Devoted model inspired Matisse’s final artwork
Lydia Delectorskaya fled revolution and became an indispensable assistant to one of the world’s most famous artists.
Today In History
History’s most unusual Christmas presents
From a barbed wire harp to an elephant, these are some of the gifts you won’t find under the tree this week.
Ancient history behind Sydney’s ‘epic’ Coliseum theatre
Sydney has a brand new entertainment venue at Rooty Hill. But as new as it is, the Sydney Coliseum owes some of the inspiration for its name to Rome’s legendary Colosseum.
Rebel cricketer told officer to ‘Get stuffed’
As dashing in uniform as he was on the cricket pitch Keith Miller was never one to bow to authority
More Stories
Poet spoke with voice of the common man
When Walt Whitman heard his brother was wounded in the Civil War he rushed to his side and saw the suffering that war had brought to many ordinary men
Son of a monk became the father of monsters
When a young Japanese student named Ishiro Honda saw his first film at age 10 he became hooked and later went on to become famous as the director of the classic film Godzilla
Star’s father guilty of ‘crime of the century’
When Texas district court judge John Wood was shot dead 40 years ago today it led to the conviction of a man whose son would later become a famous actor
How Aussie pilots took down Hitler’s jet fighter
As Nazi Germany made its last desperate attempts to continue its reign of terror in Europe, brave Queensland airmen risked their lives shooting down a weapon that would change the course of history.
Grazier’s broken axle helped airline take off
A broken car axle led to the chance meeting that brought grazier Fergus McMaster into the story of the founding of Qantas
Fear of French fuelled race to settle the west
Captain Charles Fremantle raised the British flag to establish the Swan River Colony 190 years ago today, after a race to beat the French
Daring French aeronaut floated to fame and love
A crowd of onlookers gasped as Andre-Jacques Garnerin severed a rope holding his basket to a balloon. But he plummeted safely back to earth thanks to a parachute he had invented
80 years later: Creepy message in a bottle
It’s been over 80 years since the mysterious disappearance of a Brisbane public servant and socialite who vanished from a train station.
The horror of Lockerbie
The horror of the Lockerbie explosion, when Pan Am Flight 103 blew up in the UK’s deadliest ever terror attack, lingers on 30 years later.
‘Aggravated’ Scot wrote our national anthem on bus
On St Andrews Day in front of an audience of Scottish expats, the song that would become Australia’s national anthem was first performed
Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/today-in-history/page/13