The History of Insurance: From Lloyd’s to Modern Risk Management
“Why take the risk?” some ask, “let’s take the risk.” The magic word insurance spread like a flash among those who had some assets in the 19th century, and once there, insurance became a constant in the thinking and actions of a large part of the population. Closely linked to…
Mount Pelée Eruption: The Deadliest Volcanic Disaster in the Caribbean
The inhabitants of Caribbean Paris, as the town of St. Pierre on the island of St. Pierre was affectionately known, looked anxiously towards the summit of Mt. Pelée, just over six kilometres away. It was true that gas had been leaking from the volcano for less than two years, but…
Violet Jessop: The Titanic Survivor Who Also Lived Through the Britannic & Olympic Disasters
Once there were three sisters. The oldest, Olympia, the middle, Titanic, and the youngest, Britannica. The Olympia is famous for being the only merchant ship ever to attack and sink a German submarine. She encountered it in 1918, two years after her youngest sister, Britannic, was hit by a German…
The Great Fire of London: How the 1666 Inferno Changed the City Forever
On 14 June 2017, Londoners woke up to a morning marked by news of a fire in a 24-storey residential tower block. Its residents had been warning the authorities about the fire risk for several years, but no one had done anything. Sixty-eight people ended up in hospitals, some in…
Unveiling the Typhus Epidemic: How Lice Became Key to Fighting Deadly Diseases
Few people today know about typhoid fever, the disease that has made history and determined the fate of empires over the centuries. But those who have lived through a typhoid epidemic have certainly never forgotten the experience. They know that the disease is transmitted by lice, which live comfortably in…
The Deadly Impact of the 1952 Fog: How Pollution Paralyzed London
Stan Crib was the undertaker. On 5 December 1952, he and his uncle Tom led the funeral procession. Their hearse drove into London, followed by a long line of mourners. Accustomed to the London fog, Stan and Tom slowly made their way into the city. Suddenly, in broad daylight, it…
