Today in History: 1661 First banknotes in Europe are issued by the Bank of Stockholm
Anything can be used as money that other people are prepared to accept and items employed as currency in different parts of the world over the centuries range from cows, sea shells, feathers, rice, lumps of salt, dogs’ teeth, pigs’ teeth and whales’ teeth, to eggs, pieces of telephone wire, cigarettes and lipstick. The history of metal coins goes far back into antiquity and the Chinese had invented paper money by the time of the Tang Dynasty in the seventh century ad.
By the time of the Renaissance European bankers were keeping customers’ gold and silver safe for them, with a written receipt promising to produce the cash money on demand. These ‘running cash notes’ frequently undertook to hand the cash over to whoever was in possession of the note – the bearer – and could be handed around from one person to another in business dealings, which made them convenient for merchants and traders.
Europe’s earliest modern-style banknotes, available to all and sundry with each note worth a fixed sum, were introduced by the Bank of Stockholm. The bank had been started in 1657 by Johan Palmstruch in close collaboration with the royal government which pocketed half the profits. It was Palmstruch who suggested the kreditivsedlar (credit notes) and they provided a welcome alternative to Sweden’s massive copper coins, which were dismayingly heavy and clumsy. Colloquially known as Palmstruchers the notes were printed on thick, white watermarked paper with the word banco as the watermark and carried the date, the bank’s seal and eight signatures, headed by Palmstruch’s, as an assurance of reliability. They were in stated denominations and payable to the bearer and anybody who had one was promised payment by the bank.
Unfortunately Palmstruch issued far too many of the notes. He did not have enough gold and silver tucked away to redeem them on demand and the bank collapsed. He was tried and sentenced to death or exile but was sent to prison instead and died soon after, in 1671.
Read more here: Europe’s first banknotes issued in Sweden | History Today
Also on this day:
622 Islamic Era begins: Muhammad and his followers begin migration from Mecca to Medina (Hijra)
1054 The Great Schism between Western and Eastern churches begins when Roman Cardinal Humbert issues a bull of excommunication against Cerularius, Patriarch of Constantinople, on the altar of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople
1439 Kissing is banned in England to stop the spread of the Black Death
1809 La Paz, Bolivia declares its independence from the Spanish Crown and forms the Junta Tuitiva led by Pedro Domingo Murillo, the first independent government in Spanish America
1867 Joseph Monier patents reinforced concrete
1880 Dr. Emily Stowe becomes the first woman licenced to practise medicine in Canada.
1895 Lancashire batsman Archie MacLaren scores the first quadruple-hundred (424) in first-class cricket against Somerset at Taunton
1926 National Geographic takes first natural-color undersea photos
1945 1st test detonation of an atomic bomb, Trinity Site, Alamogordo, New Mexico as part of the US Manhattan Project
1955 Juan Manuel Fangio of Argentina clinches his third Formula 1 World Drivers Championship by finishing 2nd to fellow Mercedes driver Sterling Moss in the British Grand Prix at Aintree
1965 Mont Blanc Road tunnel between France & Italy opens
1967 American pop-rock group “The Monkees” perform at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium in Queens, New York, with psychedelic rock Jimi Hendrix Experience as opening act;
1969 Apollo 11 launches, carrying the first men to land on the Moon
1973 During Watergate hearings, Butterfield reveals existence of tapes
1988 Landmark Japanese animated cyberpunk manga film “Akira” released, directed by Katsuhiro Otomo
1990 Ukraine declares independence
1994 “The Three Tenors” Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, and Luciano Pavarotti, perform with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and chorus of the Los Angeles Opera, conducted by Zubin Mehta at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California; an estimated 1.3 billion viewers watch the worldwide broadcast
1994 Comet Shoemaker-Levy first collides with Jupiter (collisions continue until 22 July)
2011 NASA’s Dawn space probe enters orbit around the protoplanet Vesta
2018 12 new moons discovered orbiting Jupiter bringing planet’s moon total to 79, by scientists at Carnegie Institution for Science
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1911 Ginger Rogers - American vaudeville, stage and screen dancer, singer (Top Hat), and Academy Award-winning actress (Kitty Foyle; Stage Door), born in Independence, Missouri (d. 1995)
1907 Barbara Stanwyck - American actress (Dynasty II, Big Valley, Thorn Birds), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1990)
1872 Roald Amundsen - Norwegian polar explorer who led the 1st expedition to the South Pole, born in Borge, Østfold, Norway (d. 1928)
1746 Giuseppe Piazzi - Italian astronomer (found 1st asteroid-Ceres), born in Ponte in Valtellina, Italy (d. 1826)
1194 Saint Clare of Assisi - Italian follower of Francis of Assisi and founder of the Order of Poor Ladies (the Poor Clares), born in Assisi, Italy (d. 1253)
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2023 Jane Birkin - British-French pop singer (“Je t’aime… moi non plus”), actress (Dust; Death On The Nile), and fashion icon, dies at 76
2017 George A Romero - American-Canadian director, filmmaker and “Father of the Zombie Film” (Night of the Living Dead), dies at 77
1995 Juan Miguel Fangio - Argentine auto racer (World F1 champion 1951, 1954-57), dies of kidney failure at 84
1981 Harry Chapin - American folk-rock singer-songwriter (“Taxi”; “Cat’s In The Cradle”), dies in car crash at 38
1953 Hilaire Belloc - Anglo-French author (Path to Rome), dies at 82
Holidays on this day
Guinea Pig Appreciation Day
Hot Dog Night
National Corn Fritters Day
National Fresh Spinach Day
National Hot Dog Day
National Personal Chef’s Day - July 16 and February 26
Take Your Poet to Work Day (Third Wednesday of July)
World Snake Day
The Funnies:
Interesting (not necessarily extinct) animal of the day:
Animals that have gone extinct elsewhere can sometimes survive on islands due to the isolation they offer.
That’s the case with Cuban solenodons, insect-eating shrew relatives which are part of a mammalian line that has existed since the time of the dinosaurs. Known in Cuba as almiquí, solenodons secrete venomous saliva through a groove in their front teeth. The presence of this groove is an ancient trait, more often found in reptiles.
Today, only two solenodon species survive—one in Cuba and another on the nearby island of Hispaniola. That makes protecting their few remaining habitats for these mysterious mammals all the more important, says Gerardo Begué-Quiala, deputy director of Alexander Humboldt National Park, one of the solenodon’s few known stomping grounds.
“Their ecology and natural history is still not well understood, and these attributes make it a focal species for conservation in the park,” Begué-Quiala said through an interpreter. “If there is a mammal in Cuba that needs to be studied, it is undoubtedly the solenodon.”
Cuban solenodons are so rare, they were once thought extinct. But in 1974, scientists found one individual in the park. Other teams took up the search, and by 2016 scientists and park staff had captured, studied, and then safely released, 11 of these rare, nocturnal mammals. Even better, they found traces of the species elsewhere, both inside and outside of the park, so populations of the highly threatened animal may be larger than once thought.
While solenodons are remarkable, they’re just one endemic species on an island where about half of the plants and a third of vertebrate animals share that distinction. Despite its rich history, Cuba’s biodiversity is still being explored—and the island that has been home to so many amazing species likely holds more discoveries in store.
Read more: South Island takahe | Takahē | New Zealand Birds Online
Quote of the Day:
“Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened of responsibility.”
Sigmund Freud
Video of the Day:
Happy birthday to Desmond Dekker (1942):
and to Stewart Copeland (1952):
and finally to Tony Jackson (1938):
Comic of the Day:
Credit: #076; In which Deeper Issues are only hinted at – Wondermark
Inspirobot Always Controversial, Occasionally Inspirational Quote of the Day:
Read @Vikingmichael’s accidentally discovered Spark! from yesterday here: https://community.spiceworks.com/t/spark-pro-series-15-july-2025
Don’t forget to leave some spice right here ↓
