History of Snooker

The Billiard Player; April 1937 Some say it was invented at an officers' mess in India, where the balls were so badly discoloured that they could only tell which was which by the shape. Personally, I think, like " Topsy," it simply grow'd. This theory is supported by the fact that in the pre-snooker days, "when I wor' a lad," we had several games near it, such as "Black-pool" and "Pink-pool," and, after all, snooker is but a combination of those dear old games, pyramids and pool. "Dear" they were in more senses than one, for as a budding young cueist who fancied himself at potting a ball, it was for me generally like that other popular game of the naughty nineties "shell out." A well-known Leeds sportsman, Mr. Dunford Richardson, seems certain that he knows where snooker was first played; he avers that it originally came from America. Mr. Richardson, who in age is well past the allotted span, bases his knowledge on the fact that about 1887, he spent some time at Ventnor, Isle-of-Wight, and there he met some American officers who showed him how to play snooker. From this, Mr. Richardson, undoubtedly, first brought it to Leeds. I can only go as far back as 1890, but I do remember at that time what confusion there was about how snooker was played, and what the rules were. Mr. Richardson, who, by the way, in his time was one of the most brilliant amateurs that we have had in Yorkshire, tells me he wrote to America for the rules of snooker, and obtained a set. And now my snooker query is ended in the hope that anyone with knowledge of how the game began will his tale unfold—George Nelson By way of helping the snooker symposium, we can vouch for a copy of "The Rules of Snooker;" a framed copy in very neat hand-writing, in an officers' mess in England in 1895. The game, so regimental tradition ran, was invented by a "Colonel Snooker," in India. The only difference between the rules of 1895 and those of the present is that the BETTER GAME was played under the old rules.-ED Concerning the origin of snooker, I have received a most interesting communication from Lt.-Col. G. Ll. H. Howell, late R.A. Writing from Arden, Tobago, he states: "The fact that you first came across the game in a gunners' mess, coupled with the name of the game, might have led you to suspect a possible place of origin. "You no doubt know that first term cadets at The Shop (R.M.A. Woolwich) have been called 'Snookers' for well over a hundred years at least. "I first played the game in my second term as a cadet at The Shop in 1893, and as an officer in the Shoebury mess in 1895. "There I played with some very senior officers, amongst others the then Commandant of the School of Gunnery, who was not only a very good player, but had at least thirty years' service. From his conversation on the subject, as well as that of other senior officers, it was quite certain that they had all played the game when cadets at The Shop—so that brings us to at least 1865. "Moreover, I never heard anyone suggest that the game was anything but an old-established one in his time in The Shop. This, without suggesting the actual date of birth, at least confers quite a respectable age on the game.

History of Football

The first description of a football match in England was written by William FitzStephen in about 1170. He records that while visiting London he noticed that "after dinner all the youths of the city goes out into the fields for the very popular game of ball." He points out that every trade had their own football team. "The elders, the fathers, and the men of wealth come on horseback to view the contests of their juniors, and in their fashion sport with the young men; and there seems to be aroused in these elders a stirring of natural heat by viewing so much activity and by participation in the joys of unrestrained youth."

A few centuries later another monk wrote that football was a game "in which young men... propel a huge ball not by throwing it into the air, but by striking and rolling it along the ground, and that not with their hands but with their feet." This chronicler strongly disapproved of the game claiming it was "undignified and worthless" and that it often resulted in "some loss, accident or disadvantage to the players themselves."

One manor record, dated 1280, states: "Henry, son of William de Ellington, while playing at ball at Ulkham on Trinity Sunday with David le Ken and many others, ran against David and received an accidental wound from David's knife of which he died on the following Friday." In 1321, William de Spalding, was in trouble with the law over a game of football: "During the game at ball as he kicked the ball, a lay friend of his, also called William, ran against him and wounded himself on a sheath knife carried by the canon, so severely that he died within six days." There are other recorded cases during this period of footballers dying after falling on their daggers.

Edward II became involved in the debate on football and in 1314 complained about "certain tumults arising from great footballs in the fields of the public, from which many evils may arise." At the time he was trying to raise an army to fight the Scots and was worried about the impact that football was having on the skills of his archers.

Longbowmen practicing at the butts (Geoffrey Luttrell Psalter, 1325)

In an attempt to make the English the best longbowmen in the world, a law was passed ordering all men earning less than 100 pence a year to own a longbow. Every village had to arrange for a

History of Cricket

The origins of cricket are very vague, and many theories have been put forward suggesting its origins. Extensive studies and research have been conducted to trace its history and they have come out with different versions. However it is commonly accepted that the game originated from a very old leisure activity indulged by shepherds. The shepherds used crook and other farm equipments to hit a ball like deceive which used to be made up of wool or stone.

The first evidence of cricket being played was recorded in the year 1550, by the pupils of Royal Grammar School, Guildford. In the year 1611 it is reported that two young men from Sussex were punished for playing cricket instead of going to the church. The first match is recorded to have been played at Coxheath in Kent in the year 1646.

Who Invented Baseball?

In 1905, Abraham G. Mills was appointed to head a commission to discover who invented baseball after a dispute between Henry Chadwick and Albert Spalding. The British-born Chadwick, contended that the game evolved from the English game of Rounders. Spalding claimed it was invented in America, by an American.
Noted as one of the great pitchers of the 1870s, Albert Goodwill Spalding (1850–1915) made his mark as Baseball's foremost promoter, entrepreneur and executive. After William Hulbert's death, Spalding succeeded his lifelong friend as president of both the Chicago White Stockings and the National League of Professional Ball Clubs. In 1876, he and his brother started a line of sporting goods that was so successful that it continues to flourish today. Twelve years later, Spalding took his players on a worldwide tour to spread the gospel of Baseball and in 1911 created a huge campaign to have it declared the national pastime. When the Players'

Histoy of Japan

Prehistoric Japan

During the Jomon period, which began around 10,000 BC, the inhabitants of Japan lived by fishing, hunting, and gathering. The period is named after the cord-markings (jomon) on the pottery they produced. In the Yayoi period, beginning around 300 BC, rice cultivation was introduced from the Korean Peninsula. An account of Japan in a Chinese historical document of the third century AD describes a queen named Himiko ruling over a country called Yamatai.

History of Afghanistan

The story of Afghanistan is in so many ways a very tragic one. Afghanistan is one of the most impoverished nations of the world. It is one of the most war-torn, most ravaged, and most beleaguered of nations. It is a nation that has been beset by invasion, external pressure and internal upheaval since before the time of Alexander the Great. Its people are a people who have endured more than most of us can ever imagine. In fact, for many Afghanis, all that has changed in the last one thousand years are the weapons which have been

History of India

The people of India have had a continuous civilization since 2500 B.C., when the inhabitants of the Indus River valley developed an urban culture based on commerce and sustained by agricultural trade. This civilization declined around 1500 B.C., probably due to ecological changes.

During the second millennium B.C., pastoral, Aryan-speaking tribes migrated from the northwest into the subcontinent. As they settled in the middle Ganges River valley, they adapted to antecedent cultures.

History of Pakistan

British Rule and Muslim League

The British ruled the Indian subcontinent for nearly 200 years-from 1756 to 1947. After the Indian Mutiny of 1857, the British government abolished the powers of the British East India Company, which had ruled the sub-continent on behalf of the British Crown, and took on direct powers of governance. Political reforms were initiated, allowing the formation of political parties. The Indian National Congress, representing the overwhelming majority of Hindus, was created in 1885. The Muslim League was formed in 1906 to represent and protect the position of the Muslim minority. When the British introduced constitutional reforms in 1909, the Muslims demanded and acquired separate electoral rolls. This guaranteed Muslims representation in the

Daibutsu Buddha - 大仏 (cast in 1252)

 

Daibutsu Buddha - 大仏 (cast in 1252)

The Daibutsu (大仏) is an enormous statue of bronze cast in the year 1252. Its name means "Great Buddha" in Japanese. The impetus for this great work dates back to the early years of the 13th century, when the court lady Inadano-Tsubone (an attendant of Shogun Yoritomo) desired to have a Buddha image created as an

Kenchō-ji Temple(built 1253 onward)

 

Kenchō-ji Temple

Kenchō-ji is the first ranked of the five great Zen temples in Kamakura, and is the oldest Zen training monastery in Japan. It was constructed by order of the Emperor Gofukakusa during the regency of Hojo Tokiyori (1227-3). Work was completed in the fifth year of the Kenchō Era (1253) from which the name of

Himeji Castle (built 1601-09 onward)

 

Himeji Castle (built 1601-09 onward)

 

The castle at Himeji is an iconic image of Japan and one of the finest examples of fortress architecture in the world. It stands at the center of Himeji city, a strategic point along the route to the western provinces of Honshu (the main island of Japan). The castle was built atop a natural 45-meter hill called Himeyama, and its main donjon (tower) rises an additional 31 meters. From afar, the graceful rooflines of its white towers

Silver Pagoda (built 1892, rebuilt 1962 onward)

 

Silver Pagoda (built 1892, rebuilt 1962 onward)

 The Silver Pagoda was constructed in 1892 by King Norodom to house the ashes of the royal family. Among its many treasures is a gold buddha weighing 90 pounds and covered with an astonishing array of over 9000 diamonds. In later years the Silver Pagoda, which was made of wood, suffered extensive damage. It was

Aristotle

 

Aristotle


The Greek philosopher and scientist Aristotle created the scientific method, the process used for scientific investigation. His influence served as the basis for much of the science and philosophy of Hellenistic (Ancient Greek) and Roman times, and even affected science and philosophy thousands of years later.

Galileo Galilei

 

Galileo Galilei 


The Galileo Galilei biography is a story of invention and scientific achievement. In fact, he did so much in the various fields of scientific study, that he is considered by many to be the father of science itself.

Albert Einstein

 

Albert Einstein


Albert Einstein was born at Ulm, in Württemberg, Germany, on March 14, 1879. Six weeks later the family moved to Munich, where he later on began his schooling at the Luitpold Gymnasium. Later, they moved to Italy and Albert continued his education at Aarau, Switzerland and in 1896 he entered the Swiss Federal Polytechnic School in Zurich to be trained as a teacher in physics and mathematics. In 1901, the year he

Thomas Edison

 

Thomas Edison 

Edison is the great inventor who has over 1000 patents and his inventions are in various fields used in our daily life. In his early life he was thought to have a learning disability and he could not read till he was twelve and later he himself admitted that he became deaf after pulling up to a train car by his ears. He first could able

Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta

 

Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta 


Volta was Italian physicist and he is best known for his contribution to the development of electric battery. This benevolent scientist is also regarded as one of the founder of the electric age. His parents sent him to the Jesuit school intending to make him a Jurist. He also taught in the University of Pavia for 25 year. After that in

Stephen Hawking

 

 Stephen Hawking

This famous scientist is considered as the greatest scientist of the twentieth century after Einstein. Haw king’s big bang theory and black hole theory has turned the attention of the world. He is the professor of

Louis Pasteur

 

Louis Pasteur

He is one of the most famous contributors in the medical science. He first introduced the germ theory of diseases. This is regarded as the base of today’s microbiology. He found out some of the notion of the microbe and he could find out that the viruses were not detectable through microscope. Another important

Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose

 

Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose 

He was the first renowned Bengali scientist who had an important contribution in the invention of Radio and microwave optics. He was born in Mymensingh in Bengal which is the current Munshiganj District in Bangladesh. He studied in Hare school in Kolkata and then he got his B.A. in Science degree from Calcutta