Let’s create new hereditary peers and put them to work – just not in the Lords May 7, 2026 The government was right to abolish hereditary peers, but it would be a mistake to lose the custodians of the memories of great Britons of the past, says Bartek Staniszewski In the 70s, during a debate in the House of Lords, one of the peers quoted a Lord Chief Justice from the reign of King [...]
On this day: Tony Blair’s New Labour landslide May 1, 2026 A new dawn broke on this day in 1997, ushering in an era of Cool Britannia, writes Eliot Wilson Do you remember where you were on Thursday 1 May 1997? It was 20°C in London that afternoon: Michael Jackson headed the singles chart for the seventh time with “Blood on the Dance Floor”, while the [...]
On this day: The Suez Canal reopens April 24, 2026 Today 69 years ago, on 24 April 1957, the Suez Canal reopened after six months of closure. What can history teach us about the current predicament in the Middle East, asks Eliot Wilson A strategically vital global waterway was re-opened to maritime traffic after conflict between a Middle Eastern state and Western powers had seen [...]
On this day in 1660: The birth of Sir Hans Sloane, father of the Sloane Ranger April 16, 2026 On this day, 16 April, in 1660, Sir Hans Sloane, whose name would later be lent to London socialite class the Sloane Rangers, was born.
On This Day in 1980: America severs diplomatic relations with Iran April 7, 2026 The United States severed diplomatic relations with Iran on April 7, 1980, after the Ayatollah Khomeini refused to order the release of the American hostages who had been held at the US Embassy since the previous November, writes Eliot Wilson If you remember good relations between the United States and Iran, you are at least facing [...]
On this day: The death of JP Morgan March 31, 2026 Today in 1913, John Pierpoint Morgan died in Rome having saved the United States from financial catastrophe not once but twice, writes Eliot Wilson Today in 1913, in Rome’s Grand Plaza Hotel, a 75-year-old American died in his sleep. He was a big man, 6’2” and heavyset, with sharp, unsettling eyes and a purple, swollen [...]
On This Day in 1831: America’s first recorded bank heist March 19, 2026 It stands as an archetypal heist: a pair of canny, hardened criminals; a simple but daring plan; a dogged law enforcement official and the tantalising mystery of the missing $63,000. The first bank robbery in America recorded in any detail had set the standard for a whole genre, says Eliot Wilson Have you ever wondered [...]
On This Day: Adam Smith publishes The Wealth of Nations March 9, 2026 Today in 1776, 250 years ago, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations was published, discovering rather than inventing the principle that free trade and efficient division of labour create general prosperity making the world richer, writes Eliot Wilson Adam Smith was 52 and had spent most of the preceding [...]
International Women’s Day: Free markets are not the enemy of feminism March 8, 2026 History tells that if there’s one thing women should fear, it’s not capitalism, it’s the collective, says Victoria Bateman Leftist global histories tell the same story when it comes to women. They present us with a happy world in which women were revered and rewarded by their communities until the advent of capitalism ended this [...]
On this day: The collapse of Barings Bank February 26, 2026 On 26 February 1995, 31 years ago today, Baring Bank, one of the City’s most venerable institutions, was declared insolvent after a massive fraud by one of its employees, Nick Leeson, recalls Eliot Wilson In the 1990s, following the wake of Big Bang and the influx of brash but wealthy, “Greed is good, greed is [...]