History, anything goes, including pictures

RnR said:
14 April 1927 – The first Volvo car premieres in Gothenburg, Sweden.

In 1924, Assar Gabrielsson, sales manager, and engineer Gustav Larson, the two Volvo founders, decided to start construction of a Swedish car. They intended to build cars that could withstand the rigours of the country's rough roads and cold temperatures. AB Volvo began activities on 10 August 1926. After one year of preparations involving the production of ten prototypes, the firm was ready to commence the car-manufacturing business within the group. The Volvo Group itself considers it started in 1927, when the first car, a Volvo OV 4, rolled off the production line at the factory in Hisingen, Gothenburg. Only 280 cars were built that year.

The first Volvo car, a Volvo OV 4, left the assembly line on 14 April 1927.

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In case you didn't know the name Volvo comes from the Latin verb volvere meaning "to roll". Volvo is the first person singular and literally means "I roll".

The brand name Volvo was originally registered as a Trademark by the Swedish ball bearing company SKF - originally Svenska KullagerFabriken which is Swedish Ball Bearing Factory in English in May 1911 to be used for a series of new ball bearings. The idea was short lived and SKF reverted to just using the company initials on all products. Volvo was originally formed as a susidiary to SKF in 1915 but regard 1924 as the founding of the present company
 

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Glowworm said:
In case you didn't know the name Volvo comes from the Latin verb volvere meaning "to roll". Volvo is the first person singular and literally means "I roll".

The brand name Volvo was originally registered as a Trademark by the Swedish ball bearing company SKF - originally Svenska KullagerFabriken which is Swedish Ball Bearing Factory in English in May 1911 to be used for a series of new ball bearings. The idea was short lived and SKF reverted to just using the company initials on all products. Volvo was originally formed as a susidiary to SKF in 1915 but regard 1924 as the founding of the present company
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Volvo has such a proud safety record.
 
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The legacy of Spain’s greatest queen, Isabella of Castile, made pungent for centuries by a reputation for poor personal hygiene, could come out smelling of roses after the discovery of documents detailing her scent and cosmetic regime.

Isabella funded Columbus’s voyage to the New World and the union of her country, and through her firm rule and marriage to Ferdinand II of Aragon set the stage for Spain’s global dominance and Golden Age. Her prestige has long been undermined, however, by what historians have called “a black legend”, in part her reputation for not washing, and for her role in instigating the Inquisition and the expulsion of the Jews.
Source: The Times
 
15 April 1452 – Leonardo da Vinci, Italian painter, sculptor and architect is born.

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 – 2 May 1519) was an Italian Renaissance polymath whose areas of interest included invention, painting, sculpting, architecture, science, music, mathematics, engineering, literature, anatomy, geology, astronomy, botany, writing, history, and cartography. He has been variously called the father of palaeontology, ichnology, and architecture, and is widely considered one of the greatest painters of all time. Sometimes credited with the inventions of the parachute, helicopter and tank, he epitomised the Renaissance humanist ideal. Leonardo is revered for his technological ingenuity. He conceptualised flying machines, a type of armoured fighting vehicle, concentrated solar power, an adding machine and the double hull.

Leonardo, was and is, renowned primarily as a painter. Among his works, the Mona Lisa is the most famous and most parodied portrait and The Last Supper the most reproduced religious painting of all time.

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Born out of wedlock to a notary, Piero da Vinci, and a peasant woman, Caterina, in Vinci in the region of Florence, Leonardo was educated in the studio of the renowned Florentine painter Andrea del Verrocchio. Much of his earlier working life was spent in the service of Ludovico il Moro in Milan. He later worked in Rome, Bologna and Venice, and he spent his last years in France at the home awarded to him by Francis I of France.
 
15 April 2019 – Fire breaks out in the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, almost destroying the building.

The cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris "Our Lady of Paris", part of the "Paris, Banks of the Seine" UNESCO World Heritage Site, was begun in the 12th century. Its walls and interior vaulted ceiling are of stone; its roof and spire were of wood sheathed in lead to exclude water. The spire was rebuilt several times, most recently in the 19th century. The cathedral's stonework had been severely eroded by years of weather and pollution, and the spire had extensively rotted because fissures in its lead sheathing were admitting water. At the time of the fire, the spire was undergoing renovation and scaffolding had been erected over the transept.

On 15 April 2019, just before 18:20 CEST, a structure fire broke out beneath the roof of Notre-Dame. By the time it was extinguished, the building's spire and most of its roof had been destroyed and its upper walls severely damaged; extensive damage to the interior was prevented by its stone vaulted ceiling, which largely contained the burning roof as it collapsed.

The fire as seen from Pont de la Tournelle on 15 April 2019.

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Many works of art and religious relics were moved to safety early in the emergency, but others suffered some smoke damage, and some exterior art was damaged or destroyed. The cathedral's altar, two pipe organs, and its three 13th-century rose windows suffered little to no damage.
 
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Violin of lead band member on the Titanic, who played to the very end 109 years ago

Wallace Henry Hartley (2 June 1878 – 15 April 1912) was an English violinist and band leader on the RMS Titanic on its maiden voyage. He became famous for leading the eight-member band as the ship sank on 15 April 1912. He died in the sinking.

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Glowworm, this is for you
A camouflaged Swedish Navy ship
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A camouflaged Swedish Navy ship 1915

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Can you see her now?
Here we don’t see the Tre Kronor-class cruiser Hennes Majestäts Skepp (HSvMS) Göta Lejon (Gothic lion) of the Royal Swedish Navy. Her ship’s motto was Nemo me impune lacessit (“No one provokes me with impunity”) and she meant to back that up as needed.
 
mellowyellow said:
Glowworm, this is for you
A camouflaged Swedish Navy ship
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A camouflaged Swedish Navy ship 1915

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Can you see her now?
Here we don’t see the Tre Kronor-class cruiser Hennes Majestäts Skepp (HSvMS) Göta Lejon (Gothic lion) of the Royal Swedish Navy. Her ship’s motto was Nemo me impune lacessit (“No one provokes me with impunity”) and she meant to back that up as needed.
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@mellowyellow Thanks, I've never seen that before. I looked it up and read the ship's interesting history. Hope you don't mind me making a couple of corrections. The year 1915 is off as the ship was launched in 1945 and went into service in 1947 so I guess the photo is from then. It should also be Hans Majestäts Skepp as Sweden had a king at that time. Hennes means Her and Hans means His. It was eventually sold to Chile and served in their navy until 1984. In 1986 it was sold to a company in Taiwan and scrapped. It's sister ship Tre Kronor (Three Crowns which refers to the three crowns in the Swedish coat of arms) was scrapped in 1969-1970
 
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mellowyellow said:
View attachment 159804
Violin of lead band member on the Titanic, who played to the very end 109 years ago

Wallace Henry Hartley (2 June 1878 – 15 April 1912) was an English violinist and band leader on the RMS Titanic on its maiden voyage. He became famous for leading the eight-member band as the ship sank on 15 April 1912. He died in the sinking.

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What an interesting story Mellowyellow. I'd never heard it before.

Apparently in 2013, the violin that became part of Titanic lore has fetched a record sum of 1.05 million pound at auction. The German-made violin bore an inscription from Hartley's fiancee, Maria Robinson: "For Wallace on the occasion of our engagement from Maria." It went on sale with its leather luggage case, initialed W.H.H.

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Wallace Hartley's band played the hymn "Nearer, My God, to Thee" to try to calm passengers while they climbed into lifeboats as the Titanic sank. Hartley's body was recovered by the Mackay–Bennett almost two weeks after the sinking. Several press reports confirmed that Wallace was found "fully dressed with his music case strapped to his body".

He was transferred to the Arabic and returned to England. Hartley's father Albion met the ship at Liverpool and brought his son's body back to his home town of Colne, Lancashire. The funeral took place on 18 May 1912. One thousand people attended Hartley's funeral, while an estimated 30,000 - 40,000 lined the route of his funeral procession.
 
16 April 1551 – The last outbreak of the deadly 'sweating sickness' occurs in England.

Sweating sickness, also known as English sweating sickness, English sweat or sudor anglicus, was a mysterious and contagious disease that struck England and later continental Europe in a series of epidemics beginning in 1485. The last outbreak occurred in 1551, after which the disease apparently vanished. The onset of symptoms was sudden, with death often occurring within hours. Its cause remains unknown, although it has been suggested that an unknown species of hantavirus was responsible.

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Sweating sickness first came to the attention of physicians at the beginning of the reign of Henry VII, in 1485. Nothing was recorded of the ailment from 1492 to 1502. A less widespread outbreak occurred in 1507, followed by a third and much more severe epidemic later that year which also spread to Calais.
 
RnR said:
16 April 1551 – The last outbreak of the deadly 'sweating sickness' occurs in England.

Sweating sickness, also known as English sweating sickness, English sweat or sudor anglicus, was a mysterious and contagious disease that struck England and later continental Europe in a series of epidemics beginning in 1485. The last outbreak occurred in 1551, after which the disease apparently vanished. The onset of symptoms was sudden, with death often occurring within hours. Its cause remains unknown, although it has been suggested that an unknown species of hantavirus was responsible.

ZzZOd8R.jpg


Sweating sickness first came to the attention of physicians at the beginning of the reign of Henry VII, in 1485. Nothing was recorded of the ailment from 1492 to 1502. A less widespread outbreak occurred in 1507, followed by a third and much more severe epidemic later that year which also spread to Calais.
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Its cause remains unknown. So is ours.
 
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Belgium.
Australian soldiers of the 4th Division field artillery brigade on duckboard track in Château Wood, near Hooge, Ypres salient, 29 October 1917. Photo by Frank Hurley
 
mellowyellow said:
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Belgium.
Australian soldiers of the 4th Division field artillery brigade on duckboard track in Château Wood, near Hooge, Ypres salient, 29 October 1917. Photo by Frank Hurley
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So poignant, one of my favourite photos, thanks Mellowyellow. Frank Hurley was an amazing photographer.

James Francis "Frank" Hurley OBE, 15 October 1885 – 16 January 1962, was an Australian photographer and adventurer. He participated in a number of expeditions to Antarctica and served as an official photographer with Australian forces during both world wars.

Endurance among ice pinnacles, Shackleton expedition, February 1915. Photos by Frank Hurley.

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Endurance was the three-masted barquentine in which Sir Ernest Shackleton and a crew of 27 men and one cat sailed for the Antarctic on the 1914–1917 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. She was crushed by pack ice and sank in the Weddell Sea off Antarctica. All of her crew survived.
 
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