is now confirmed to be one of seven remaining legitimate documents left in the world. Harvard purchased this item in 1946 for a whopping $27.50, or $452.40 in today's money. Now that the piece's provenance is confirmed, it's fair to say it's actually priceless. I'm sure you've read the whole Magna Carta, right? But if you haven't, here's the basics. The Magna Carta was drafted by Archbishop Stephen Langton as a means to squash a conflict between King John and a group of wealthy barons who felt they were being wrongly persecuted by the crown. The king accepted it in 1215. It laid out certain protections against undue royal influence over finance, justice and religious freedom, and created a council of 25 barons who would check the king's authority. The Magna Carta fell in and out of favor and was only loosely adhered to, but King Edward reaffirmed the charter during his reign as a means of currying favor during a time of heavy taxation and to avoid a civil war. It's far from a perfect encapsulation of democracy, mostly because it focuses primarily on the rights of the wealthy barons, but it served as an inspiration to numerous nascent democracies around the world, including parliamentary Britain and the United States. It affirmed rights, granted authority to those outside the direct orbit of the crown, and created a system of checks and balances. Pretty handy thing to keep around. Not quite like a prenup, since the parties in question were unfortunately married already. More like a postnup that stipulated the rules of engagement for a couple that were already growing sick of each other. The British royal family and the people of the United Kingdom just can't quit each other, can they? This original copy of Edward's reaffirmation of the Magna Carta, which apparently dates to 1300, is not something one can just hawk on eBay, but Harvard might want to consider at least talking to Sotheby's. As of now, Donald Trump has frozen almost $3bn in federal grants and contracts to the university to punish them for what he refers to as 'radical left' ideology and the hiring of vocal liberals in positions of authority. The Magna Carta might not fetch $3bn (unless Jay-Z is feeling extra nostalgic). So, probably not the epic lottery windfall they would need. But, as it has always been, the Magna Carta is more valuable for its symbolism than its practical worth. The Magna Carta affirms rights, but it also suggests that no person is above the law, that they can't circumvent the rights of others on a whim. That someone has to have the power to push back. That is, of course, anathema to the current American administration, which values loyalty and silence above all. That Harvard, which is suing Trump over his actions, has this symbol in its archive is a grand coincidence of history, but also a powerful reminder that humanity has been fighting blind autocracy for centuries. The powerful will always seek to possess and wield more power. The only thing that prevents tyranny is a shared belief in limits. Sound governance is a constant tug of war, both sides yanking at an invisible rope. If one side lets go of the rope, the other side inevitably falls over from the lack of opposition force. Then, we're all in the mud, aren't we? There is no system if one side gives up. The game is up. I can't imagine Trump actually wants to win that way. He thrives on a fight. He yearns for the joust of the campaign. Trump had a rally to commemorate his first 100 days just because he missed the combative nature of a campaign speech. Ruling as a king is actually deeply lonely. It is against everything the US, perhaps the most ruthlessly competitive nation on Earth today, stands for. The Magna Carta should remind us all that it's our duty to push back. Not just for the sake of democratic systems of government, but also to keep Trump from getting bored. Let's do everything we can to keep this elderly mind sharp. Trump needs a sparring partner. If not the liberal intellectuals, who will it be? Who else is there for him to complain about? He probably hasn't hailed a cab in 30 years, so that won't do. The cost of eggs? He probably doesn't even know how much a dozen costs any more. This is our civic duty, folks. Think of it as elder care. If that man has nothing to fight against, what does his day look like? Some idle chit-chat with his aides? A Yankee game? A quick trip to McDonald's, perhaps? Maybe he can go touch that orb again. Or maybe he could read the Magna Carta. That'd be fun. Dave Schilling is a Los Angeles-based writer and humorist
CNN
11-05-2025
- Science
- CNN
Hidden details emerge from a medieval manuscript masquerading as a book cover
Sometimes, a great find is hiding right beneath one's nose in the humblest of places: on paper. Indecipherable documents can languish in storage for years. Case in point: a treasure trove of lost letters written by Mary, Queen of Scots, that got a closer look in 2023. After retrieving the letters from a box of unmarked documents, three researchers were able to decode the letters to uncover more about the queen's secrets. Now, a separate new discovery adds weight to the old adage about not judging a book by its cover. When library archivists at the University of Cambridge in England inspected the cover of a 16th century property record, they realized it was made of pages repurposed from a medieval manuscript. Known as the 'Suite Vulgate du Merlin,' the rare 13th century fragments describe how a shape-shifting Merlin aided King Arthur early in his reign. Rather than risk damaging the fragile, bound pages, a team of photographers and conservators at Cambridge have virtually unfurled the pages and uncovered hidden details in the text. A new study is helping scientists unravel the fiercely debated origins of the king of the dinosaurs — and how it became a fearsome apex predator. The direct ancestor of Tyrannosaurus rex arrived in North America by crossing a land bridge from Asia 70 million years ago, the latest research suggests. Mathematical models showed that the size of tyrannosaurids such as T. rex rapidly increased as global temperatures dropped. T. rex also climbed to the top of the food chain in the vacuum left by the extinction of another group of carnivorous dinos 90 million years ago. Want to make the most of your morning cup of coffee as prices rise? University of Pennsylvania scientists tested a method to brew stronger coffee using fewer beans. For thousands of years, the Haenyeo have dived off South Korea's Jeju Island to collect seafood from the ocean floor — and new evidence suggests they may have adapted for life underwater. The women free divers descend as many as 60 feet (18 meters) multiple times a day, through pregnancy and old age, with no breathing equipment and only the aid of wet suits. A new study has shown that the Haenyeo have a slower heart rate and unique genetic differences that enable them to cope with the pressures of free diving — as well as a trait that may even protect the unborn children of pregnant divers. An underwater volcano located on a geological hot spot could erupt at any time — and scientists plan to publicly livestream the explosive event when it happens. The Axial Seamount, as the volcano is known, is inflating with magma and causing earthquakes where two giant tectonic plates — the Pacific and Juan de Fuca plates — are spreading apart. Yet life thrives in this seemingly hostile environment. Marine creatures can be seen clustering around hydrothermal vents called 'snowblowers' that billow out hot water and microbes — and they bounce back from scorching within months of an eruption. Meanwhile, to mark his 99th birthday, broadcaster David Attenborough has released a new documentary called 'Ocean,' offering peeks at underwater species and revealing the threats facing what he calls 'the most important place on Earth.' These new stories are worth your time: — Uturuncu, a peak in the Central Andes mountain range, hasn't erupted for more than 250,000 years. Recent signs of activity like gas plumes suggest the 'zombie volcano' may be waking up, but experts aren't so sure. — A Soviet-era spacecraft, called Cosmos 482, that malfunctioned while on a journey to explore Venus in 1972 likely crash-landed on Earth early Saturday, according to the European Space Agency. Here's where it may have landed. — Researchers deciphered the author and title of a nearly 2,000-year-old scroll burned by the Mount Vesuvius eruption in 79 AD.
CNN
11-05-2025
- Science
- CNN
Hidden details emerge from a medieval manuscript masquerading as a book cover
Sometimes, a great find is hiding right beneath one's nose in the humblest of places: on paper. Indecipherable documents can languish in storage for years. Case in point: a treasure trove of lost letters written by Mary, Queen of Scots, that got a closer look in 2023. After retrieving the letters from a box of unmarked documents, three researchers were able to decode the letters to uncover more about the queen's secrets. Now, a separate new discovery adds weight to the old adage about not judging a book by its cover. When library archivists at the University of Cambridge in England inspected the cover of a 16th century property record, they realized it was made of pages repurposed from a medieval manuscript. Known as the 'Suite Vulgate du Merlin,' the rare 13th century fragments describe how a shape-shifting Merlin aided King Arthur early in his reign. Rather than risk damaging the fragile, bound pages, a team of photographers and conservators at Cambridge have virtually unfurled the pages and uncovered hidden details in the text. A new study is helping scientists unravel the fiercely debated origins of the king of the dinosaurs — and how it became a fearsome apex predator. The direct ancestor of Tyrannosaurus rex arrived in North America by crossing a land bridge from Asia 70 million years ago, the latest research suggests. Mathematical models showed that the size of tyrannosaurids such as T. rex rapidly increased as global temperatures dropped. T. rex also climbed to the top of the food chain in the vacuum left by the extinction of another group of carnivorous dinos 90 million years ago. Want to make the most of your morning cup of coffee as prices rise? University of Pennsylvania scientists tested a method to brew stronger coffee using fewer beans. For thousands of years, the Haenyeo have dived off South Korea's Jeju Island to collect seafood from the ocean floor — and new evidence suggests they may have adapted for life underwater. The women free divers descend as many as 60 feet (18 meters) multiple times a day, through pregnancy and old age, with no breathing equipment and only the aid of wet suits. A new study has shown that the Haenyeo have a slower heart rate and unique genetic differences that enable them to cope with the pressures of free diving — as well as a trait that may even protect the unborn children of pregnant divers. An underwater volcano located on a geological hot spot could erupt at any time — and scientists plan to publicly livestream the explosive event when it happens. The Axial Seamount, as the volcano is known, is inflating with magma and causing earthquakes where two giant tectonic plates — the Pacific and Juan de Fuca plates — are spreading apart. Yet life thrives in this seemingly hostile environment. Marine creatures can be seen clustering around hydrothermal vents called 'snowblowers' that billow out hot water and microbes — and they bounce back from scorching within months of an eruption. Meanwhile, to mark his 99th birthday, broadcaster David Attenborough has released a new documentary called 'Ocean,' offering peeks at underwater species and revealing the threats facing what he calls 'the most important place on Earth.' These new stories are worth your time: — Uturuncu, a peak in the Central Andes mountain range, hasn't erupted for more than 250,000 years. Recent signs of activity like gas plumes suggest the 'zombie volcano' may be waking up, but experts aren't so sure. — A Soviet-era spacecraft, called Cosmos 482, that malfunctioned while on a journey to explore Venus in 1972 likely crash-landed on Earth early Saturday, according to the European Space Agency. Here's where it may have landed. — Researchers deciphered the author and title of a nearly 2,000-year-old scroll burned by the Mount Vesuvius eruption in 79 AD.
