Friday 9 October 2009

Today's Top History News

French tourism company, Voyageurs du Monde, buys Gandhi’s house in South Africa
Gandhi is believed to have lived in the house in Johannesburg for three years from 1907. The house was put up for sale at the end of July. At the beginning of August, it was reported that the Indian coal ministry intended to buy the house and turn it into a memorial.


Obama awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
Gideon Rachmann, in The Financial Times, catalogues the history of the prize, its origins and some of its more morally dubious recipients.


Only surviving union jack from the Battle of Trafalgar to be sold at auction
The flag is expected to fetch between £10,000 and £15,000. It will be sold by Charles Miller Ltd. in London on Trafalgar Day, October 21st.



Artworks from China’s Palace Museum on display in Taiwan in the first joint exhibition between the two countries
‘Harmony and Integrity: The Yongzheng Emperor and His Times’ opened at Taipei’s National Palace Museum on October 7th and will run until January 10th, 2010. China agreed to lend some of its national treasures to Taiwan in February, following the first ever formal visit by a delegation from Taipei’s National Palace Museum to its counterpart from Beijing’s Palace Museum.

The Stock Exchange Fraud
Justin Pollard tells the quirky tale of how premature reports of Napoleon’s death sent government stocks in London into a soon-to-burst bubble. Unsurprisingly, the whole affair was a calculated hoax.

Historical Novels in Fashion
With Wolf Hall’s win at the Booker this week, historical novels are very high on the news agenda. In The Times, Antonia Senior plumps for historical novels to go on, and re-invigorate, the British national curriculum.



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