The Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon (Mandat français pour la Syrie et le Liban in French and الانتداب الفرنسي على سوريا ولبنان — al-intidāb al-fransi ‘ala suriya wa-lubnān in Arabic) was a League of Nations mandate from 1923-1946, founded after the First World War and the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire concerning Syria and the Lebanon. The mandate system was supposed to differ from … Continue reading French Mandate of Syria #222 (1930)
The Swaziland Protectorate was established in 1903 after Great Britain’s victory in the Anglo-Boer War. Much of its early administration (for example, postal services) was carried out from South Africa until 1906 when the Transvaal colony was granted self-government. Following this, Swaziland was partitioned into European and non-European (or native reserves) areas with the former being two-thirds of the total land. At no more than 120 … Continue reading Swaziland Protectorate #10 (1933)
On September 28, 1917, the Rattanakosin Kingdom (popularly known then as Siam and renamed Thailand in 1939), adopted the current national flag consisting of shows five horizontal stripes in the colors red, white, blue, white and red, with the central blue stripe being twice as wide as each of the other four. In Thai, the flag is called Thong Trairong (ธงไตรรงค์), meaning “tricolor flag”. Beginning in … Continue reading Happy 100th Birthday, Thai Tricolor Flag
The Spanish Protectorate in Morocco (الحماية الإسبانية على المغرب — Protectorado español en Marruecos) was established on November 27, 1912, by a treaty between France and Spain that converted the Spanish sphere of influence in Morocco into a formal protectorate. The Spanish protectorate consisted of a northern strip on the Mediterranean and the Strait of Gibraltar, and a southern part of the protectorate around Cape Juby, … Continue reading Spanish Morocco #145 (1935)
On September 26, 1934, Hull Number 534 was launched into the River Clyde at the John Brown & Company shipyard, Clydebank, Scotland. Her progress down the slipway slowed by eighteen drag chains, the new ship had just been christened as the new flagship ocean liner of the Cunard-White Star Line — the Royal Mail Ship (RMS) Queen Mary. The ship, along with RMS Queen Elizabeth, was built as part … Continue reading Happy Birthday to Another Queen
South West Africa (Suidwes-Afrika in Afrikaans, Zuidwest-Afrika in Dutch, and Südwestafrika in German) was occupied by South African troops from 1915, and a mandate of that country by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 until it achieved independence as Namibia in 1990. Located in southern Africa with the Atlantic Ocean as its western border, the present-day country shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the … Continue reading South West Africa #97 (1927)
The British Crown Colony of Seychelles existed as a colony in its own right between 1903 until it became an independent republit within the British Commonwealth in 1976. It is an archipelago of 115 islands located in the Indian Ocean, northeast of Madagascar and about 994 miles (1,600 kilometers) east of Kenya. Other nearby island countries and territories include Comoros, Mayotte, Madagascar, Réunion, and Mauritius to the … Continue reading Seychelles #125 (1938)
On September 23, 1930, Ray Charles Robinson was born in Albany, Georgia, in the United States. Known professionally as Ray Charles, he lost his sight at the age of seven but would go on to pioneer the genre of soul music during the 1950s by combining blues, rhythm and blues, and gospel styles into the music he recorded for Atlantic Records. He also contributed to … Continue reading Brother Ray, The Genius
A Stamp A Day 