November 28
Lady Astor is first lady to the in the House of Commons
Lady Astor became the first woman to sit in the House of Commons in the UK. After her husband, Waldorf Astor relinquished his seat in parliament, Lady Astor, whose name was Nancy succeeded him. After a strong campaign, she was elected to the seat of Plymouth with a majority on November 28, 1919. She served in the seat until 1945 when she retired.
Lady Astor was born Nancy Witcher Langhorne, and was the eighth of eleven children. Despite being the first woman to elected to the British parliament, Nancy was actually American, born in Danville Virginia in 1879. After visiting England on a trip, she fell in love with the country, and relocated with her son from her first marriage and her younger sister in 1905.
After becoming a sensation in aristocratic circles, Nancy caught the eye of her future husband Waldorf, and the pair were married within six months.
November 29
Louisa May Alcott, Author of Little Women, Born On This Day 1832
Louise May Alcott was born on this day in 1832, in Germantown, Pennsylvania. She is best known as the author of Little Women (1868), a semi-autobiographical best-selling novel.
Alcott was born to be a free-thinker. The American writer grew up in a politically active family, and helped her parents hide escaped slaves, and had lively discussions about women’s rights. She had access to many infamous historical figures, including Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Frederick Douglass.
Alcott’s life parallels the protagonist of Little Women, Jo March, in many ways. Like Jo, Alcott was a writer who grew up in a poor but well-educated family. She also became a teacher so that she could earn some money.
November 30
Longest Recorded Rainbow On This Day in 2017
In Taipei’s Yangmingshan Mountain range, a beautiful record was set, in the form of the longest lasting rainbow on record. The rainbow stayed in the sky for 8 hours and 58 minutes before disappearing.
December 1
Benazir Bhutto Is Named The First Leader Of A Muslim Country On This Day In 1988
Benazir Bhutto became the first female leader of Pakistan, and also of any Muslim country in 1988. Bhutto faced a lot of adversity before being elected as Prime Minister. Forced to leave Pakistan and flee to London in 1984, along with her two brothers, Bhutto created an underground military organization to resist the military dictatorship. In 1985 she returned to her home country to stage anti-government protests. Bhutto was arrested and later released, where she again escaped to London. Returning to Pakistan in 1986, Bhutto was elected co-chairwoman of the Pakistan People’s Party alongside her mother. In 1988 she was officially sworn in as Prime Minister when free elections were held. At the age of 35 she was one of the youngest heads of state in the world, and the first female leader of an Islamic country.
December 2
First Skull of Peking Man Found in China On This Day In 1929
The first skull of a Peking man was found in the caves of Zhoukoudian, about 50 km (31 miles) outside of Peking, China. This was the first intact skull to be discovered, after archaeologists had discovered fragments since 1921. These hominids lived around 400,000 years ago. Peking man was identified as being a humanoid in 1927 by Canadian physician and physical anthropologist David Black. He based his findings on a single tooth. Whilst his face was not very human-like, his limb bones were indistinguishable from a modern human’s.
December 3
Anna Freud was born in 1895
Daughter of Sigmund Freud, Anna Freud was born in Vienna, Austria in 1895. Though Sigmund Freud may be the most famous of this talented family, Anna made equally impressive waves in psychology. She was the founder of child psychoanalysis and became interested in child psychology when she was an elementary teacher. Anna and her father Sigmund escaped Austria in 1938 and moved to London. In 1947 she founded the Hampstead Child Therapy Course and Clinic, where she served as the director from 1952 to 1982.
