Friday Record - Great Stories From History

It's BACK!  After about a year off, The Friday Record is back. Okay. I don't know if I'll be posting it every week, but I hope to post it pretty often!

As many of you may know, Borders is going out of business.  I'm sorry to hear this.  But, I have taken advantage of the discounts. One book I bought on a recent trip was  365: GREAT STORIES FROM HISTORY FOR EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR by W.B. Marsh and Bruce Carrick. And yep, it's just like a one-year bible....a story for each day of the year, plus 'also on this day' notations.  Hey, I like ready-made posts!  LOL.  Okay, I don't plan to quote word for word, but I will list what they have noted and perhaps do research myself on it.

So, what happened today...September 2? 

"31 BC Today at the Battle of Actium, Octavian became master of the civilized world  through his decisive victory over Mark Antony.  The Augustan age had began."  Then there's a page and a half history lesson on how this came about....including, Mark and Octavian were allies in defeating Brutus after he lead the murder against Julius Caesar.  But when Mark Antony divorced Octavian's sister Octavia so he could shack up with Cleopatra, well, this rather upset Octavian and the fight was on.

Also on this day:  The Great Fire of London in 1666 started in a baker's shop on Pudding Lane.  That's the story I'd research and blog about, if I was going to do that today (okay, see below)

"1752 Britain and its colonies change from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar; the following day becomes September 14."

The Great Fire of London, 1666.  This was the second great fire in thirty odd years, and it was open spaces from the 1633 fire that helped stop this one from spreading to Southwark.  But the fire was still very destructive. According to luminarium.org/:    "Although the loss of life was minimal (some sources say only sixteen perished), the magnitude of the property loss was staggering. Some 430 acres, as much as 80% of the city proper was destroyed, including 13,000 houses, 89 churches, and 52 Guild Halls. Thousands of citizens found themselves homeless and financially ruined. The Great Fire, and the fire of 1676, which destroyed over 600 houses south of the river, changed the face of London forever. The one positive effect of the Great Fire of London was that the plague, which had ravished London since 1665, diminished greatly, due to the mass death of the plague-carrying rats in the blaze."

Charles II formed a commission to redesign London.  The plan called for wider streets and brick buildings, rather than wooden structures. By 1671, more than 9,000 buildings (houses and businesses), and 50 churches had been rebuilt.  The rebuilding of St. Paul's Cathedral was started by 1675.  A monument commemorating the Great Fire was also commissioned and it still stands on the site of the bakery which started the whole thing. Pudding Lane is now called Monument Street.
Anna Kathryn Lanier
Where Tumbleweeds Hang Their Hats
www.annakathrynlanier.com