The Death of Venezuelan Dictator Juan Vicente Gómez.

Juan Vicente Gómez, the long-time dictator of Venezuela, died 90 years ago today, on December 17, 1935, in Maracay, Venezuela.

Gómez, who ruled for 27 years, died aged 78, of natural causes after a prolonged illness.

His death marked the end of a 27-year authoritarian regime and opened the way for cautious political reforms under his successor, Eleazar López Contreras. Gómez’s rule was characterized by political repression, but also by state consolidation and the early development of Venezuela’s oil economy.

After the 1914 Lake Maracaibo oil discovery, President Gómez cut Venezuela's huge debt by giving foreign oil companies concessions. Consequently, he gained backing from the US, Europe, and financial stability.

Jane Austen - 250 Years On.

Today is the 250th anniversary of the birth of British novelist Jane Austen.

Famous for writing Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey & Persuasion, she was born on 16th December 1775 in the village of Steventon, close to Basingstoke, Hampshire. England.

Austen wrote about marriage, money, class, and morality, often with irony and subtle humour. She was a major figure in the shift from 1700s literature to today's novels, and she wrote about bright women dealing with societal limits.

She passed away at the young age of 41 in Winchester, Hampshire, on 18th July 1817.

Her work remains widely read, adapted into films and series, and influential in literature and popular culture.