Not for the first time, Charles wondered why he agreed to race today. He could have been asleep in his warm and cozy flat. Instead, he was shivering out here on the edge of the school grounds on a typical drizzly morning in England in autumn.

He should have told his older brother Albert he wasn’t ready to be a Hare. It was such an important job that it was usually reserved for more experienced runners. Like Albert. Albert was the school’s top runner and had won this event – the Royal Shrewsbury School Hunt – for the last three years.

“I want to run a race with my brother,” Albert insisted. What he should have said was “I want to win a race against my brother.”

Either way, Albert dragged Charles to the headmaster’s office who listened to Albert’s argument without interrupting, then finally leaned back in his chair and said, “Well, since I am anxious to learn if Charles has inherited your quickness, I shall agree to let him be a Hare.”

The following day, Charles was paired up with a nice enough lad named Edward. For hours, he and Edward wadded paper into little balls that were now stuffed in knapsacks slung over their shoulders. As they ran, they would drop those balls in order to leave a paper trail for the other runners to follow. 

Most importantly, they would desperately try to stay ahead of the two groups chasing them: the Hounds and the Huntsmen. The Hounds currently stood a few meters from Charles, clustered in identical white knickers and jerseys. Behind them were the Huntsmen. Charles’s pulse quickened when he looked at them. The Huntsmen were led by his brother Albert.

He wore a brown cap and a red jersey and carried a bugle as was customary for the Lead Huntsman. Charles watched, his heart racing, as Albert stepped forward.

“All hounds who wish to run, run hard, run well,” he yelled. “And Huntsmen?”  He paused and the runners grew silent. Then, he fixed his eyes on Charles. “We shall feast on rabbit stew for supper!” The runners cheered loudly.

Charles gritted his teeth. He fixed his eyes on the course ahead. He would show Albert. He would beat all of them.

So when Albert sounded the bugle seconds later, Charles bolted into the forest like he was actually being chased by hounds. He dashed left and right, dropping paper as he went. He jumped over fences and splashed through mud. Even when Edward fell behind, Charles ran.

For nearly three hours, he kept his eyes forward and ran. His legs ached. His lungs throbbed. Only when he saw the marked finish line did he glance back. 

Albert was there, meters away. He was close enough for Charles to see the desperation in his eyes. Albert realized there would be no rabbit stew. He was about to lose his first race.

Charles’s heart pinched. Next year, Albert would head to university. Charles would have two more years to prove he was fast. This was Albert’s last race.

Charles slowed his pace. It took only a heartbeat for Albert to fly past him. But the small nod Albert offered his younger brother was enough. Albert claimed victory that day. But only by a hair.

Sources:

• https://worldathletics.org/news/press-release/royal-shrewsbury-school-hunt-iaaf-heritage
• https://www.shrewsbury.org.uk/co-curricular/sport/cross-country-rssh-#:~:text=Written%20records%20date%20from%201831,a%20mounted%20fox%2Dhunting%20club. 
• https://www.runnersworld.com/advanced/a20800271/the-origins-of-cross-country/ 
• https://www.runnerspace.com/news.php?news_id=268639

The organized sport of running – called cross country – only goes back about two hundred years. It started in England at a boys’ school called Shrewsbury after the headmaster rejected the idea of a fox-hunting club. Charles and Albert, from the story we just read, are fictional but real students like them proposed a running race through the countryside. They modeled the sport after fox hunting, which was popular in England at the time. As you learned in the story, they even had names like Hares and Hounds.

Humans have been running for more than two million years. Today, we run for exercise or for sport. But back then? We ran to survive. 

Imagine life for those first humans. Chances are, you would have spent most of the day thinking about how to get your next meal. Inevitably, you would have realized that dinner was not going to be served to you. No! You had to catch it. Bad news: your two legs weren’t as speedy as the four legs that cheetahs and gazelles had.

Plus, it would be a few thousand years before humans figured out how to make a spear or a slingshot to make hunting a bit easier. In order to eat and avoid being eaten in the early years, you would have had to figure out how to move fast. 

However, anthropologists who study early humans believe that those first people came up with something better than speed. They discovered endurance. Endurance let humans run longer and farther than the animals they wanted to eat. So even though the first humans might not have been as fast, they could outrun their dinner. 

Over time, the human body adapted to help people run. For example, humans’ legs grew longer and their feet became lighter. The joints in their legs helped them absorb more impact. These changes helped humans catch bigger prey. Bigger meals meant more calories. More calories led to bigger brains. Bigger brains helped people discover how to survive longer. Good news for all of us.

Running hasn’t always just been about survival, though; it’s also one of the oldest competitive sports. You see, once we figured out how to outrun animals, we wanted to see if we could outrun each other. In fact, carvings on the walls of Egyptian tombs show people competitively running as early as 3100 BC.  In ancient Greece, people raced against each other at the earliest Olympic games. These races were only about two hundred yards in length because they took place in an arena called a stadion. But the winners of those races were seen as the greatest athletes of the games. They got to wear a crown of olive leaves to prove it! 

Eventually, people started racing longer distances. Probably the most well-known of these is the marathon. Today, marathon runners today run exactly 26.2 miles. Seems like an odd distance for a race, right? Well, marathon runners can thank a Greek messenger and the British queen for that.

In ancient Greece, messengers would run miles to deliver important news or information. Pheidippides was one of these messengers, He lived in the Greek city-state of Athens. At the time, Athens was engaged in a fierce war against the Persian army – an army that was bigger and better trained and favored to win the war by a lot. 

In a surprise turn of events, Athens managed to win a key battle in a city called Marathon. The general of the Athenian army told poor Pheidippides to run as fast as possible to Athens and tell everyone there the good news: Athens had won! Pheidippides did as he was told, racing 25 miles from Marathon to Athens. Legend says that as soon as he announced the victory, he collapsed from exhaustion and well . . . .died. But somehow, the idea of running that far stuck around and became known as a marathon.

But what about the additional 1.2 miles? Fast way forward to 1908. The Olympic games were being held in London. The Queen of England, Queen Alexandra, demanded that the marathon start at Windsor Castle and finish directly in front of her royal box at the Olympic stadium. The only problem was that this was a distance of 26.2 miles – 1.2 miles longer than normal. The queen, not surprisingly, got her way and the fate of marathoners was forever sealed. 

In recent years, the number of people competing in running races has grown. So, too have the types of races available. Long-distance runners can train to run a marathon or its descendent, the half marathon which is 13.1 miles. For those who prefer shorter distances, there are any number of 5K or 10K races to enter around the world on any given weekend.

Most people sign up to run for exercise or to show off the medal you get when you finish. Professional runners, however, compete for prize money. Every year, the well-known Boston Marathon welcomes top runners from around the world. The winner of this race often finishes in under two hours and can win about $75,000. 

Maybe you’ve even heard of a few of the more famous runners, like Usain Bolt. This Jamaican sprinter was named the Fastest Man in the World when he ran 100 meters in 8.58 seconds at the Olympic Games. 

Like our ancestors, we’re still testing the limits of endurance and speed. Fortunately, though, dinner no longer needs to be chased down. We can all be grateful for that.

Sources:

https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/marathons-ancient-origins

https://worldathletics.org/news/press-release/royal-shrewsbury-school-hunt-iaaf-heritage

https://www.shrewsbury.org.uk/co-curricular/sport/cross-country-rssh-#:~:text=Written%20records%20date%20from%201831,a%20mounted%20fox%2Dhunting%20club.

https://www.runnersworld.com/advanced/a20800271/the-origins-of-cross-country/

https://www.runnerspace.com/news.php?news_id=268639

https://www.npr.org/2010/07/19/128626037/for-humans-slow-and-steady-running-won-the-race

https://www.livescience.com/98-runner-high-jogging-separated-humans-apes.html

https://www.history.com/news/why-is-a-marathon-26-2-miles

The post History of Competitive Running and Cross Country for Kids appeared first on Bedtime History: Podcast and Videos For Kids.

Big Ben, the tower, is one of the most iconic – or recognizable – landmarks in the world, just like the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Great Sphynx of Giza in Egypt, or the Statue of Liberty in New York.  It was completed in 1859 and stands 316 feet – or 96 meters – tall.  It has four sides measuring 40 feet each, and to get to the top of the tower you need to go inside and climb 393 steps.  

At the top of the tower are four clock faces measuring 22.5 feet in diameter.  How tall or wide is that?  Well, take four or five of your friends and have them stand on each other’s shoulders!  That’s a tall stack – and a tall clock!  The clocks are lit by electric lightbulbs but in the 1800’s they were lit by gas lamps.  It is said that Queen Victoria used to look out of Buckingham Palace at night and see the clocks lit up, meaning that her ministers were still working late into the night.  There was no sneaking out early when Queen Victoria was watching those clocks!  

So, we now know that the tower and the four clocks are big – and so are the clock hands!  The hour hands are almost 9 feet (or 2.7 meters) long and the minute hands are 14 feet (or 4.3 meters) long!  Can you imagine if you had to set those clocks by leaning out of a window 300 feet in the air?  Luckily, the clocks are run by mechanisms, like pendulums, wheels, gears, and rods.  They even use pennies as weights!  The clocks are wound inside the tower by hand every three days, taking 1.5 hours each time, kind of like winding large metal hamster wheels.

Inside the tower, there are four bells that chime every 15 minutes.  The fifth and largest bell, called Big Ben, weighs over 13 tons and bongs every hour.  When it was installed in the 1800’s, it took a cart and 16 horses to bring it to the site.  Then a team of workmen spent 18 hours pulling on ropes to raise the humongous bell 300 feet in the air and place it inside the tower.  The first bell made for the tower cracked before it was even installed, so a new one had to be made.  After that bell was installed, it cracked, too!  The engineers weren’t about to remove a 13-ton bell and lower it 300 feet to the ground for repairs, so they did something else.  They turned the cracked bell slightly to one side so the hammer would strike in a different place on the bell – and, thus, it was never repaired.  Big Ben continues to ring to this day, although with a slightly different sound since cracking.  Big Ben was the largest bell in England for over 20 years until “Great Paul,” an even more ginormous bell, was put into Saint Paul’s Cathedral in 1881.

And while the bell was never repaired after its big crack, the four clocks have been repaired, including at least 6 paint jobs over the last 160 years.  Originally, the clocks and their hands used to be blue, but they were painted black at one point to cover damage from air pollution.  Many years ago, London used to burn a lot of coal to heat houses and factories, and the smoke turned all the buildings black with soot.  In 2017, the clock faces and hands were cleaned and repainted.  They are now back to their original blue and look amazing.

All of these bell and clock facts then got me thinking:  Have they ever stopped?  And the answer is yes.  Both the clocks and the bell have stopped on occasion throughout the centuries.  Several times the clock hands have stopped due to the weight of so much snow sitting on them, stopping their movement.  Sometimes all the snow would cause the hands to hit each other and grind to a stop. During both World Wars, the clock lights were turned off so enemy planes could not bomb the tower or use its lights to find their way across London.  And the bell was silenced on January 30, 1965, during the funeral of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who led England to victory during WWII.  There have also been repairs here and there through the years, causing them to be stopped for short periods of time.  

Also, in 2012, Big Ben’s regular chimes were reprogrammed to ring 30 times on the morning of July 17 to welcome the 30^th Olympic Games to London.   

By now you may be wondering how Big Ben actually got its name – both the tower and the bell.  Nobody knows for sure about the bell.  It might have been named after the man who supervised its installation, Sir Benjamin Hall, or after a British heavyweight boxer at that time named Benjamin Caunt, who was also nicknamed “Big Ben.”   But somewhere along the line, someone gave the bell the nickname “Big Ben” and it stuck.  It’s similar to when you get a nickname as a baby and it stays with you as you grow up.  As for the tower, it was originally called “The Clock Tower.” Then it was called “St. Stephen’s Tower” because the government used to meet in St. Stephen’s Hall below it.  Then people started calling the tower “Big Ben” like the bell inside it.  Finally, in 2012, the tower’s name was changed to “Elizabeth Tower” in honor of Queen Elizabeth II and her Diamond Jubilee.  

But there’s even more interesting history on the outside of the tower.  If you look at it from the street, you will see six shields above the clocks with a red cross on them.  This is St. George’s Cross.  During the Middle Ages, there was a crusading warrior who was killed for his Catholic faith and was later named Saint George.  His emblem was a red cross on a white background.  He was so respected and admired for his bravery and faith that his emblem was incorporated into the flag of England and you can still see this red cross on the British flag today. 

Also on the tower are 52 shields showing other emblems of the United Kingdom: a thistle for Scotland, a leek for Wales, a shamrock for Ireland, and a rose for the Tudor kings of England.  There are pomegranates, a symbol of King Henry VIII’s first wife, Catherine of Aragon; a metal gate symbolizing the Houses of Parliament; and the French fleurs-de-lis.  And why a French emblem on a British building?  Well, at one time the English kings claimed they also ruled France!  Under the clocks is an inscription in Latin that reads, “O Lord, keep safe our Queen Victoria the First.”  Truly amazing!  Everywhere you look in England, you will see hidden – and not-so-hidden – emblems, images, and insignias.  They are like a secret, long-forgotten code revealing bits of history in pictures and words.  You just have to know how to read the code!

Standing outside the Elizabeth Tower, you will see it is attached to a large rectangular building called the House of Parliament.  This is where government officials conduct business every day.  It is a very ornate, gothic building.  And you may wonder why a government building is so fancy.  Well, many centuries ago it used to be a royal palace called the Palace of Westminster!  It was built over a thousand years ago and was one of the first royal palaces in England.  Kings, queens, princes, and princesses lived there for over five hundred years, long before Big Ben and the Clock Tower were built.  Unfortunately, the palace was destroyed twice by fire, most recently in 1834.  When the palace was rebuilt after the second fire, the iconic Clock Tower and bell were added.

So, if this building used to be a royal palace, what else did it have besides towers, bells, and clocks?  Why, a prison, of course!  Yes, it’s true!  There is a prison at the bottom of the Elizabeth Tower! It was last used in 1880 when a government official was locked inside after he refused to swear an oath of allegiance to Queen Victoria!  

And if a tower prison isn’t sketchy enough, you should also know that the tower LEANS!  Yes, it’s leaning to one side!  Maybe not as much as the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy, but it leans!  The tower was built on soft clay ground covered by gravel.  Over time, the tower shifted – or started to lean – by about 9 inches. Then, about 20 years ago, London started digging a new underground subway line nearby.  The engineers knew that this drilling might make Big Ben lean even further, so they poured thousands of tons of concrete under the tower to support it.  It now leans about 20 inches at the top but no one seems too worried about it.  They say it should stand for another 4,000 to 10,000 years.  Hmmm, I wonder who will be around at that time to check on it or fix any problems?  Martians maybe?

I think it is a marvel that this tower is still standing, especially after the repeated bombings during the blitz of WWII.  Two of the clocks, the tower roof, and part of the parliament building were damaged during those fiery raids, but the tower stood and Big Ben chimed through it all – and still does to this day, keeping its amazing history alive!  

I don’t know about you, but I find these bits of British history truly fascinating.  England is full of amazing stories, legends, and wonders.  And what about your town or city?  Are there buildings where you live that have hidden history or are decorated with murals, emblems, or inscriptions?  Maybe you can plan an outing with your parents or friends to look at these buildings and discover their stories.  Generations of people before us have left their marks on buildings to memorialize their times and beliefs.  I’d love to hear from you and learn more about the historic buildings in your area.  Click this link to leave your comments and you just might be mentioned in a future episode.

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Coronation

Imagine you are in a beautiful old church in England.  The year is 1827 and you are at the coronation, or royal crowning ceremony, of a new monarch.  All around you, rich people are dressed in beautiful clothing.  As the music starts, in enters the princess who is about to be crowned queen.  She is only 18 years old and as she enters the room, you can see that she is very short.  But she is poised and calm.  She has the confidence of someone who knew this is her path.  She is Queen Victoria.

Early Life

Queen Victoria was born in 1819 in London, England.  When she was born, her name was Alexandrina Victoria, but she was called “Victoria” as her nickname.  Victoria was the daughter of Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent and Strathearn and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, who was the sister of the King of Belgium, Leopold the First.  

Sadly, when Victoria was only eight months old her father died. After that, her mother became a domineering influence in her life. Domineering means bossy and controlling She was raised by her mother and her mother’s accountant, John Conroy.  Because her family was wealthy, Victoria had a very privileged childhood.  This means as a child, she had very nice things and lived in luxury. She had the best food, the nicest clothes, everything you’d imagine a princess to have. But Victoria was said to be kind, warm-hearted and lively. She loved dolls and had over 100 of them in her playroom!  

Despite all of her toys and nice things, Victoria was not allowed to play with other children in a normal way, so she had very few friends.  This made her sad.  But her best friend and constant companion was her nanny, Louise Lehzen. Victoria’s nanny taught her at the Royal Palace.  She learned all the subjects that a wealthy child who may one day become queen would need to learn, including languages and politics.  Victoria had a talent for drawing and painting, and Governess Louise encouraged her to pursue these hobbies.  Victoria also really enjoyed journal writing.  She started writing as a child and continued to write in her journal for the rest of her life.

While she was growing up, Victoria’s mother and John Conroy kept a very close eye on Victoria. They knew that she may one day become the queen of England, and they wanted to keep their influence over her to themselves.  Influence means to control and impact.  While she was a child, they never let Victoria be alone without one of them present.  Victoria slept in the same room as her mother until she was 18 so that she wasn’t on her own.  Her mother and John Conroy were worried that if Victoria was left alone, that other people might try to influence her and might turn her against them. 

Despite her mother’s influence, Victoria had a feisty temperament.  This means that she had high energy and was very independent in nature.  She had a big personality but physically Victoria was famously very short.  As an adult, she was only 4 feet 11 inches tall!

At the time of her birth, Victoria was fifth in line to the throne.  But over the course of her childhood and early teenage years, Victoria’s uncles, her father’s three brothers, all died without having living children.  This meant that when Victoria turned 18, in 1837, she knew she would become the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland. 

Queen of England

One of the first things that Queen Victoria did after becoming queen was to claim her own control and authority over her life and her rule.  She moved out of her mother’s bedroom into her own room.  She distanced herself from her mother and John Conroy, which means that she broke away from them and their constant advice and influence.  She had seen how much they were controlling her and trying to tell her what to do and she didn’t like it. 

Instead, the young Queen Victoria turned to her friend, the prime minister at the time, Lord Melbourne, to teach her about government and her role as a queen.  A Prime Minister is similar to a President in England.

Lord Melbourne was Queen Victoria’s first prime minister, who served for 7 years from 1834 to 1841. Lord Melbourne helped teach Queen Victoria about the details of being a queen and the role she plays in government at the time.  Lord Melbourne acted as the Queen’s advisor on politics and was the person she could speak to openly and get advice during the early years of her reign.

Marriage

In 1840, Victoria married her cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. She met Albert when she was just 16.  Since Victoria was queen, Albert couldn’t propose to her. So she proposed to him on October 15, 1839!

At first, the British public didn’t like Prince Albert because he was not from the United Kingdom, but from Germany.  At first, he was not allowed to be involved in politics at all.  But eventually, people realized that he was a good person and Queen Victoria started to rely on his advice and he helped her to rule. 

During the early part of their marriage, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert fought quite a bit.  They both had strong personalities and didn’t like to be wrong.  However, they loved each other very much and were committed to being successful together. Over time they started to get along better and Prince Albert started to give Queen Victoria advice and helped her make difficult decisions during her reign. And together they had nine children!  Their palace was a busy and noisy place with so many kids. 

Prince Albert also brought a number of German traditions to the United Kingdom that became popular for the British people.  This included the tradition of putting up a Christmas tree at the holidays.  Prince Albert had put a Christmas tree up for a celebration at their royal home and a picture was taken of Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, and their children in front of the tree.  The picture was in a popular newspaper at the time and afterward many people in the UK and other parts of the British Empire started putting up Christmas trees. 

Victorian England

Life in Britain during the 19th century was known as Victorian England because of Victoria’s long reign and the stamp it and her personality placed on the country. 

During Queen Victoria’s reign, Great Britain grew its industry more than ever before.  They built railways, bridges, underground sewers and power or energy networks throughout much of the empire. This is also known as industrialization. 

During her reign, Britain also expanded the size of its territories, doubling in size and taking over Canada, Australia, India and a number of other places in Africa and the South Pacific. The Queen loved the British Empire and felt that it was for the good of the world that Britain grew to take over so much of it. Because Britain controlled so many different parts of the world during her reign, people started saying a famous expression: “The sun never sets on the British Empire.”

During Queen Victoria’s reign, she also supported scientists to do research and learn more about the world.  There were great advances in science as a result, including Darwin’s theory of evolution, the telegraph, and the popular press, or common newspapers. The main cities in England grew very large and more and more people learned to read. The “Victorian-era” was a great time of development for the British people. 

However, not everyone always liked the decisions that Queen Victoria made.  During her life, there were seven assassination attempts made on Victoria’s life.  This means that her enemies tried to kill her so that she would no longer be in charge. But they did not succeed in their attempts.

After several years of suffering from a sore stomach, Victoria’s beloved Albert died of typhoid fever in 1861 at the age of 42. Victoria was very sad.  She had a plaster cast made of his hand and she kept it by her side for the rest of her life.  She also went into a 25-year seclusion, which means hiding on her own.  For the rest of her reign, she wore black.

Queen Victoria died on January 22, 1901.  When she died, she had been the longest-reigning woman monarch in the world.

Conclusion

While Queen Victoria was queen her country saw great cultural expansion, advances in industry, science, and communications, and the building of railways and the London Underground.  And the expansion of the British Empire during her reign continues to have a great impact on the world and the cultures of the various places that were British colonies under her rule. 

Can you imagine being born into a royal family and knowing that you will one day be queen or king?  This would be a great amount of pressure for a child.  Even though she had nice things and was very wealthy, she still cared about other people. She took great pride in her country and wanted to use your power to do good things. With all of her money, she could have just had a good time, but instead she rose to the challenge to be a great queen to her people.

If you were the king or queen of a country, what are some of the things that you would focus on?  Where you live, what are some of the things you would do to make it better?

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Sometimes, siblings end up leading very different lives. And sometimes, they end up needing each other more than they realize, even when they’re grown up.

Birth of William and Caroline Herschel 

William and Caroline Herschel were born into the same family, but their opportunities in life were very different. Born in Hanover, Germany in the early eighteenth century, William was 12 years older than Caroline. At the time, as you might guess, girls were expected to learn how to run households and get married. But it wasn’t just the fact that Caroline was a girl that limited her opportunities. She was also sick a lot as a child. A bout of smallpox at age four left her face scarred. At 10, she suffered a typhus infection, which stunted her growth: she only grew to a height of 4 foot 3.

All this misfortune left Caroline’s mother, Anna, sure that her youngest daughter would never be able to marry.  Anna didn’t approve of girls being educated either. That left housework. She decided Caroline would become a servant, and promptly began treating her like one. 

While Caroline learned to cook and mend stockings, her brothers went to school and learned to play musical instruments. Their father, Isaac Herschel was a member of a military band. Though he was often away from home, he didn’t share his wife’s views on education for girls. When he did come home, he would always find time to teach Caroline alongside her brothers.  He even took her out one chilly evening to show her the stars and a comet.  So she did end up with a basic education.

With her ability to read and write, Caroline helped her mother, who couldn’t do either, write letters to her father when he was away. Other military wives in their neighborhood also took advantage of her skills. Whenever she found a spare moment without any chores, she made the most of it by reading or playing the violin.

Still, Caroline felt lost and forgotten in her large family. But William always seemed to notice her and stand up for her. After their father died, he suggested that Caroline come and live with him and their brother Alexander in England. He was working as a musician in the city of Bath, and thought he might be able to train Caroline to sing in his performances. William played several instruments – violin, harpsichord, oboe- and also wrote songs and symphonies. 

Caroline had looked around for years, trying to find something other than the dull drudgery of housework she could do to support herself. She had learned how to knit and make frilly dresses and fancy hats, but her mother insisted she only do these things for family members. She had hoped to learn French so she could become a governess, caring for a wealthy family’s children. Her mother forbade it. Singing for her brother sounded like the perfect escape! William made a deal with his mother: He would pay for a servant to replace Caroline, and she would come to England to train as a singer. 

Astronomy: A New Hobby

So Caroline finally left her dreary life as the family servant behind at the age of 22. On their journey to England, she and William rode on top of their carriage at night, and he re-introduced her to the hobby their father had shared all those years ago: astronomy. William pointed out stars and constellations and told her about the telescopes he used to view them at home. They stopped at optician’s shops in London where William scoured the supply of mirrors and lenses for ones he might use to build new telescopes. 

When they arrived in Bath, things didn’t go as Caroline hoped, at least not immediately. She was frustrated to learn that she would still have to do most of the housework for her brothers. But in addition to the housework, she was learning and improving herself every day. William began tutoring her in math, bookkeeping, English, and, of course, singing. 

Caroline took two or three singing lessons each day and soon began to perform in public. After a few years, she had become famous in Bath! She got offers to sing in festivals, but she insisted on only performing when William was conducting. 

In the meantime, William was becoming more and more obsessed with his astronomy hobby. He’d stay up late, observing stars, and tell Caroline what he’d seen in the morning. Soon, Caroline became William’s astronomy assistant as well. He built a tall platform to observe from. He would yell down the positions of stars and nebulae and other celestial objects, and Caroline would record them carefully in her notebooks. Even on the coldest nights, they bundled up so they could keep watching the sky. 

Soon, Caroline was learning more advanced geometry and algebra so she could measure the distances and angles between celestial objects. She began making her own observations of the night sky. The siblings recorded every object they saw as they gazed up into the cold, dark heavens. 

Building a New Telescope

But William wasn’t satisfied with the tools he had at hand. Telescopes at the time didn’t magnify as much as he would have liked. They used small concave mirrors–think of a shallow bowl–to gather light from far off in space, then that image reflected onto another small, flat mirror that the observer looked at. But these mirrors were only a few inches across, and bigger mirrors would mean more magnification. But no one knew how to make a larger mirror that was still clear and smooth enough to create a sharp image. 

William bought his own equipment and began experimenting with creating his own mirrors. At first, Caroline was mostly responsible for making sure William had food to eat while he labored long hours on his mirrors. But soon, she began to help grind and polish the mirrors as well. It was smelly, messy work– they created molds for their mirrors out of horse poo– but after some practice, William created a better mirror: 6 inches across, polished to a perfect, smooth, uniform surface. He mounted it in a 5-foot-long telescope tube. Later, he created an even bigger mirror and built a 20-foot telescope! 

New Discoveries for William and Caroline Herschel

With their new instruments, the pair racked up thousands of discoveries. William realized that many bright stars were actually two stars that were so close together that they appeared to be one unless you looked at them through a powerful telescope. Likewise, some fuzzy objects that people once thought were nebulae turned out to be clusters of stars. Caroline discovered eight comets and thousands of new nebulae and star clusters using the better telescopes. 

In 1781, William made his most exciting discovery yet. He noticed a fuzzy object in the sky that looked a bit like a comet. But it didn’t behave like a comet. After watching it for weeks and calculating its orbit, he realized it was a planet! No one had discovered a new planet since ancient times. William decided to name the planet Georgium Sidus, or George’s Star, after the current king of England, King George the Third.

The Royal Astronomer

The name didn’t stick–eventually another scientist renamed it Uranus, after a Greek god. But King George didn’t let the compliment go unrewarded. He asked William to become the royal astronomer! William accepted, and he and Caroline moved closer to the palace. 

William even requested that Caroline be paid a salary, and King George agreed. Not only could Caroline now support herself–something she’d longed for her entire life–she also became the first woman to be paid for doing science! 

Working for the king allowed the Herschels to take on even bigger, more ambitious projects. King George gave William the money to build what would be the largest telescope ever constructed. It would have a 4-foot, one-thousand-pound mirror and be over forty feet long! That’s about the length of ten Caroline Hershcels! The telescope would have to sit on a specially designed rotating platform and would be supported by an elaborate system of scaffolding. It took 5 years to build. When it was done, they threw a party, with guests dancing in and out of the tube before it was put in place. 

William married in 1786, but unfortunately, Caroline didn’t get along with his new wife at first. After spending her entire adult life by her brother’s side, Caroline had to move out on her own as William’s wife took over running his household. But eventually, the two women seem to have mended their relations, and Caroline wrote about her in friendly terms in later journals. She became a role model and educator for their son, John, shaping him into a first-rate astronomer in his own right. 

Caroline kept herself busy with her own astronomical projects as well. She created a catalog of all known stars. An astronomer named John Flamsteed had created a catalog years earlier, but Caroline’s would correct many errors and add more than 500 new stars. The Royal Astronomical Society in London published her work in 1798. 

Royal Astronomical Society

William passed away in 1822. Caroline was devastated by the loss of her brother, but kept on studying the night sky, carefully recording every detail. She and William’s son, John, worked together to catalog their observations. Eventually, she moved back to Germany. She was famous and respected for her work. The Royal Astronomical Society in London and the King of Prussia–now part of Germany–presented her with gold medals. She lived until the age of 97, and died peacefully in her sleep in her hometown of Hanover.  

Together, William and Caroline discovered over 2,000 objects in space – asteroids, comets, nebulae, and star clusters. William’s gravestone has the Latin words Coelorum perrupit claustra engraved on it–”He broke through the barriers of the heavens.” Not only did he break through the barriers of the heavens, he made sure his sister was able to break through with him. Caroline saw that knowledge could help her leave behind a life of drudgery and housework if only someone would share it with her. William saw that his sister was smart and capable, and refused to let her talents go to waste. 

Together, William and Caroline changed how people viewed the universe, and opened many eyes to its wonders. And together, these siblings did more than either one could do alone!

Sources

https://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/magazine/a-giant-of-astronomy

https://scientificwomen.net/women/herschel-caroline-43

https://www.space.com/18704-who-discovered-uranus.html

http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/herschel/memoir/memoir.html 

Krull, Kathleen (2013) Lives of the Scientists: Experiments, Explosions (and what the Neighbors Thought). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, New York.

The post History of William and Caroline Herschel for Kids appeared first on Bedtime History: Podcast and Videos For Kids.

You may be aware of a very historic event that took place this last week. Queen Elizabeth II of The United Kingdom passed away on Thursday at the age of 96 after reigning as queen for 70 years! The next longest-reigning king of queen of England was Queen Victoria, her great-great-grandmother who reigned for 63 years.

In this episode, we’re going to take a journey to the home of Queen Elizabeth to visit for a very special event that happened in June of this year. So grab your raincoats and umbrellas and follow us to what in many ways is a magical island of fairytales filled with queens and castles, princes, and princesses.  An island of magnificent beauty and wondrous tales.  A land where King Arthur and his round table were born, where Robin Hood pranced through the forests and Shakespeare scribbled great plays by candlelight.  It is an island of green meadows and majestic cities. 

Arrival at The Palace of Queen Elizabeth II

We are arriving now, and it is foggy and cold – and a bit wet, too!  We touch down in a lush green park.  In front of us is a large white palace.  Behind us is a pond filled with squawking ducks hunting for their breakfast.  A fine mist rises from the wet grass and floats slowly to the sky.  Now we are in the city of London, England. The very same city of storybook characters such as Mary Poppins and Sherlock Holmes!

And why are we in London, England on this cold, June morning?  To see Queen Elizabeth II!  It is June and every June the Queen celebrates with a big birthday party, called the “Trooping of the Color.”  It is called the “Trooping of the Color” because hundreds of brightly dressed soldiers march, or troop, past the Queen as she stands on the balcony of Buckingham Palace enjoying the parade.  They march in tight formation in their red jackets and big, fuzzy black hats, called Bearskin hats.  Other soldiers ride on beautiful horses and wear shiny gold helmets and carry golden swords.  Still, other soldiers march in tight lines and play marching tunes on shiny instruments.  At the end of their marching, they stop and yell “Long Live the Queen!”  What a wonderful birthday party!

But in June 2022, the Queen is holding an even bigger party!  It is called a “Platinum Jubilee” and it is being held to honor her 70 years as Queen!  Can you imagine doing one job for 70 years?  It’s hard to envision, but she has done just that!  She is the only monarch – meaning king or queen – in British history who has ruled for 70 years.  Truly historic!   This event has never happened in Britain before so the party will be HUGE!  

Watching the Festivities

Let’s hurry and find a place to watch all the festivities.  Ah, here’s a nice patch of grass beside the “Mall,” the long street leading up to Buckingham Palace.  More and more people are gathering along the Mall, waiting to see the Queen.  They are here to honor her dedication to her country and her people.  She has been a queen since she was only 25 years old.  She used to be a princess and her father was King George VI. 

We talked about King George VI, the king with a stutter, in one of our previous shows.  He was a very shy, honorable king who ruled during World War II.  Unfortunately, he got very sick after the war and died while Princess Elizabeth was in Africa on a royal trip.  She left Britain as a princess and returned as a Queen.   As the oldest child of King George VI, she instantly became Queen when he passed away.  Can you imagine how difficult it must have been for her to lose her father, and then have to rule a country at only 25 years old?   

When she turned 21 and was still a princess, she made a speech on the radio and stated:  “I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, will be devoted to your service.”  That means that she would work for them and help them her entire life.  And she kept her promise!  She is now 96 years old.

The Reign of Queen Elizabeth II

During her long reign, she has advised her government, provided aid during times of trouble, offered support and guidance in times of uncertainty, and acknowledged the accomplishments of her people throughout the decades.  She has knighted her finest men and honored her bravest women.  She has opened hospitals and libraries and schools.  She has toured factories and towns and cities to listen to her people and understand their needs.  She has met with presidents and emperors, popes, and kings from around the world to build relationships and unite countries in the name of peace. 

She was the first monarch to address the US Congress.  This was a big moment in history and an act of true friendship that no other king or queen had accomplished – because remember, the US fought a war to gain their independence from England!  And in 2013, she passed the Crown Act, which means that the oldest child of the monarch, whether it is a girl or a boy, will be the next ruler.  Before, only males were allowed to rule even if they had an older female sibling.  Queen Elizabeth II never seems to stop!  She works 365 days a week, reading documents and signing papers that arrive every day in a bright red leather box to the palace.

Celebration Sights and Sounds

But it is getting very crowded on the Mall.  People surround us and we are packed in like sardines!  Everyone is laughing and joking and waving red-white-and-blue flags and wearing funny hats!  Some people are wearing red-white-and blue pom pom headbands or headbands with miniature British flags!  Others wear suits, shoes, sunglasses, and hats in the design of the British flag – they are wrapped in British pride from their head to their toes!  

And the noise!  Suddenly a loud drum booms a rhythm down the Mall, followed by the brassy sounds of a marching band playing a happy tune.  The band comes into view wearing bright red coats and big fluffy bearskin hats.  They look exactly like the guards of the Wicked Witch in the Wizard of Oz – but these are called Grenedier Guards, and they guard the British queen.

The band is followed by rows and rows of soldiers in gleaming helmets riding shiny black horses.  The horses look so proud and strong as they prance past.  They are not bothered by all the noise around them – they have been trained to ignore the loud bands and cheering crowds.   And what is that clatter we hear?  It is the sound of 20 trotting horses pulling heavy cannons on wooden carts.  The horses’ hooves clatter loudly on the pavement as the carts rumble by like a roll of thunder rushing down the Mall.  What a glorious sound.  It must have sounded very fierce in battle hundreds of years ago!

And then a huge roar follows the soldiers down the street.  People yell, “The royals are coming!”  Seconds later, a beautiful carriage comes into view pulled by gleaming horses.  Duchesses Catherine and Camilla, plus the royal children, George, Charlotte, and Louis, smile and wave to the crowd from the open carriage.  A second carriage rolls by with Edward and Sophie, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, smiling and waving.  The Earl is the youngest son of the Queen.  Soon, another marching band comes into view and is followed by the senior royals on gleaming black stallions.  Prince Charles rides in front in a beautiful red uniform and bearskin hat, followed by Prince William and Anne, Princess Royal, both dressed in military uniforms.  They sit ram-rod straight on their horses as they trot down the Mall.  The crowd roars in excitement – these two men are the future kings of England!  

More bands, bagpipers, and soldiers march by, each stepping in unison, arms swinging back and forth in time to the beating drum.  The air is filled with horns and bagpipes, clopping horses and marching soldiers, cheers and whistles!  The crowd is anxious to follow them down the mall to Buckingham Palace to see the Queen!  

Finally, the police open the gates and the crowd surges down the street.  Hundreds of thousands of royal fans flow down the mall like a tsunami – a big ocean wave!  We must be careful as we join them – we don’t want to fall down in this mad rush or lose each other in the crowd.  We rush along for blocks until the crowd slowly comes to a stop in front of the palace.  

The Queen Makes Her Appearance

We are now packed tightly together.  We crane our necks and raise our phones to try to catch a glimpse of the balcony.  Suddenly the balcony doors swing open and the Queen steps out!  She wears a pale blue suit and hat and white gloves.  She walks to the edge of the balcony, followed by her family.  A huge roar erupts from the crowd and the Queen beams a big smile and waves in every direction. 

She stands and waves for many minutes.  Then we hear a roar behind us.  The Queen looks towards the sky and we all follow her gaze.  High in the sky, zooming towards us with a deafening roar is a formation of fighter jets!  They are flying in the formation of the number 70 – marking her 70 years on the throne.  They rush over us with a huge roar of engines.  It is amazing how they can keep in the same tight formation as they fly by so quickly!  Everyone waves their flags and cheers loudly.  We hear another roar and turn to see another formation of jets, this time in an arrow formation.  They whiz by us in a rush of air and exhaust and sound, streaming plumes of red, white, and blue smoke!  The crowd goes crazy!  How exciting! 

Next come an array of planes, jets, and helicopters filling the sky above the palace.  What a glorious site.  The crowd breaks into song, singing happy birthday to the Queen as she stands and waves at us all, beaming with pride and happiness.  

Wow, what an amazing sight – and such a fun day!!!  This has been the best party EVER!

But the party is now over and the Queen and her family go back inside the palace.  It is time for us to leave as well.  This has been a truly historic day because we will not see another woman on the throne of England for a long, long time.  Next in line is Prince Charles, then Princes William and George.  There will be many kings on the throne for years to come.  We are very lucky to see Queen Elizabeth II and celebrate her Platinum Jubilee.

Aspirations of Royalty

What do you think about Queen Elizabeth II?  Would you like to be a king or queen of a country?  If you were a ruler, what would you do to help your country?  Is there a law you would like to pass to help other people?  What country would you like to rule?  Doing one job for 70 years is very hard.  If you could do only one job for your entire life, what would you do?

A huge thanks to Susan Webb for writing this episode after her visit to England for Queen Elizabeth the 2nd’s platinum jubilee. Susan has written a book about Elizabeth’s father King George VI called Bertie: The Best Stuttering King. We bought a copy and read it as a family and sincerely enjoyed it. We recommend purchasing it on Amazon or The Book Patch.

The post Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II for Kids appeared first on Bedtime History: Podcast and Videos For Kids.

Every summer, a wonderful holiday called the “4^th of July” is celebrated in America and it is a joyous time filled with parties and barbecues, and street parades to celebrate America’s independence from Britain in 1776.  And do you know another historic event that happened on the 4^th of July in 1899?  Why, the discovery of “Dippy the Dinosaur,” of course!  What?  You’ve never heard of “Dippy the Dinosaur?”  Well, let’s put on our wings, pack some peanut butter sandwiches, and get ready for a long flight ahead – all the way to London – the wonderful city by the sea in England.  Let’s take flight and fly as fast as we can across mountains and valleys and a big blue ocean to the bustling island – the jewel of the United Kingdom.

Heading to the UK

The night is cool and we glide along on a powerful jet stream – the air whipping our wings and bumping us along past huge fluffy clouds and sparkling stars.  I don’t know about you, but sometimes these bumpy flights can make me a little “sea sick” – or air sick.  It’s a good thing I didn’t have too much to eat before we took off!

Ahhh, there – down below us – see those twinkling city lights and bright red buses?  We have arrived in London!  Let’s land over there on the grass by that big, long building that looks like a cathedral or a palace.  What is it, you ask?  It’s the Natural History Museum and you are going to LOVE it!  It has all sorts of neat things like space rocks and models of prehistoric humans – and DINOSAURS!  And the biggest dinosaur of all in here is DIPPY!!!  Let’s hurry and go inside!

Wow – there’s a stegosaurus skeleton in the lobby!  It’s way bigger than us and has huge, rock-like spikes along its back!  Its jaws are open and gaping at us and his spiky tail is raised high behind him.  He looks like he’s VERY hungry and would like to eat us for lunch!  I’m glad I didn’t live near him during the Jurassic period!  Those prehistoric people must have been very brave.  And what’s that behind the stegosaurus?  It’s an escalator going up into a big, red, glowing ball.  The sign says it is the planet Saturn!  Wow – only in London can you find a planet behind a dinosaur’s butt!

Let’s ride the escalator – I’m tired of flying – and see where it takes us.

Up we go, hearing the roar of the dinosaur behind us as we slowly approach and go into the big red planet.  This is so neat – it’s like a tunnel ride at Disneyland!  

Dippy the Dinosaur

The escalator takes us to the second floor and we follow the signs to find Dippy.  I’m so excited!  This dinosaur is called a Diplodocus Carnegii and it is named after Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish-American steel tycoon – or businessman – who paid for a hunt to find dinosaurs in Wyoming, USA!!!  But what is a Diplodocus?  Well, let’s find out!  Up ahead is a sign that tells us to go down this corridor and around that corner into a big room.

Oh, my word – that is one HUGE dinosaur!  In front of us stands a gigantic skeleton of Dippy the Dinosaur!  He is so tall and so long he takes up the whole side of the museum it seems!  He is lit in blue light and looks truly magnificent!  His head almost touches the ceiling WAY above our heads.  We are so small next to him – we only come up to his shin!  He has a long neck like a giraffe, 4 tall legs, and a tail that is so long it almost touches the back of the room.  He looks like a Brontosaurus!  Have you ever seen them in picture books or dinosaur movies – the dinosaurs that can stretch their necks high up into the tall trees to eat leaves and fruit?  The plaque next to Dippy states that he was discovered near Medicine Bow, Wyoming, on the 4^th of July 1899!  That must have been one amazing celebration!  It says Dippy weighs 3,300 pounds, is 22 feet high and 70 feet long.  Wow – I wonder how much he weighed with all his skin on!!!  The plaque says he is 145-156 million years old and that he and his other diplodocus friends roamed the US Midwest during the end of the Jurassic period.  He is very similar to other sauropods – or dinosaurs like him – such as the Brachiosaurus and Brontosaurus.  

A tour guide comes into the room and he states that Dippy has 80 vertebrae – or bones – in his tail and that his tail may have been used for defense – to swat away other dinosaurs who were trying to attack him.  His tail may have made a cracking sound like a whip and he may have used it for balance while standing on his rear legs to reach high tree tops for food.  Can you imagine a dinosaur sitting on his tail?  Some other scientists state that his long tail might balance his long neck so he doesn’t topple over!  It’s kind of like a seesaw – you need the same weight on either side or it just slams down!

And look, there’s a large claw on each of his front feet.  Maybe that was to dig for roots or to help him move around, like when we put spikes on our tires.

If I crane my neck, I can see his head far above me.  He has peg-like teeth pointing forward in his open mouth.  The tour guide states these teeth helped strip leaves off branches and his teeth fell out every month and were replaced by new teeth.  That’s a lot of visits by the tooth fairy!  The guide states Dippy liked to eat leaves from the trees or soft water plants from riverbeds.  Boy, he would have to do A LOT of eating to fill that big belly!

His front legs are slightly lower than his back legs – like cats.  Maybe that’s to help him bend low to eat plants on the ground.

Since Dippy is a bunch of bones today, we have to imagine what his skin looked like.  The guide states that fossils found near Dippy had impressions – or marks – left from his skin.  These marks showed that he had narrow pointed spines about 7” long on his tail and maybe on his back and neck.  These were probably to stop other dinosaurs from attacking him.  He had scaly skin like a crocodile with different shapes of scales – rectangle, dome, square, and others – depending on where they were on his body.  This probably protected him from heat and bugs.  He was so huge that the sun was shining on him all day long!  That would have been a painful sunburn if he didn’t have those scales!

But how did Dippy get here in this museum in London?  The guide states that he was found in Wyoming by Andrew Carnegie’s archeologists – those are people who dig for fossils and dinosaurs.  This was such an amazing find that Mr. Carnegie wanted to share it with the world.  So, he made plaster casts of Dippy and sent these casts around the world – to London, Berlin, Paris, Vienna, Bologna, St. Petersburg, Buenos Aires, Madrid, and Mexico City in the early 1900’s!  This was during a time called the “Bone Wars,” when everyone was rushing to find a dinosaur.

Dippy is the most famous dinosaur in the world and the first dinosaur many people had ever seen.  King Edward VII of England was amazed when he saw a sketch of Dippy in Andrew Carnegie’s home and that’s how Dippy was gifted to London!  

Dippy even has a poem written about him.  It goes:

Crowned heads of Europe

All make a royal fuss

Over Uncle Andy

And his old diplodocus!

Travels of Dippy the Dinosaur

Dippy has traveled all over the world and been put on display for millions to see.  During World War II, he was taken apart, put in crates, and stored in the museum basement during the bombing of London.  Poor Dippy was buried again!  

But we are so lucky to see him today in all his glory!  He must have been an AMAZING dinosaur in his time, roaming the plains of the US, his feet making thundering sounds and shaking the ground as he searched for food or went to the watering hole.  I wonder what kind of sounds he made?  Maybe a big roar like a lion – or a high screech like a bugle with that long neck.  

What do you think of Dippy and diplodocuses?  Would you have liked to live in the Jurassic period with Dippy?  Which dinosaur is your favorite and why?  Do you think a big asteroid crashed into Earth and destroyed all the dinosaurs?  

Did you know that other animals are going extinct every day due to people expanding into their land and erecting more buildings, destroying the forests for lumber, or polluting the seas with trash?  What can you do to help these other creatures?

Animals, like the dinosaurs, can go extinct at any time, which is why we have to be careful how we treat the earth and the animals which live on it. What can you do to help these creatures who are near extinction?

Maybe on the 4^th of July every year we could make a donation to a fund that helps save our wildlife, seas, and forests.  Wouldn’t that be a great way to honor Dippy and save other species?  I think Dippy is an amazing reminder that we must work to save all the endangered species struggling to survive today.  Who knew a prehistoric dinosaur could help save other wildlife millions of years in the future?!

The post History of Dippy the Dinosaur appeared first on Bedtime History: Podcast and Videos For Kids.

Close your eyes and imagine you’re flying across oceans and meadows, rolling green hills, and winding roads to a peaceful kingdom, the country of England. It’s the early 1900’s and England is a beautiful island with grand palaces, sleepy little towns, a king and queen, and two young princes.  One of these princes is named Bertie.  

Bertie is very shy.  He is small and skinny and has crooked knees.  They are called “knock knees” because they knock together when he walks.  Bertie wears metal braces on his legs to fix his knees.  The braces are painful and squeaky and they pinch his skin.  Not fun at all!  Can you imagine walking around all day with metal rods tied to your legs?  It is very hard to run or swim or play games!

Bertie has an older brother, Edward.  Edward is very handsome and popular.  Everyone admires Edward.  Everyone does NOT admire Bertie.

Bertie wears braces…and he has a STUTTER – that means he can’t speak easily.  He spits and mumbles and blurts out words.  This is very embarrassing for a royal prince.  Princes are supposed to talk – A LOT.  Bertie can hardly talk at all!  He tries to say words, but they stick in his throat and he starts to tremble and shake.  He gets very red in the face.  And then he squeezes his eyes shut and the words burst out all at once.  Not very princely.  

His older brother, Edward laughs at Bertie, which makes him mad and also very sad inside.  Bertie blushes and clamps his mouth shut tight.  The way Edward treats him makes him not want to talk at all.  

Bertie’s parents, the king, and queen are busy ruling their kingdom and do not have time to spend with the princes.  The king gets very mad at Bertie when he cannot speak.  He yells at Bertie: “Just spit it out, boy!” Well, that just makes Bertie more scared and unhappy.  How can he speak when someone is yelling at him?

Bertie sits in his bedroom every night waiting for his nanny to bring him dinner. But she is mean to him, too.  She does not think he is good enough to be a prince.  He wears leg braces and stutters.  What kind of prince is that?  So, when no one is looking, she does things like pinch Bertie and takes away his food.  Bertie is very hungry and sad.  Being a prince is not much fun.

Plus, he is stuck in a small room in the castle all day with Edward.  They study for hours and have no friends.  The days are long and boring.  Bertie can’t wait to get outside to play in the fields or search for polliwogs.  They are slimy and ugly – the best kind of fun! 

When Bertie is a teenager, he is sent away to the Navy.  He is very scared to leave the castle.  How will he make friends?  What will people think of his stutter?  He is lucky that his leg braces have come off – that would have been very embarrassing to walk around a slippery ship like a stumbling stork! 

Being in the Navy is hard.  There are a lot of rules.  There is a lot of pressure to be a great prince.  One day, they go into battle!  That is very scary, with loud guns booming and orders being shouted.  But Bertie and his fellow sailors win the battle!

After the battle, Bertie joins the Royal Air Force and learns to fly airplanes!  Now, THAT is fun!  He loves to sail through the sky as free as a bird – no worries or pressures so high in the sky!  He can be himself and relax in the clouds.  But he always has to come back to earth.

His father, the king, is now old and sick.  Edward and Bertie have to do things for the king – like travel around the kingdom and make speeches.  Bertie really HATES making speeches.  His stutter is terrible.  People look at him and giggle.  People are not supposed to giggle at princes!  

Eventually, the king dies and Bertie’s older brother Edward is crowned King Edward VIII of England.  Unfortunately, Edward is not a good king.  He does not like to do kingly things like talking to people, reading long reports, or making tough decisions. So, instead, he goes to the horse races or drives off to other palaces.  He meets a lady named Wallis.  She isn’t a princess, she’s an American!  An English prince cannot marry an American, especially one who isn’t a princess!!  

Edward doesn’t care. He decides he does not want to be king anymore.  He wants to marry Wallis and leave the kingdom.  Can kings DO that?  Well, no one has ever done it before.  Edward tells Bertie he is leaving and he signs a letter stating he is giving up the throne.  He hands back the crown, the royal ring, the robes!

That means Bertie has to be king!  Bertie is terrified.  He stutters.  He is not ready to be king.  He doesn’t know what to do. He will make a fool of himself and the people will not like him. But he has crowned King George VI anyway at the age of 41.  

When Bertie is King something terrible happens:  England is invaded during World War II!   Enemy planes drop bombs on their cities!  Enemy ships surrounded their country.  What should Bertie do?  How can he lead his people when he cannot speak?  

Bertie and his wife, Elizabeth, find a speech therapist named Lionel Logue.  Lionel works with Bertie on his stutter.  They repeat rhymes and tongue twisters; they scream verses out windows.  They recite poetry while blasting music.  Bertie has a terrible time with p’s, and b’s, and c’s – they stick in his throat and he can’t make his tongue work right.  But Lionel helps him a lot.  And that’s a good thing because, as king, he has to talk – A LOT.  

During the war, Bertie meets soldiers, families, and workers.  He tells them they are doing a good job and their work is appreciated.  He gives them comfort.  His government gives them shelter, food, and medical care.  The people are grateful and they like their new king.  He does a much better job than  King Edward, who was too busy playing all day to rule the kingdom.  And King Edward abandoned them – he ran away from his country and left them alone.  Not a good king at all.

The people realize that Bertie is brave and kind, humble, and courageous.  Yes, he has a  slight stutter, but what does that matter?  He does not run away when times are tough or when there is danger.  He gives them hope and courage.  He does what is right.  He is a GREAT king!

World War 2  lasts six years but Bertie works hard to keep his kingdom and his people safe.  Then the war is finally over.  They have won!  The people are so happy!  They yell “God save the king!’ and wave flags in front of the palace.

Bertie and Elizabeth wave from the palace in thanks!  Their daughters – Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret – stand beside them. 

Bertie continues to rule as king, but he is not feeling well.  The war and the stress of being king have made him very sick.  One night, he passes away in his sleep.  

His daughter, Princess Elizabeth is then crowned queen and she continues to rule the kingdom of England to this day.  

Bertie, who became King George IV, was an inspiration to so many people.  He once wrote:  “The highest of distinctions is service to others.”  This means you should always try to help other people.

What do you think of Bertie?  Do you think he was a good king?  Do you think his stutter made him less of a king than Edward?  If you were king or queen, what would you do to help others?

I think Bertie proved that no matter what struggles you face in life – knock knees, a stutter, or any other challenge – you can overcome them and become something great.  Just because you are different, it does not mean you are less of a person or not as good as someone else.  And he also taught us that you may not always get to do what you want in life.  But he teaches us that whatever you do in life, do what is right and help other people.  Make the world a better place because you are in it!

If you would like to learn more about Bertie, check out the picture book, “Bertie: The Best Stuttering King” for kids ages 7-12.  It is set in rhyme with beautiful, color illustrations and I highly recommend it.  A big thanks to  Susan M. Webb for writing the script and be sure to check out her book which is now for sale on Amazon and TheBookPatch.com.  Also check out her website at  www.susanmwebb.com for more information, as well as games for kids, stuttering resources, and more royal history!

The post History of King George VI of England appeared first on Bedtime History: Podcast and Videos For Kids.

Take a look around the room you’re in right now…

Do you see many things that you or a family member made with their own hands? Maybe you have a special baby blanket that someone knitted for you, or a few art projects hanging on the wall, but I’m guessing that most of the things in the room were made far away in factories. 

250 years ago, things would have been very different. Most of the items in your house would have been made by someone you knew. Either you or a family member would make them, or you would have traded or bought them from someone in your community who made them. Other things might have been handed down from your grandparents.

Back then, people had to know how to do many things to survive and keep themselves comfortable. A man would have a trade, but would also be able to grow food, chop wood, and build and fix things in his house. Women knew how to cook, sew, spin, and weave cloth, keep a garden, and churn butter. A few might have traded too. Children would also do a variety of jobs and chores to keep the household or farm going. A boy would become an apprentice to learn a trade around 13. Most labor was done by people, not machines. The machines that did exist were powered by livestock, like horses and oxen. 

Industrial Revolution

All this would change with the Industrial Revolution. No single invention or person set off the industrial revolution. In fact, the industrial revolution was happening for about 100 years. It’s also important to know that in this time period, these changes started in England, and then spread to the United States and Europe, so that is where we’ll focus in this episode. There were several important inventions and ideas that would change the world and make it look a lot more like it does now. These innovations would drastically change how people worked, and how they bought and made things. Three big types of things happened:

1. New machines were invented.
2. People figured out how to power those machines. At first, they used steam power, then later electricity, oil, and gas.
3. People started building factories, where they could make large quantities of products in one place, instead of having individuals make things in small workshops

But why did people suddenly start inventing all these new machines and ways of doing things? One reason was a population explosion in Britain in the 18th century. All the new babies being born meant that people needed more clothing, and they didn’t want to pay too much. The tradespeople who made cloth and clothing couldn’t keep up. So some of these tradespeople started to invent ways to make more thread and cloth in less time and with less work. They invented machines for spinning thread and weaving cloth.

Water Power

At first, the factories that did this spinning and weaving were located next to rivers. The river’s current would turn a giant wheel, which would power the moving parts of the machinery inside. As you can imagine, this could be inconvenient if you wanted to set up a factory but didn’t live near a river. It wouldn’t be long before people began to invent new ways of powering machines, so they wouldn’t need to be near rivers anymore. You’ve probably heard of engines, like the ones in cars and planes. But did you know that an engine is any machine that generates energy? Engines were about to change how people made things once more.

Steam Power

The first new source of power was the steam engine. When you think of a steam engine, you probably imagine a big train with smoke pouring out of its stack. That is one type of steam engine, but the first steam engines didn’t power trains. They were used in mines. Miners have to dig deep into the earth to find minerals or metals, and often, the mines would flood. The first steam engines were used to pump water out of mines, but they weren’t very powerful. 

A man named James Watt would change that. In 1765, he redesigned the steam engine to be much more powerful and efficient. This made it better at pumping water, but also made it useful for running machinery in factories. And of course, it paved the way for the train steam engine, which would make travel easier and faster!

Steam engines required wood or coal to operate. I won’t go into the details, but wood or coal would be burned in order to heat water to create steam, which in turn powered the machinery. Burning wood and coal, of course, creates a lot of smoke, and this caused a lot of air pollution. In areas with many factories, such as around Birmingham, England, tree trunks even turned black from the smoke! 

Eli Whitney

So far, all the inventions we’ve talked about were created in England, but inventiveness was spreading! In 1793, a tinkerer named Eli Whitney would invent the machine that would bring the industrial revolution to America. Whitney had traveled to South Carolina to work as a tutor. But, while he was visiting a friend’s plantation, he learned about a big problem that southern farmers had with their cotton crops: the white fluff was full of sticky seeds that had to be picked out by hand. It took one person a full day to pick the seeds out of one pound of cotton! 

In about 10 days, Whitney invented the cotton gin. The “gin” part is short for “engine.” It used a system of combs, rollers, and wire sieves to pull the seeds out of the fluff. One person operated the machine with a simple crank. The cotton gin made the work much faster, which meant farmers could make more money by growing cotton.

Unfortunately, many cotton growers decided to buy more slaves in order to process even more cotton using the new machine. Whitney didn’t expect this. He thought his machine would actually reduce slavery, since it did the same job that enslaved people had been doing. But instead, growers just decided to grow even more cotton. That meant more enslaved humans picking the cotton and operating the gins. 

The industrial revolution had some other unexpected results when it came to workers. Many tradespeople didn’t want things to change. They thought that the new machines would take away their work, and then they wouldn’t be able to support themselves. Some got so angry that they attacked the new factories and mills, smashing machinery and even burning some factories to the ground!

Child Labor

Once it became clear that the factories weren’t going away, many of these skilled workers didn’t want to work in them. So, instead of hiring grown-ups, some factory owners began to hire children instead. Children, some as young as five years old, went to work in factories for long, exhausting days. Factory owners paid them only a fraction of what they paid adults for dangerous, difficult work. It would be a long time before countries made laws saying that children need to be allowed to go to school and play, instead of working in factories for very little pay.

Some people, though, welcomed the opportunity to work in a factory. The factories also hired women. In the old system, most women didn’t learn a trade. They got married and did household and farm work to support the family. Working in factories allowed young women in some areas to earn and control their own money, instead of having to get married at a young age and rely on their husbands.

Before the industrial revolution, most people lived in rural areas or small towns, where they could grow food for themselves. As more and more products were made in factories, instead of small workshops, many more people moved from rural areas and farms into the cities where they could work in factories. Cities became crowded and dirty, with many people living in poverty. 

What were working conditions like during the Industrial Revolution?

The factories themselves were also crowded and dirty. On top of that, they were often poorly lit and stuffy. Some were so loud that workers went deaf. Workers were often exposed to materials that could make them sick, and machines that could injure them.  Unlike independent tradespeople, factory workers did the same task over and over again, and they didn’t have much say in how or when they worked. Workdays were long–often 12 hours–and many bosses were very strict. They would only allow workers a few short breaks throughout the day. Many would take away pay if a worker made a mistake or didn’t work fast enough.

The industrial revolution changed just about everything about how people lived and worked.  People went from being skilled craftspeople who had a lot of control over their work, to factory laborers forced to endure harsh, unfair conditions. It changed where people live, as they moved from rural areas to cities. This trend has continued all the way until today, as cities are still growing.

But even though it resulted in pollution, bad working conditions, and child labor, the industrial revolution also made many other innovations possible. We’ve only had time to talk about a few of the innovations of the early industrial revolution, but it wasn’t all about steam power and cloth manufacturing. By the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, we had cars, airplanes, and refrigeration. 

People also started to work together in new ways. Workers began to talk to each other. They formed labor unions and insisted that their bosses make factories safer. The idea of the weekend was born, and laws were passed to require better working conditions. Child labor was eventually outlawed. 

Conclusion

It’s important to remember that events in history often have good and bad consequences. We have to look at both in order to understand the full impact they had on the world. Knowing about the unintended consequences of past events can help us avoid similar results in the future. When we see things in the world today that might cause people, animals, or the planet to suffer, we can ask what we can do to help make things better. That way, we can keep building a better future, bit by bit.

Sources

https://www.britannica.com/summary/Industrial-Revolution-Key-Facts

https://www.eliwhitney.org/7/museum/about-eli-whitney/inventor

https://www.loc.gov/collections/america-at-work-and-leisure-1894-to-1915/articles-and-essays/america-at-work/

  March 14: Eli Whitney Patents the Machine He Thought Would Help End Slavery. Office of the State Historian, Connecticut. https://todayincthistory.com/2020/03/14/march-14-eli-whitney-patents-the-cotton-gin-2/ 

Major, Kenneth (1980) Pre-industrial Sources of Power: Muscle Power. History Today, 30:3.

https://cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/voices.uchicago.edu/dist/a/1299/files/2019/07/sti2014_the-pre-industrial-sources-of-power_-muscle-power-_-history-today.pdf

Mooney, Carla (2011) The Industrial Revolution: Investigate How Science and Technology Changed the World. Nomad Press, Vermont.

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Do you ever imagine your own worlds, where you meet strange creatures, fight goblins, or go on heroic quests? Maybe you’ve given your world a name, drawn maps of it, named and drawn the creatures who live there or even invented languages spoken there. Maybe you’ve even made up stories about your world. It can be fun to create fantasy worlds that are all your own, whether in your head or on the page. 

If you’ve ever let your imagination run wild, you’ll understand why an invented world became such an obsession for John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, better known as JRR Tolkien. He was the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings books. Maybe you’ve read these, or seen the stunning movies that were based on them. Tolkien creates a whole new world called Middle Earth, alive with many fantastical creatures such as elves, wizards, goblins, dwarves, giant spiders … and tiny people called hobbits.  

JRR Tolkien was known as Ronald to his friends and family. He was born in 1892 in South Africa, where his father worked at a British bank. Ronald didn’t remember much from his time in South Africa, because he didn’t live there for long. One of his few memories of South Africa was being bitten by a large spider in his family’s garden. This may have inspired the giant spiders he included in his books later in life.

Sadly though, Ronald’s father passed away when he was four, and his mother moved with him and his brother back to England. There, they lived near his mother’s family, near the city of Birmingham. Mabel taught her boys at home for a time, and Ronald showed an early fascination with languages. When they moved to Birmingham itself, their house backed up to a railroad, where he would study the Welsh writing on the passing train cars. His mother taught him Latin at a young age as well.  

When Ronald was eight, his mother converted to Catholicism. Her family was against this change and stopped talking to her and her sons. Things became even worse in a few years when Mabel became sick and passed away. Fortunately, a local priest, Father Morgan had become a good friend and supporter of the family, and he took care of Ronald and Hilary.  Father Morgan arranged for the boys to live at a boarding house and go to school. Ronald would later say of Father Morgan “I first learned charity and forgiveness from him.”

As a teenager, Ronald spent much of his time learning languages. He studied Latin, Greek, Finnish, and Gothic. Gothic is a language that, like Latin, is no longer spoken, but it was spoken in Germany a very long time ago. Over his lifetime, he would learn about 35 different real languages! I say “real languages”, because as a teenager, Ronald also began making up his own languages.  Many of his constructed languages were inspired by the real languages he spent so much time studying. He invented many languages, though the most well-known are the languages of the Elves in Lord of the Rings. If you watch the Lord of the Rings movies closely, you can see examples of writing in these languages, and hear them spoken at times. These were languages created by Tolkien. 

Around the same time, he began inventing languages, Ronald and his school friends formed a club called the Tea Club and Barrovian Society. The  “Barrovian” part was after Barrows Store, a department store where they went to drink tea and hold their meetings. The friends would share stories they’d written. These friends would keep in touch for many years, and the special bonds of friendship come up again and again in his later writing.  It was the first of several special groups of friends and writers that Ronald would join. If you’ve read the Lord of the Rings, just think about the special friendships between the members of the Fellowship of the Ring!

When he was 16, Ronald met Edith Bratt. The two became close friends and began to fall in love. However, Father Morgan didn’t approve of the relationship and forbade Ronald from seeing, talking, or writing to Edith until he was 21. He didn’t like that she was Protestant (not Catholic) and that she was older than him.

Ronald respected his old priest’s wishes, even though it made him very unhappy. But, on his 21st birthday, he wrote Edith a letter saying he still loved her and asking her to marry him. It was almost too late! Edith had just gotten engaged to someone else because she thought Ronald no longer felt anything for her. But his letter changed everything: she quickly decided to marry Ronald instead. Later, Ronald would write a love story set in Middle Earth, in which he was a mortal man named Beren who married Edith, who was an elf named Luthien.

But before the couple could marry, the history of the real world would change in a dramatic way. World War I started in 1914, the biggest war the world had ever seen. Young men like Ronald were expected to become soldiers and fight for their country. For a while, Ronald delayed enlisting in the army in order to finish school, but in the summer of 1915, he had to enlist. For nearly a year, he trained in England and remained close to Edith. They married in March of 1916, during his training. 

But when training was over, Ronald had to leave England and Edith. This was very difficult, as both of them worried that Ronald might not return from the war. The military sent him to France, just as one of the longest and most terrible battles of the war was starting. This was called The Battle of the Somme (Som). And Ronald was sent directly into the heart of the battle. Life in the middle of this battle was chaotic and scary. The soldiers dug huge trenches in order to protect themselves. There they basically lived underground in dark, muddy, cramped spaces to protect themselves from enemy gunfire and poison gases. The Battle of the Somme dragged on for months. Many soldiers died, and many others got sick in the filthy conditions of the trenches.

Ronald was luckier than other soldiers: he got sick and had to go to the hospital. Sadly many of his friends from school didn’t survive the war. Ronald spent the rest of the war in and out of hospitals, too weak to fight. But his experiences in battle did influence his writing: during his time in the war, he began writing stories of the wars and battles of Middle Earth, which were dark and scary just like his time during World War I.

After the war, J.R.R Tolkien worked as a professor and eventually settled at Oxford University. At Oxford, he again formed a group of friends who enjoyed talking about writing, philosophy, and literature. They called themselves “The Inklings.” Tolkien and the other writers would share their work with the group. Not all of the Inklings were writers, but JRR Tolkien wasn’t the only famous author. C.S. Lewis, who wrote The Chronicles of Narnia, was also part of the Inklings and a close friend of Tolkien! 

Over time, Tolkien and Edith’s family grew to include three sons and one daughter. Tolkien kept adding to the legends of Middle Earth, but now he began to tell these stories to his own children at bedtime. These bedtime stories grew into the book The Hobbit, published in 1937. As you may know, a hobbit is a tiny person he invented, about three feet tall, with large hairy feet, who lives in a hole in the side of a hill. The story follows the unlikely hero, a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins, as he sets off with a group of dwarves on a quest to find stolen treasure guarded by a ferocious dragon. The group doesn’t trust each other at first, but as they help each other through countless perils, adventures, and battles, they develop a strong friendship. 

When the book The Hobbit was published it was a great success. Tolkien’s publisher asked for a sequel. He agreed and began writing The Lord of the Rings. It took him 16 years to complete, and instead of one book, it was published as three. The books tell the story of a different hobbit, Frodo Baggins, who must destroy a powerful ring that threatens to destroy Middle Earth. Along the way, he joins with dwarves, elves, men, and a future king to move the ring across the map all while an epic battle between good and evil plays out across Middle Earth. The dark Lord Sauron has been building his forces of orcs and other dark creatures to steal back the ring so he can rule all races and have ultimate power. 

Not only did Tolkien tell the amazing, epic story, he also drew maps of Middle Earth and wrote parts of the text in Elvish and other languages he invented. These details helped readers enter the world of Middle Earth and feel like it was a real place. Readers loved it, but the books became even more successful when they were released in the United States a few years later.

Tolkien’s books triggered a new obsession with all kinds of fantasy literature. Readers were inspired to write similar stories or make fantasy films or games. Many of the popular fantasy books over the years have been influenced by Tolkien’s stories of wizards, dwarves, elves, and magic. After Tolkien passed away, his son Christopher continued to publish his stories about Middle Earth, so people could read more about the amazing world he’d imagined. 

Starting in 2001, Tolkien’s books were turned into several popular films, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogies directed by Peter Jackson. The films were a huge hit, some of the highest-grossing movies of all time, and the 3rd movie, The Return of the King won several Academy Awards including best picture and best director. The trilogies introduced Tolkein’s books to a whole new generation of fans.

All this happened because one person couldn’t stop thinking about his invented world. JRR Tolkien used his imagination to explore all the possibilities of this world–its people, landscapes, creatures, and languages and kept exploring even when he was a grown-up. 

I hope learning about Tolkien’s life inspires you to imagine new worlds and new adventures, but if you need more inspiration, I definitely recommend reading his books! The Hobbit is a great place to start. If you could invent your own imagined world, what would it look like? Would it be science fiction or fantasy? What would the characters be like? What would be their superpowers? In what kind of places would they live? It’s fun to exercise your creative powers and imagination to build entirely new worlds.

Sources

https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/battle-of-the-somme

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/03/31/books-bcst-question-tolkien-languages

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beren_and_L%C3%BAthien

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._R._Tolkien

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quenya

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Close your eyes and imagine you’re a soldier in a war. But you’re not on the battlefield. Instead, you’re lying in bed recovering from injuries you received in battle. The room is pitch black and it’s been a long night, and you are very uncomfortable. You are sad and not feeling well. You miss your family back at home and wish you were not sick. But suddenly, you hear a door open and you turn and look down the hall. There’s light from a lamp and it’s moving toward you. You smile because you know who it is. A woman, a nurse, stops by you and puts her hand on your shoulder. “How are you feeling,” she asks. “Can I get you anything?” She gives you a drink of water. “Let me know if you need anything else,” she says and then walks away to attend to another soldier. You felt lonely and sad but now you feel much better, thanks to the woman who would become one of the most famous nurses of all time, the Lady with the Lamp, Florence Nightingale. 

Florence Nightingale was born on May 12, 1820. Her parents were English, which means from England, but at the time they were living in the city of Florence, Italy. And this is where she got her name, Florence! The Nightingales were a very wealthy family. Her father was a London banker. Florence and her sister had a very easy, privileged life. Growing up they got to travel all over Europe as a family. Imagine how interesting that would have been! After their travels, they settled in their home country, England. There they had two homes, a summer house in Derbyshire and a winter house in Hampshire. With the homes came servants who took care of them and all of the housekeeping. Like I said, a pretty easy life for the girls and the parents who had plenty of money to live in comfort.

During the 1800s most girls didn’t get a great education. But William Nightingale wanted the best for his daughters, so he took a special interest in their learning and taught them various subjects like history, geography, and literature. Florence was a very gifted child and soaked up everything her father taught her. Even at a young age with lots of practice, she could speak in several languages: French, German, Latin, Greek, Italian, and Latin. 

In the time Florence lived, called the Victorian era, women from wealthy families were expected to only handle housework (with the servants doing most of the work) and host guests. They weren’t supposed to look for jobs or earn money. Florence saw this but wanted something different. She wanted to work for herself and earn money for herself. She wasn’t satisfied with the way the world was. She wanted to find her purpose in life and believed there was more for her than simply running the home and taking care of guests. At an early age, she decided her calling in life would be to help others, to ease their suffering. She loved taking care of sick pets and servants. Being a nurse seemed like a natural fit for desire to help others.

So Florence mustered up the courage and went to her parents to tell them she wanted to be a nurse. They were very upset and refused to let her do it. They told her she wasn’t allowed to go to nursing school. In their minds, this was very inappropriate for a woman of her wealth and status. Like I said, it was a very different time and Florence was going against what was normal in her day.

But do you think Florence just went along with it? Nope. She was determined to become a nurse so she could help others.  Finally, after a lot of persuasion, her father gave in and she packed up her bags and moved to Germany to go to nursing school. The school was called the Institution of Protestant Deaconesses. There she learned all the important skills to take care of other’s medical needs. Florence was a fast learner, so she made quick progress and after moving back to England soon became the head of a hospital in London. 

In 1854, a war broke out between the countries of Turkey and Russia. Did you know there was a country called Turkey? It’s a big country on the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and the Middle East. The war became Russia and Turkey later became known as the Crimean War. Since England, Russia and France were allies, British soldiers were sent to fight in the war. To help sick and injured soldiers, a hospital was set up in Scutari, Turkey. And sadly due to the war, many injured soldiers ended up in the hospital. But the soldiers weren’t being taken care of properly. And this means soldiers who didn’t receive the proper care, often did not survive. Leaders at the time wondered what to do and someone suggested just the person to help – Nurse extraordinaire, Florence Nightingale! Florence was a friend of the Minister of War’s wife and he requested her to accept the job.

So, Florence, not being one to waste time, quickly went to work assembling a team of 34 nurses and all of the supplies they’d need to help the soldiers waiting in the hospital far away in Turkey. 

When Florence and the nurses arrived in Turkey, they were shocked at what they saw! The hospital was so overcrowded that soldiers had to sleep on the floor. And it was very unhygienic, which means it was unclean and it’s very important that a hospital is kept clean because if not germs can flourish and make sick soldiers even sicker. There were puddles of drain water everywhere — and worst of all rats! It was no wonder all of the soldiers were getting infected!

Florence knew if the soldiers were to get better, the hospital would have to change. Right away. With money from England, she quickly improved the conditions. She ordered new equipment, cleaned up the rooms, and even set up the kitchen to serve better quality food. All of her training as a nurse was being put to good use to save the lives of the soldiers and improve their quality of care. She was a true nurse who properly cared for her suffering patients. 

You’d think with all of this busyness, Florence would just want to rest at night. But at all hours, Florence kept an eye on her patients. At night she used to make her rounds, checking on each and every soldier. She used a lamp to light her way and the soldiers named her “the Lady with the Lamp”. Imagine if you were a soldier suffering and could not sleep at night. Imagine what it would feel like to see that lamplight coming down the hall and know that someone cared for you and was checking in on you. This is the kind of care Florence gave! She also wrote letters to the home of the soldiers who were unable to do it themselves and found ways to entertain them.

Thanks to Florence and other nurse’s hard work and selfless service, the conditions in the hospital barracks started to change. The mortality rate, which is the number of deaths in a certain period of time, decreased by two percent. This means that more and more soldiers were starting to survive their injuries!

This was such exciting news that papers back in London started writing articles about Florence Nightingale. People started calling her a heroine. Even the Queen of England wrote her a thank you letter!

After the Crimean War ended, Florence’s work did not. After seeing how poor the conditions were in Turkey, she set out on her new mission to make hospitals better across the empire. She met up with important figures such as Queen Victoria to discuss her ideas. Eventually, the army started training doctors and nurses to take care of soldiers with the care and concern Florence would give them.

To honor her service, the government decided to create a fund as a token of their appreciation and gratitude. They called it the Nightingale Fund and through it a big sum of money was raised and gifted to Florence to use however she pleased. In 1860, Florence set up her own institute called The Nightingale School of Nursing at St. Thomas’ Hospital in London. 

The school gave hope to women who wanted to work and service and earn their own living. It made training and schooling more normal for women in their society. It was an excellent school, one of the first to be developed based on accurate scientific methods. In fact, it was so advanced that most of the techniques that Florence developed in the school are still in practice today! And to this day, she is considered one of the founders of nursing training. 

Florence believed that nursing starts from the home. With this, she set up various training camps in smaller neighborhoods so the women of lower class could learn from her. This improved the level of health in poor families immensely. Not only was Florence a full-time professional nurse, she also published many books on nursing and healthcare. Her most famous writing is the Notes on Nursing: What It Is and What It Is Not which is the best guidebook for household nursing. It has detailed step-by-step procedures on how to best tend to a patient at home.

To honor her service, there are plaques and statues of Florence Nightingale all around the globe. Three statues of Florence are in Derby, England alongside numerous plaques. From Los Angeles in the USA to Andhra Pradesh in India and in Kawanishi in Japan, various countries have put up statues in respect of The Lady with the Lamp.

Spend some time thinking about how Florence lived her life and the change for good she made in the lives of others. Do you like caring for others? What does it feel like after you help someone? It feels good inside, doesn’t it? Florence saw suffering around her and did whatever she could to help. For you, this might start small by helping a sibling when they are trying to tie their shoe or make their breakfast. Or it might mean helping your parents when they are sick — remember how much they helped you when you were sick! In fact, just the other day I wasn’t feeling well and my kids brought me some food and water and it made me feel much better. Next time you’re given the opportunity to serve others, remember Florence Nightingale and the change she made in the lives of others one individual at a time!

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