An Ostler was initially a man who took care of the horses at an inn but it came to be used in other professions using horses. Horses were an integral part of stations, used for towing and turning carriages, etc. He probably got the job on the grounds that he was once a Lancer in the army.

An Ostler was initially a man who took care of the horses at an inn but it came to be used in other professions using horses. Horses were an integral part of stations, used for towing and turning carriages, etc. He probably got the job on the grounds that he was once a Lancer in the army.

Another learning experience for me, Art. 

There are A number of claims to powered flight, one coming from New Zealand and people had flown further, but they were gliding. However, although they didn’t fly further than the length of a football pitch, this was the first one, this one lit the fuse, this was the genuine article and the world would never be the same again from that historic moment. I often think what would these great inventors and pioneers think now if they could suddenly be in the modern world for a day? Imagine Orville and Wright watching a modern fighter plane go through its motions? Or Brunel seeing the channel tunnel, or the world’s largest ship? Would the brothers want a flight in one? Would Brunel set about trying to build a bigger one?

There are A number of claims to powered flight, one coming from New Zealand and people had flown further, but they were gliding. However, although they didn’t fly further than the length of a football pitch, this was the first one, this one lit the fuse, this was the genuine article and the world would never be the same again from that historic moment. I often think what would these great inventors and pioneers think now if they could suddenly be in the modern world for a day? Imagine Orville and Wright watching a modern fighter plane go through its motions? Or Brunel seeing the channel tunnel, or the world’s largest ship? Would the brothers want a flight in one? Would Brunel set about trying to build a bigger one?

Just think of how far mankind has come in the last 100 years. 

8 January 1642 - Galileo Galilei died.

Italian astronomer, considered the father of modern astronomy through his construction and use of telescopes and the understanding of what he discovered. Famous also for his appearance before the Pope and the Roman Inquisition in 1633 in which he was compelled under threat of torture to renounce his claims that the Earth revolved around the Sun. According to legend he is supposed to have said under his breath "And yet it moves" after being forced to "admit" that the Earth remained stationary. 

9 January 1941 - First flight of the Avro Lancaster.

The most successful RAF heavy bomber of World War II. Designed and constructed at the Avro plant at Ringway, Manchester. More than 7300 were built with the last being retired in 1954. Also flown by the RAAF and the RCAF.  

10 January 1863 - The London Underground opened.

The world's first underground railway. Trains into the capital could not travel into the centre of the city due to restrictions on where a railway line could be built, so in 1853 an Act of Parliament allowed for the construction of an underground railway beginning at the GWR terminus of Paddington to take trains into the heart of London.

Delays over funding and planning meant that work only began in 1860, but by January 1863 it was opened to the paying public. The line ran for 3¾ miles west from Paddington to Farringdon Street in an estimated 18 minutes with five stations along the way. On the first day it carried 38,000 passengers and by the end of the year over nine million people had travelled on the underground railway.    

Better known as the home of Sherlock Holmes, 221B Baker St. When the first Sherlock Holmes story was published in 1887 there was no 221B the buildings weren't numbered that high, but Baker St was extended in the 1930s with the Abbey National Building Society occupying no 221. They moved out about 20 years ago and today the site is residential apartments.

Interestingly further up the street at no 237 is the Sherlock Holmes Museum which has been given permission to use the address 221B.   

That's what the Atlantic divide does for you. 

11 January 1922 - The first use of insulin in medicine.

Don't expect any great detail on this, it's mostly a mystery to me. 

First isolated in 1921 at the University of Toronto by American-Canadian scientists Frederick Banting and Charles Best insulin was first tested successfully on a diabetic dog before being administered to a human subject. 

14 year old diabetic Leonard Thompson dying in a Toronto hospital was given the first injection of insulin in January 1922, however the dose was impure and resulted in an allergic reaction. A second purer dose was administered 12 days later with highly satisfactory results.   

12 January 1960 - Nevil Shute Norway died.

English engineer and writer. As deputy chief designer under Barnes Wallis he worked on the great airship R100 and when Wallis resigned two weeks after its maiden flight he took over his role in preparing the airship for its historic flight to Canada in the summer of 1930. 

After the cancellation of the British airship programme Norway co-founded the aircraft manufacturer Airspeed and worked on several aircraft including the highly successful trainer the Airspeed Oxford of which over 8800 were built.

After the war he devoted himself to writing under the name Nevil Shute publishing his autobiography Slide Rule and the novel A Town Like Alice being his most popular works. From 1950 he lived in Australia where he died. 

Air conditioning was a major reason for manufacturers in the U.S. moving their operations to the south. Before A/C the heat & humidity inside the factories was oppressive. Add cheaper wages, no unions, & the right to work states prospered. 

Yes, too many explosive disasters. The R100 is the forgotten success story - across the Atlantic and back, but scrapped after the loss of the R101 which made all the headlines.