Born on this day

Tuesday, December 8, 1542. :   Mary, Queen of Scots, is born.

Mary, Queen of Scots, also known as Mary Stuart, was born on 8 December 1542, daughter of Mary de Guise of France and James V of Scotland. When her father died on December 14, the baby Mary became Queen of Scotland but James Hamilton, Duke of Arran, served as regent for Mary. Mary’s mother wished to cement an alliance with France, so arranged a betrothal for the young Mary to France’s dauphin, Francois. At age 6, Mary was then sent to France to be groomed for her future role as Queen of France, which she took up in 1559.

As the granddaughter of Margaret Tudor, the older sister of Henry VIII of England, Mary Stuart was considered to be the rightful heir to the English throne. This was over Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, whose marriage was not recognised by many Catholics in England because Henry had unlawfully divorced Catherine of Aragon. Mary Stuart, in their eyes, was the rightful heir of Mary I of England, Henry VIII’s daughter by his first wife.

Francois died on 5 December 1560, and Mary’s mother-in-law, Catherine de Medici, became regent for his brother Charles IX. Mary Stuart then returned to Scotland to rule as Queen, but did not recognise Elizabeth’s right to rule in England. Years of plotting and controversy followed as Mary tried to assert her right to the throne, with many conspirators on either side of Mary or Elizabeth being killed as they obstructed the way of the other. Ultimately, the attempt to place Mary on the Scottish throne resulted in her trial, which commenced on 11 October 1586. Mary Queen of Scots was executed on 8 February 1587, on suspicion of having been involved in a plot to murder Elizabeth.

Australian Explorers

Tuesday, December 8, 1801. :   Flinders explores and charts King George’s Sound (later Albany) in Western Australia.

Matthew Flinders was born in Lincolnshire, England, in 1774. Flinders and George Bass did much sea exploration around Australia, adding to the knowledge of the coastline, and producing accurate maps. As well as being the first to circumnavigate Australia, Flinders, together with Bass, was the first to prove that Van Diemen’s Land, or Tasmania, was an island and not connected to the mainland. Australia was previously known as New Holland, and after Captain Cook claimed the continent for England in 1770, the entire eastern half became known as New South Wales. Flinders was the one who first proposed the name “Terra Australis”, which became “Australia”, the name adopted in 1824.

Flinders charted the entire coastline of Australia between December 1801 and June 1803 in the ship ‘Investigator’. On the evening of 8 December 1801, Flinders entered King George’s Sound (later Albany) in Western Australia, to explore. He spent three weeks in the waterways, charting the coastline and determining what natural resources there could be used to facilitate settlement.

World History

Saturday, December 8, 1590. :   Sunspots are noted by sailor James Welsh in one of the few pre-Galileo observances.

Sunspots are areas on the Sun’s photosphere, or surface, where the temperature is considerably lower than that of surrounding areas. The temperature difference causes these areas to appear as black spots which are sometimes visible without the aid of a telescope. The cooling effect is due to a strong magnetic field in a particular localised area which inhibits the transport of heat via convective motion in the sun.

Chinese astronomers have observed sunspots since 28 BC, but more modern viewings were few and far between. On 8 December 1590, sailor James Welsh of the ship “Richard of Arundel” observed a large black spot on the sun’s surface, whilst sailing off the coast of Guinea. He noted that the spot was still visible the following morning.

The phenomenon remained largely unnoticed in ensuing years, until Galileo brought it to the population’s attention in 1612, complete with likely explanation of how it occurred. It was not until the 1820s that the cyclic variation of the number of sunspots was first observed by Heinrich Schwabe. Later astronomers and scientists plotted the variations, leading to speculation on the effect of sunspots on weather patterns.

World History

Monday, December 8, 1980. :   Singer, songwriter and former member of “The Beatles”, John Lennon, is murdered.

John Lennon was born John Winston Lennon on 9 October 1940. As his mother was unable to care for him after his father walked out, Lennon lived with his Aunt Mimi at Mendips throughout his childhood and adolescence. His mother taught him to play the banjo, retaining an interest in her son’s life until she was killed in an accident in 1958. Lennon was a non-conformist who dropped out of school to devote his time to developing his musical talents. He joined up with Paul McCartney and George Harrison to form a band, taking the name “Johnny and the Moondogs”, followed by “The Silver Beetles”, which was later shortened to “The Beatles”. Lennon is regarded as one of the most influential singer-songwriter-musicians of the 20th century, profoundly affecting the direction of rock ‘n’ roll music.

Lennon was assassinated by a deranged fan on 8 December 1980, as he and his wife Yoko Ono returned to their New York apartment after a recording session. The fan, Mark David Chapman, had earlier asked for, and received, Lennon’s autograph on an album. It was the last autograph Lennon ever signed. Chapman later claimed he had heard voices in his head telling him to kill Lennon. Chapman has failed three times in his own bid for freedom, and remains serving a life sentence in Attica prison near New York.

World History

Sunday, December 8, 1991. :   Leaders of Russia, Belarus, and the Ukraine meet to sign an agreement establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States, signalling the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

The Soviet Union, or Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), was a socialist state founded in 1922, centered on Russia, and regarded as one of the world’s two super-powers, with the USA being the other. A model for Communist nations, the socialist government and the political organisation of the country were defined by the only permitted political party, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. However, the increasing push for independence among the states, together with the gradual crumbling of communism in the 1980s, led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, to be replaced by The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

On 8 December 1991, the leaders of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine met in Belarus, and signed an agreement establishing the CIS. The CIS is a confederation now consisting of 11 former Soviet Republics: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. Turkmenistan, originally included in the CIS, discontinued permanent membership on 26 August 2005, but remains an associate member. According to Russian leaders, the purpose of the CIS was to “allow a civilised divorce” between the Soviet Republics. Sceptics regard the CIS as a tool that would allow Russia to keep its influence over the post-Soviet states. Since its formation, the member-states of CIS have signed umerous documents concerning integration and cooperation on matters of economics, defence and foreign policy.