About This Blog
An alternative "On This Day", On This Deity aims to bring light to and celebrate Culture Heroes, Outsider Icons, Beloved Immortals and Revolutionary Events in history.
Jane Tomlinson
29th July 1890 the Suicide of Vincent van Gogh
On 27 July 1890, Vincent van Gogh, an unkempt, unknown 37-year-old Dutchman, walked out of his lodgings in the village of Auvers-sur-Oise, just north of Paris, where he had been living and working since May. That day instead of his … Continue reading
Posted in Heroes Leave a comment
13th July 1954 the Death of Frida Kahlo
“They thought I was a Surrealist, but I wasn’t. I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality.” …and Frida’s reality was a lifetime of extreme physical pain and tortuous suffering, punctuated with a tempestuous emotional turbulence. Artist Frida Kahlo … Continue reading
Posted in Heroines Leave a comment
14th June 1928 the Death of Emmeline Pankhurst
Today, we remember one of the most important British women of the 20th century who died 83 years ago today, aged 69. Sisters! If you have ever voted in an election, thank Emmeline Pankhurst. And if you have ever decided not … Continue reading
Posted in Heroines 5 Comments
30th May 1431 the Burning of Joan of Arc
“Whatever thing men call great, look for it in Joan of Arc, and there you will find it.” – Mark Twain Five-hundred and eighty years ago today the English tied a 19-year-old French peasant girl to a pillar in the square in … Continue reading
Posted in Heroines Leave a comment
19th May 1536 the Beheading of Anne Boleyn
Four-hundred and seventy-five years ago today, Anne Boleyn knelt upright on a scaffold in the Tower of London on the orders of her husband, King Henry VIII (1491 – 1547). Looming over her was expert swordsman Jean Rombaud who had … Continue reading
Posted in Heroines, World Events Leave a comment
8th May 1903 the Death of Paul Gauguin
“In art, all who have done something other than their predecessors have merited the epithet of ‘revolutionary’; and it is they alone who are masters.” – Paul Gauguin When artist Paul Gauguin’s 54-year-old dead body was lowered swiftly into his … Continue reading
Posted in Heroes 2 Comments
26th April 1937 Guernica
Seventy-five years ago today it was market day in Guernica, a small town in northern Spain considered to be the spiritual capital of Basque culture. In late afternoon, without warning or provocation, Luftwaffe aircraft swooped down over Guernica. Wave after wave bombarded the … Continue reading
Posted in Atrocities, World Events 2 Comments
8th March International Women’s Day
“Violence against women is perhaps the most shameful human rights violation, and it is perhaps the most pervasive. It knows no boundaries of geography, culture or wealth. As long as it continues, we cannot claim to be making real progress towards equality, development, and peace.” – UN Secretary General Kofi Annan” Continue reading
Posted in World Events 7 Comments
4th February 1987 the Murder of Meena Keshwar Kamal
In 1989, as a 26-year-old, I first truly understood what it was like to be disrespected because I am a woman. Although I was modestly dressed, I had dared to walk down the street on my own in a village … Continue reading
Posted in Heroines 5 Comments
13th January 2006 The Murder of Joan Root
Six years ago today, 69-year-old Joan Root lay alone bleeding to death from gunshot wounds at her home on the shores of Lake Naivasha in Kenya. Whodunnit? Who cut down this Kenyan-born English rose? And why? As a young woman, … Continue reading
Posted in Atrocities, Heroines 2 Comments
23rd December 1888 Vincent van Gogh Mutilates His Ear
On this day in 1888 in Arles in southern France, Vincent van Gogh performed the most infamous act of self-mutilation in art history. He cut off part of his left ear lobe. From that point on, the world pointed, laughed … Continue reading
12th December 1982 Greenham Common Peace Women ‘Embrace the Base’
The 12th December 1982 was cold. Not really the kind of day to be hanging about outside unless there is something you really have to do. But there was something that I and thousands of other women really, really … Continue reading
Posted in Dissent, Heroines 3 Comments
7th November 1913 the Death of Alfred Russel Wallace
How and why do species change? Why do some occur in some places, but not in others? Why do they die out? These big questions didn’t scare intrepid British explorer, biologist and geographer Alfred Russel Wallace, who died ninety-seven years … Continue reading
Posted in Heroes 3 Comments