On 23rd September…

1215 – Kublai Khan was born in Mongolia.  He was the grandson of Genghis Khan, the founder and first ruler of the Mongolian Empire.  Kublai also became Emperor of the Mongols and expanded his empire into China where he conquered the Song Dynasty and founded the Yuan Dynasty of China.

1459 – The Battle of Blore Heath took part in Staffordshire, England.  It was the second battle of the English Wars of the Roses and a victory for the House of York led by the Earl of Salisbury. Despite being heavily outnumbered by the Lancastrian forces, the House of York won the battle.  The Wars of the Roses was a series of battles between cousins who headed the House of York and the House of Lancaster, over who had the rightful claim to the throne of England.  Both cousins, Richard Duke of York (House York) and King Henry VI (House Lancaster) claimed the right to be king through their relationship to King Edward III. Had it not been for Henry VI’s bouts of madness and lack of leadership skills his cousin Richard might not have intervened and the wars might never have happened.

On 24th September…

1564 – William Adams the English explorer, who became the first Englishman to reach Japan, was born in Kent. He first arrived in Japan in 1600 on a ship that was originally headed for Indonesia but had been battered and blown off course by storms. At this time not many Europeans had been to Japan and it is believed that the first were Portuguese mariners blown off course in 1543. William Adams was summoned to a city called Osaka where he was detained and questioned by the shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu. The shogun was a military ruler who held a lot of control and demanded a lot of respoect. The Shogun of Osaka, Tokugawa Ieyasu, was so impressed with Adam’s knowledge of ships and navigation that he released him and made him one of his confidantes.

Adam’s was refused permission to return to his family in England, so he became permanently settled in Japan and raised a new family. He became known as Anjin (Pilot) and oversaw the construction of western style ships. Adams also officiated, or became responsible for negotiations, between the shogun and European traders who soon began visiting Japan.

On 25th September…

On 26th September…

1973 – Concorde made its first non-stop crossing of the Atlantic in a recording breaking time of 3 hours and 33 minutes.  Concorde was the first supersonic passenger carrying aircraft. Its fastest flight across the Atlantic occurred in 1996 when it completed the journey in just 2 hours and 52 minutes. The average flight from London to New York today takes about 7 hours.

On 27th September…

On 28th September…

551BCE - Confucius, who is known in China as Kongzi or Kongfuzi (Master Kong) was born. He was a sage (wise man) scholar and philosopher who is known as the first teacher in China. He is remembered throughout East Asia on this day; in Taiwan it is an official holiday called Teachers’ Day.

On 29th September…

1758 - Horatio Nelson was born in Norfolk. He was a British naval commander who was famous for defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Trafalgar. Nelson joined the navy at the age of 12 years and became Captain when he was 20 years old. During his many battles he lost the sight in his right eye and later, his right arm. He was killed at the Battle of Trafalgar and his body was preserved in a keg of brandy and transported back to England where he was given a state funeral. His statue, Nelson’s Column, stands in the centre of Trafalgar Square in London.