Mersey Reporter - Local, Regional and International History

Welcome to our History Section! We are here to give you context about our amazing, rich and diverse Region. You will learn how changes here shaped the global events and the world.

We will talk about Liverpool developing railways, tidal docks, its roll in the American Civil War and the World Wars, its cultural influence and the importance of music. Did you know that Liverpool, in fact, was declared a City of Music by UNESCO in 2004? And it's also the only City in the UK to be awarded European Capital of Culture, though to its impact on the music across the globe!

We'll also shed more light on many hidden and often overlooked parts of history, such as in 1846, Prince Louis Napol�on Bonaparte, the future Napol�on III, Emperor of France, lived for a brief period in Southport and got inspired by Lord Street, which later influenced roads and architecture of Paris. Another item that many do not realise is that the design of Central Park, in New York, America, by American landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead, was influenced by his visit to Birkenhead Park, in 1850. These small snippets are just a start on what we are going to be adding to this section, so please keep logging on to find out more!

Anglo-Saxons Settled In Britain

Around this time the Germanic tribe of warrior / farmers who came over from the areas now known as the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. The tribes name is said to be derived from the Seax, a distinctive knife that they commonly used. This era is commonly known as Early Medieval England.

Norman Conquest

On 6 January 1066, Harold Godwinson (Harold II) was crowned King of England. Then on 14 October 1066, the Battle of Hastings took place, which would see the forces of the Norman army of William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy defeat Harold's army and kill him in the process. This led to William being crowned King of all England.

World War One

World War I was the first ever global war that was originally called the Great War. The war ran from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. Liverpool's role in World War I was to be extremely important. As a city, it provided the greatest range of docks in the world. Despite the maritime nature of Liverpool and surrounding areas, men from the city where quick to sign up to the British Army, with the formation of a new battalion, thanks to local Lord Derby. This move led to the creation of what was to become known as the Pals. So important was its role in WWI, that its role was commemorated in 2014, with a massive international event, called:- "The Giants."

World War Two

This War involved virtually every part of the world, running from 1 September 1939 to 2 September 1946. Just as in World War One, Liverpool was to be one of the major players in this conflict. Its most important roles where as the main port for feeding the nation, also keeping the supply channels open. It also had 1 of the 6 most important buildings for the Allies, located in Liverpool's City Centre, called:- "Western Approaches." This highly top secret bunker and its role in controlling our nation's naval fleets around the world only came to light late in 1990's when it was declassified. Centrally to popular belief, Liverpool also was the most bombed city, in the UK, out of London.

The World Wide Web

On 6 August 1991, whilst working at CERN, the British Computer Scientist, Tim Berners-Lee published the very first website to no fanfare or even global press attention. In fact, most people didn't even know about it at the time! It was original made to meet demands to automatically save and share data for scientists working within Universities and other institutions around the World.

the First smartphone

16 years before Apple was to released the 'iPhone,' the very first smartphone was unveiled by IBM. It was called the:- 'Simon Personal Communicator.' This device was the very first time a phone and a PDA was to be combined as a handheld device that could be used for emails and sending faxes. The cost of this device was around $899 to $1099 US. This price did not include call costs or service contracts! However this LCD touch screen personal assistant (PDA) did come with:- 2 batteries, leather protective sleeve, manual, stylus and a charger! At the time it was so futuristic that it got the title:- 'smart-phone' something that has stuck ever since with digital phones. It is also worth adding that its software features such as the address book, calendar, calculator, and world clock didn't have any internet communicator or web browser! If you wanted the internet you would have to wait until the:- 'Nokia 9000 Communicator' was launched in 1996!