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Since wars and battles dominate "Dates for new diaries" ("Time to cruise in the past lane", January 7) and women are conspicuously absent, it should be pointed out that 2005 is also the 100th anniversary of the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Austrian Bertha von Suttner, the first woman so honoured, and who inspired Alfred Nobel to create the prize.

Anticipating the horrors of future war, her novel Lay Down Your Arms (1889) was an eloquent plea for disarmament - a message that is as relevant as ever today.

For information on events planned, visit

Peter van den Dungen
Bradford University