On New Year’s Eve 1857, Queen Victoria selected the location for the permanent capital of the Province of Canada. This turned out to be the small frontier town of Ottawa which had been founded in 1826 as Bytown, and incorporated as Ottawa in 1855. Its choice as capital came about for two main reasons: The town’s isolated location in a back country surrounded by dense … Continue reading Ottawa, the Capital of Canada
On December 30, 1922, the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR (Договор об образовании СССР) and the Declaration of the Creation of the USSR were confirmed by the 1st Congress of the Soviets of the USSR and signed by the heads of plenipotentiary delegations from the Russian SFSR, the Transcaucasian SFSR, the Ukrainian SSR and the Byelorussian SSR, forming the Union of Soviet Socialist … Continue reading Establishment of the USSR
On December 29, 1937, the Constitution of Ireland (Bunreacht na hÉirean) came into effect. The state was named Ireland (Éire in the Irish language), and a new office of President of Ireland was instituted in place of the Governor-General of the former Irish Free State. The Constitution of 1937 is the fundamental law of the Republic of Ireland. It asserts the national sovereignty of the Irish … Continue reading The Irish Constitution of 1937
On December 28, 1767, Taksin the Great (สมเด็จพระเจ้าตากสินมหาราช — Somdet Phra Chao Taksin Maha Rat) or the King of Thonburi (สมเด็จพระเจ้ากรุงธนบุรี — Somdet Phra Chao Krung Thon Buri) began his reign as the only King of the Thonburi Kingdom. He was a leader in the liberation of Siam from Burmese occupation after the Second Fall of Ayutthaya in 1767, and the subsequent unification of Siam after it fell … Continue reading Taksin the Great and the Heroes of Bang Rachan
On this date in 1571, German mathematician, astronomer and astrologer Johannes Kepler was born. A key figure in the 17th-century scientific revolution, he is best known for his laws of planetary motion, based on his works Astronomia nova, Harmonices Mundi, and Epitome of Copernican Astronomy. These works also provided one of the foundations for Isaac Newton’s theory of universal gravitation. Kepler was a mathematics teacher at a seminary school in Graz, where … Continue reading Johannes Kepler
Today is the 13th anniversary of what is known here as either the Boxing Day Tsunami or the Andaman Sea Tsunami. Last year, I wrote an ASAD article about the impact that event had on me personally as well as the island in southern Thailand that became my permanent home afterwards. The earthquake that triggered this tsunami occurred at 07:58:53 local Phuket time (GMT +7) on … Continue reading Tsunami!
Merry Christmas! It’s Christmas Day and I am currently on a camping trip in the jungles of Phang Nga Province, north of my home in Phuket, Thailand. By the time this post is published, I will probably have been eaten alive by mosquitoes. For this final post, I thought a stamp showing “travel” might be appropriate as this is actually my first Christmas away from … Continue reading Christmas 2017 – United States #4945 (2014)
Growing up and continuing into adulthood, one of my favorite activities of Christmastime has been the sending and receiving of greeting cards. I took great delight in selecting appropriate cards for each recipient and displaying those I’d received around my living spaces. It has now been a long time since I’ve received a traditional Christmas card; last year, I did participate in a Facebook group … Continue reading Christmas 2017 – Isle of Man #436 (1990)
A Stamp A Day 