April 16, 2021 • 10 mins
Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, a famous 18th-century artist who would go on to paint 30 portraits of Queen Marie Antoinette, was born in Paris on this day in 1755. / On this day in 1853, the Great Indian Peninsula Railway opened the first commercial passenger train service in India.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, history enthusiasts, you get not one, but two events
in history today on with the show Hi, I'm Eves
and welcome to this day in History Class, a show
that on covers a little bit more about history every day.
(00:23):
The day was April seventeen. Elizabeth Louise Vja was born
in Paris to Louis j In Jean Mussan. From the
time she was a young girl, Elizabeth took an interest
in art, and by the time she was fifteen, she
was making enough money from her art to support her family.
(00:45):
Elizabeth's mother was a hairdresser, which meant she had some
contact with aristocrats. Elizabeth's father was a past dale portraitist,
and he trained her as an artist when she returned
home from a convent she attended as a young girl.
His artistry also gave the family access to the larger
art world, and she was taught by other popular artists.
(01:07):
In her memoirs, Elizabeth recounted how much art consumed her
as a child, saying, I scrawled on everything at all seasons.
My copybooks and even those of my schoolmates had their
margins crammed with tiny drawings of heads and profiles. But
Elizabeth's father died when she was only twelve years old,
(01:28):
and her passion for art waned for a little while.
Within a year, her mother had married a jeweler whom
Elizabeth and her brother Etienne despised. Elizabeth's interests in art
quickly returned, though, as painter Gabrielle Francois Doya, an old
family friend, encouraged her to keep making art, and she
(01:50):
went to museums and galleries with her mom, studying the
masterpieces of renowned artists. She often visited the Louver and
copy artworks of artists like Van Dyke and Rembrandt. Her
painting style was not quite Rococo, but not completely Neo
Classicist either. As her skill crew so did the number
(02:11):
of people who wanted her to pay their portraits, and
her commissions provided the financially strained family with much needed money.
At age nineteen, she became a member of the Painters
Guild of the Academy the Saint Luke. By seventeen seventy six,
Elizabeth had married Jean Baptiste Pierre Liberal, an art dealer
(02:32):
and artist. The marriage gave her even more access to
art collections and the top tiers of French society. Though
the marriage was good for her professional life. Jean Baptiste
Pierre wasn't a great husband, as he was prone to
gambling off Elizabeth's money, among other misties. The couple had
(02:53):
a daughter named Jean Julie Louise, whom Elizabeth loved. When
Elizabeth was twenty three, and Priss Maria Teresa of Austria
commissioned Elizabeth to paint a portrait of her daughter, none
other than Queen Marie Antoinette. Elizabeth was known for her
ability to make her clients comfortable, and soon she and
(03:14):
the Queen became friends. Over a decade, she painted thirty
portraits of Marie Antoinette. Thanks to her increasing popularity and
relationship with the Queen, Elizabeth was soon accepted as a
member of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture. When
she was admitted at the age of twenty eight and
seventeen eighty three, she was one of just four women
(03:36):
in the academy. Elizabeth was hosting social gatherings at her
home and she was painting so much it was literally
making her sick. But even though her notoriety as an
artist was growing, the French Revolution forced her to flee France.
In seventeen eighty nine, she moved with her daughter to
Italy with little money to her name, then several other
(03:58):
places in Europe, during which time she continued to paint
portraits and landscapes. She had prestigious clients wherever she went,
as her reputation preceded her. Elizabeth and her husband divorced
in seventee and she ended up settling in Russia for
six years. While in Russia, her mother died and her
(04:20):
daughter married a man whom she wasn't particularly fond of.
She went back to Paris after the Revolution, but she
wasn't really feeling the city's new vibe. But after a
stint in London, Elizabeth ended up back in France, where
she lived for the rest of her life. Sadly, her
ex husband, daughter, and brother died in her later years,
(04:43):
but she never stopped making art. Throughout her lifetime, Elizabeth
is estimated to have made more than six hundred paintings.
She was elected to art academies and ten cities, and
found success in the arts despite being a largely self
taught woman. In eight thirty five, she published the first
volume of her memoirs. Elizabeth died in March of eighteen
(05:07):
forty two, though the first major international retrospective of her
art wasn't held until more than seventy years after her death.
Elizabeth is now known for her naturalistic and relaxed art style,
sympathy with her sitters, and technical skill. I'm Eve, Jeff Coo,
and hopefully you know a little more about history today
(05:28):
than you did yesterday. If you'd like to learn more
about Elizabeth, listen to the episode of Stuff You Missed
in History Class called Elizabeth les viv. If you're so inclined,
you can follow us at T D I h C
Podcast on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Come back tomorrow for
(05:50):
another tidbet from History. Hello from the History Closet everyone,
I'm Eves and welcome to another episode of This Day
and History Class. Like so many of you, I am
(06:10):
at home, but I am doing well and I hope
you're doing well too, And as always, the show goes on.
The day was April six, eighteen fifty three. The Great
Indian Peninsula Railway opened the first commercial passenger train service
(06:34):
in India. This service was not the first railway that
operated in the country. The Red Hill Railroad, built in
Madras in the mid eighteen thirties was the first railway
in India. It was built for the carriage of minerals
and it was an operation by eighteen thirty seven. In
May of eighteen forty five, the Madras Railway Company was established.
(06:56):
In that same year, the East India Railway Company was
also formed, but these railways were built to transport materials,
not passengers. Throughout the beginning of the eighteen forties, British
people promoted the idea of constructing railway lines in India.
Roland McDonald Stevenson supported the creation of a line from
Calcutta towards Delhi and Varonesey, and he published a text
(07:18):
called Report upon the Practicability and Advantages of the Introduction
of Railways into British India. British civil engineer Charles Blacker
Vignol submitted a report to the East India Company on
the potential of constructing a railway network in India. The
proposal had colonial designs with an aim of facilitating trade
(07:39):
and managing the country. In eighteen forty three, Governor General
Lord Harding claimed that the railways would be beneficial to
the quote commerce, government and military control of the country,
and Lord Dalhousie, who was the Governor General of India
starting at eighteen forty eight, advocated in trusting railway construction
to private companies rather than let the government be in
(08:00):
charge of constructing railways. On August one, eight nine, the
Great Indian Peninsula Railway or the g I p R
was incorporated by an act of the British Parliament. A
couple of weeks later, the East India Company entered into
contracts with the East Indian Railway Company and the g
I PR Company for the construction of experimental lines. The
(08:23):
East India Company was a monopolistic training company that eventually
became involved in politics and extended Britain's imperial power in India.
Per the old guarantee system, free land and a guaranteed
five percent rate of return was provided to British companies
willing to build railways. On April eighteen fifty three, the
(08:45):
first commercial passenger train in India was inaugurated when the
first section of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway opened. The
train departed from Bori Bunder station in present day Mumbai
that afternoon headed for Tana. It had fourteen railway carriages
and four hundred guests and it was hauled by three locomotives.
The trip was about twenty one miles or thirty four kilometers.
(09:09):
The second section of the railway from Tana to kel
Yahn opened in eighteen fifty four. That same year, the
East Indian Railway Company opened to passenger service that ran
from Howrah, which is near Calcutta, to Hoogli. From the
eighteen fifties onward, passenger railways in India were expanded. By
eighteen eighty, around nine thousand miles of railways spanned across India.
(09:32):
The railways allowed the British to transport goods and to
deploy officials and military resources. Many people who constructed the
railways died from the working conditions and diseases that hit camps.
The railways were a major part of the colonial project,
but the number of Indian passengers also increased over the years.
Rail travel also highlighted cast divides in India. In nineteen hundred,
(09:56):
the Indian government purchased the g I p R. Half
a century later, the g I p R combined with
other railways to form a zone of Indian railways called
Central Railway. India's national rail network is the fourth longest
in the world. The history of railways in India is
intertwined with the British legacy of colonization, exploitation, and racism
(10:20):
in the country. I'm Eves Jeff Coote and hopefully you
know a little more about history today than you did yesterday.
And if you have anything you'd like to tell us,
you can send us a note on social media at
t d i HC Podcast. You can also send us
an email at this day at i heeart media dot com.
(10:42):
Thanks again for listening to the show and we'll see
you again tomorrow. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio,
visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
listen to your favorite shows.
Hey, history enthusiasts, you get not one, but two events
in history today on with the show Hi, I'm Eves
and welcome to this day in History Class, a show
that on covers a little bit more about history every day.
(00:23):
The day was April seventeen. Elizabeth Louise Vja was born
in Paris to Louis j In Jean Mussan. From the
time she was a young girl, Elizabeth took an interest
in art, and by the time she was fifteen, she
was making enough money from her art to support her family.
(00:45):
Elizabeth's mother was a hairdresser, which meant she had some
contact with aristocrats. Elizabeth's father was a past dale portraitist,
and he trained her as an artist when she returned
home from a convent she attended as a young girl.
His artistry also gave the family access to the larger
art world, and she was taught by other popular artists.
(01:07):
In her memoirs, Elizabeth recounted how much art consumed her
as a child, saying, I scrawled on everything at all seasons.
My copybooks and even those of my schoolmates had their
margins crammed with tiny drawings of heads and profiles. But
Elizabeth's father died when she was only twelve years old,
(01:28):
and her passion for art waned for a little while.
Within a year, her mother had married a jeweler whom
Elizabeth and her brother Etienne despised. Elizabeth's interests in art
quickly returned, though, as painter Gabrielle Francois Doya, an old
family friend, encouraged her to keep making art, and she
(01:50):
went to museums and galleries with her mom, studying the
masterpieces of renowned artists. She often visited the Louver and
copy artworks of artists like Van Dyke and Rembrandt. Her
painting style was not quite Rococo, but not completely Neo
Classicist either. As her skill crew so did the number
(02:11):
of people who wanted her to pay their portraits, and
her commissions provided the financially strained family with much needed money.
At age nineteen, she became a member of the Painters
Guild of the Academy the Saint Luke. By seventeen seventy six,
Elizabeth had married Jean Baptiste Pierre Liberal, an art dealer
(02:32):
and artist. The marriage gave her even more access to
art collections and the top tiers of French society. Though
the marriage was good for her professional life. Jean Baptiste
Pierre wasn't a great husband, as he was prone to
gambling off Elizabeth's money, among other misties. The couple had
(02:53):
a daughter named Jean Julie Louise, whom Elizabeth loved. When
Elizabeth was twenty three, and Priss Maria Teresa of Austria
commissioned Elizabeth to paint a portrait of her daughter, none
other than Queen Marie Antoinette. Elizabeth was known for her
ability to make her clients comfortable, and soon she and
(03:14):
the Queen became friends. Over a decade, she painted thirty
portraits of Marie Antoinette. Thanks to her increasing popularity and
relationship with the Queen, Elizabeth was soon accepted as a
member of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture. When
she was admitted at the age of twenty eight and
seventeen eighty three, she was one of just four women
(03:36):
in the academy. Elizabeth was hosting social gatherings at her
home and she was painting so much it was literally
making her sick. But even though her notoriety as an
artist was growing, the French Revolution forced her to flee France.
In seventeen eighty nine, she moved with her daughter to
Italy with little money to her name, then several other
(03:58):
places in Europe, during which time she continued to paint
portraits and landscapes. She had prestigious clients wherever she went,
as her reputation preceded her. Elizabeth and her husband divorced
in seventee and she ended up settling in Russia for
six years. While in Russia, her mother died and her
(04:20):
daughter married a man whom she wasn't particularly fond of.
She went back to Paris after the Revolution, but she
wasn't really feeling the city's new vibe. But after a
stint in London, Elizabeth ended up back in France, where
she lived for the rest of her life. Sadly, her
ex husband, daughter, and brother died in her later years,
(04:43):
but she never stopped making art. Throughout her lifetime, Elizabeth
is estimated to have made more than six hundred paintings.
She was elected to art academies and ten cities, and
found success in the arts despite being a largely self
taught woman. In eight thirty five, she published the first
volume of her memoirs. Elizabeth died in March of eighteen
(05:07):
forty two, though the first major international retrospective of her
art wasn't held until more than seventy years after her death.
Elizabeth is now known for her naturalistic and relaxed art style,
sympathy with her sitters, and technical skill. I'm Eve, Jeff Coo,
and hopefully you know a little more about history today
(05:28):
than you did yesterday. If you'd like to learn more
about Elizabeth, listen to the episode of Stuff You Missed
in History Class called Elizabeth les viv. If you're so inclined,
you can follow us at T D I h C
Podcast on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Come back tomorrow for
(05:50):
another tidbet from History. Hello from the History Closet everyone,
I'm Eves and welcome to another episode of This Day
and History Class. Like so many of you, I am
(06:10):
at home, but I am doing well and I hope
you're doing well too, And as always, the show goes on.
The day was April six, eighteen fifty three. The Great
Indian Peninsula Railway opened the first commercial passenger train service
(06:34):
in India. This service was not the first railway that
operated in the country. The Red Hill Railroad, built in
Madras in the mid eighteen thirties was the first railway
in India. It was built for the carriage of minerals
and it was an operation by eighteen thirty seven. In
May of eighteen forty five, the Madras Railway Company was established.
(06:56):
In that same year, the East India Railway Company was
also formed, but these railways were built to transport materials,
not passengers. Throughout the beginning of the eighteen forties, British
people promoted the idea of constructing railway lines in India.
Roland McDonald Stevenson supported the creation of a line from
Calcutta towards Delhi and Varonesey, and he published a text
(07:18):
called Report upon the Practicability and Advantages of the Introduction
of Railways into British India. British civil engineer Charles Blacker
Vignol submitted a report to the East India Company on
the potential of constructing a railway network in India. The
proposal had colonial designs with an aim of facilitating trade
(07:39):
and managing the country. In eighteen forty three, Governor General
Lord Harding claimed that the railways would be beneficial to
the quote commerce, government and military control of the country,
and Lord Dalhousie, who was the Governor General of India
starting at eighteen forty eight, advocated in trusting railway construction
to private companies rather than let the government be in
(08:00):
charge of constructing railways. On August one, eight nine, the
Great Indian Peninsula Railway or the g I p R
was incorporated by an act of the British Parliament. A
couple of weeks later, the East India Company entered into
contracts with the East Indian Railway Company and the g
I PR Company for the construction of experimental lines. The
(08:23):
East India Company was a monopolistic training company that eventually
became involved in politics and extended Britain's imperial power in India.
Per the old guarantee system, free land and a guaranteed
five percent rate of return was provided to British companies
willing to build railways. On April eighteen fifty three, the
(08:45):
first commercial passenger train in India was inaugurated when the
first section of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway opened. The
train departed from Bori Bunder station in present day Mumbai
that afternoon headed for Tana. It had fourteen railway carriages
and four hundred guests and it was hauled by three locomotives.
The trip was about twenty one miles or thirty four kilometers.
(09:09):
The second section of the railway from Tana to kel
Yahn opened in eighteen fifty four. That same year, the
East Indian Railway Company opened to passenger service that ran
from Howrah, which is near Calcutta, to Hoogli. From the
eighteen fifties onward, passenger railways in India were expanded. By
eighteen eighty, around nine thousand miles of railways spanned across India.
(09:32):
The railways allowed the British to transport goods and to
deploy officials and military resources. Many people who constructed the
railways died from the working conditions and diseases that hit camps.
The railways were a major part of the colonial project,
but the number of Indian passengers also increased over the years.
Rail travel also highlighted cast divides in India. In nineteen hundred,
(09:56):
the Indian government purchased the g I p R. Half
a century later, the g I p R combined with
other railways to form a zone of Indian railways called
Central Railway. India's national rail network is the fourth longest
in the world. The history of railways in India is
intertwined with the British legacy of colonization, exploitation, and racism
(10:20):
in the country. I'm Eves Jeff Coote and hopefully you
know a little more about history today than you did yesterday.
And if you have anything you'd like to tell us,
you can send us a note on social media at
t d i HC Podcast. You can also send us
an email at this day at i heeart media dot com.
(10:42):
Thanks again for listening to the show and we'll see
you again tomorrow. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio,
visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
listen to your favorite shows.
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