For many of us, the moon landing and the attack on the Twin Towers in New York in 2001 were major events we recall vividly. Where were you when you heard about them? What similar event would your ancestors remember?
You can refer to books such as Tracing Your Ancestors Using the UK Historical Timeline by Angela Smith and Neil Bertram, published by Pen and Sword.
I asked AI for a list of similar sudden events for England between 1850 and 1950.
Indian Rebellion of 1857: A rapid imperial uprising that sent shockwaves through Britain.
Great Stink of 1858: An abrupt sewage crisis that overwhelmed London withunbearable odour.
Royal Charter storm of 1859: A ferocious storm that wrecked ships and killed hundreds off the coast.
Death of Prince Albert (1861): A shocking personal loss for Queen Victoria and the nation.
Great Sheffield Flood of 1864: A sudden dam burst that devastated the city and killed over 240.
Princess Alice disaster of 1878: Rapid collision and sinking on the Thames, drowning over 600.
Great Blizzard of 1891: Intense storm that paralyzed southern England.
Death of Queen Victoria (1901): End of the Victorian era; a profound national emotional shock.
1946–47 severe winter: Abrupt post-war crisis with extreme cold, blackouts, and shortages.
The two world wars might be included as individual events, such as the Battle of Passchendaele and the D-Day landings.
Add to those personal events, such as family BMDs.
Sometimes I am impressed with the use of Chatgpt especially in creating outlines and big pictures. Just tried timelines for Nova Scotia specifying use by genealogists. Then tried a couple of small communities and while less info, provided incredible details. As I know pretty well the content, I can say I observed one error. Using AI for this type of structures good but still have concern for users who don’t know enough to see errors and omissions.
I was at a language school at Agriculture and Agri-Foods Canada which I had founded when I heard about the twin towers falling.
All of us went off to the closest home of someone in my class who had CNN. All I can remember thinking is: there’s going to be a war. And I was right. Horrible. Cheers anyways, BT