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Thomas Alva Edison 1847-1931
Edison was born in Milan, Ohio in 1847. A prolific inventor in 1879 he developed the first commercially practical incandescent lamp. By 1882 he had developed a central power station for his lamps - necessary before they would become widely used. He invented the Stock Ticker, alkaline storage batteries, the carbon microphone and of course, the phonograph. -
Probably the name associated most with the invention of radio, Marconi was certainly a visionary of what it could become. Born into a very well-to-do family in Bologna, Italy, Marconi first read of the pioneering work in radio in 1894, in an obituary of Heinrich Hertz. He was the first to realized the possibility of using this new technology as a form of communication,
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As well as being prime-minister of Great Britain, Winston Churchill was a master orator and author of many books (including a four volume “History of the English Speaking Peoples”). As an orator, he is most famous for his wartime speeches (during the second World War).
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Albert Einstein was a great physicist born in Germany in 1879. In this recording, Albert Einstein discusses his relativity theory, probably his most famous work. Einstein started out as a child with speech difficulties and was considered by many to be a dullard. Little did they know the impact he would have on the future of science.
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Hitler came to power in Germany during the period of confusion which followed World War I (the Weimar Republic in which the Kaiser was ultimately replaced by a government) and became very popular through his use of propaganda appealing to the lower and middle classes. He sparked off World War II when he invaded Poland
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William Joyce (or Lord Hawhaw has he more well known) was a fascist politician who worked for the Nazi’s during the war as a propagandist. His distinctly “posh” English accent is the cause of him receiving his mocking nickname
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John F. Kennedy was the US president from 1961 – 1963, when he was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.
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The “I have a dream” speech is probably King’s most famous speech, given in front of the Lincoln Memorial during the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. In this speech he speaks of his dream for blacks and whites to live together in harmony as equals. This speech marked the defining moment for the American Civil Rights movement.
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Born in 1932, Sylvia Plath is one of the greatest female American writers of all time. In this recording she reads her most famous poem “Daddy”. Eerily, within a month of reading this, she had committed suicide.
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The Hindenburg was a German Zeppelin built in 1935 in order to carry passengers between Europe and the United States. Due to a military embargo by the US, the Germans, who normally used helium in their Zeppelins, chose to use flammable hydrogen.
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Directed by Orson Welles, this broadcast was an adaptation of H. G. Wells’ classic novel The War of the Worlds (1898), and was performed as a Halloween special on October 30, 1938.
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Gets a star on Hollywood walk of fame.
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Convention is held in London's Cunard Hotel. Speakers at the convention include Bowie's former dance teacher, Lindsay Kemp; Bowie's former manager, Ken Pitt; guitar player, John Hutchinson; Bowie archivist, Kev Cann; and photographer, Ray Stevenson.
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Mohandas Gandhi (who was referred to by the people as Mahatma) was a major political and spiritual leader of India and the Indian Independence Movement.
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Wins a genius grant from the Mac author fodation.
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Joseph Plateau and sons introduce the Phenakistoscope. Like other toys of its kind, the Phenakistoscope was one of the more successful illusion toys. Pictures on one disc viewed through slots in the other, appeared to move when the two were spun and viewed in a mirror.
