Woodstock defied chaos to define its generation
The town of Bethel had never seen so many people but it became the setting for a generation defining moment in rock history
Today In History
Master of thrillers had a lifelong fear of police
When an advertising man took a punt on a job at a film studio he took the first step to becoming one of Hollywood’s greatest film directors
Peace Regatta a sweet victory for our Diggers
One minute the men were fighting for their lives in the blasted battlefields of World War I. Th e next they were rowing to victory between the soft green banks of the River Thames
Fender guitar creator could not play a note
The Fender guitar is the instrument of choice for many guitarists, but the man who created it was unable to play his own instrument
More Stories
Kodak camera changed how we saw our world
ONE hundred and thirty years ago George Eastman patented his first camera that made it possible for people to just point and shoot.
London boat passengers drowned in raw sewage
ABOUT 640 people on a Thames cruise drowned in slops of fresh sewage in Britain’s worst civilian nautical disaster.
Whitechapel’s Ripper deaths still a mystery
WHEN Mary Ann Nichols headed out in the early hours of August 31, 1888, to earn money for a place to sleep she had no idea she would become the victim of the most famous serial killer in history.
Blind female anarchist executed for Lenin assassination plot
WHEN communist leader Vladimir Lenin was shot a century ago today people assumed the shooter was a woman apprehended that day. But there are doubts about whether Fanya Kaplan fired the shots that nearly killed Lenin
Sad end to Tinseltown’s forgotten king of comedy
WHILE we speak of great modern writer-directors such as Tarantino, Spielberg or Cameron, in the ’30s and ’40s one name that stood out was Preston Sturges.
Simon’s genius showed life with all its oddities
OBITUARY: Although his work was sometimes dismissed as a lightweight because he made audiences laugh, US playwright Neil Simon had a lot to say about people and human nature
Olympic swim star died in battle on Western Front
WHEN a 2nd Lt of the AIF was cut down before the battle of St Quentin a century ago he became the first and only Australian gold medallist Olympian to die in battle.
Legacy of Bernstein’s musical genius still resonates today
BERLIN on Christmas morning 1989 was bright and sunny. Outside the city’s grand old concert hall, the Schauspielhaus, hundreds of people packed the square.
WWI fighter pilot taught future king to fly
WHEN the young heir to the British throne, Edward, Prince of Wales, expressed a desire to learn to fly, the palace tried to talk him out of it. But the persistent royal had his way and earnt his pilot’s licence — the first royal to do so.
When blood flowed in duke’s leadership spill
THERE was a time when knifing a leader actually meant drawing a blade, such was the case when the king’s chief minister the Duke of Buckingham met his end in 1628.
Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/today-in-history/page/20