History

Health of the population 1904

In 1904, the Interdepartmental Committee on Physical Deterioration, wrote a report to look at the overall health of the UK population, particularly in respect of nutrition. The report was written following a document from the Director General of the Army Medical Services, in which he states his concern, that recruitment for troops for the Boer…

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Marks and Spencers opens 1894

Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer open the first of their ‘Penny Bazaars’, at Cheetham Hill, Manchester. Marks arrived in Britain from Poland, penniless, illiterate and did not speak English. Spencer befriended him and lent him £5, which he used to start selling from market stalls. Their stores sold a range of household goods ‘don’t ask…

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Gold is discovered in california 1848

On 24th January 1848, a man called James Marshall from New Jersey, was helping to build a sawmill on the America River for a man called Johann Sutter. He went to free the wheel in the millrace and saw, in the shallow pool that formed, a nuggett of gold, just over the size of a…

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