On This Day – Horror of the Moors and the Independence Day

The English Bible

1536 King Henry VIII ordered that English language Bibles be placed in every church.

Lord Protector

1659 English Restoration: A faction of the British Army removed Richard Cromwell as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth.

Post Stamps

1840 The first postage stamps, the ‘Penny Black’ and two-penny ‘blues’, which were the brainchild of Roland Hill, officially went on sale in Britain.

King George V

1910: Following the death of King Edward VII, George V acceded to the throne. He celebrated his Silver Jubilee with Queen Mary in 1935.

A Short Mile

1954 Roger Bannister, a 25 year old British medical student, became the first man to run a mile in less than four minute (at the Iffley Road Sports Ground, Oxford). His time was 3 minute 59.4 seconds.

Cod Wars

1959 Icelandic gunboats fire lived ammunition at British trawlers during a Cod War between Britain and Iceland over fishing rights in the North Sea.

TV Wedding

1960 Princess Margaret, sister of Queen Elizabeth II, married Anthony Armstrong-Jones at Westminster Abbey in London. It was the first televised royal wedding and was watched by more than 20 million viewers.

Double First

1961 The first football team to achieve the double (FA Cup and League champions), was Tottenham Hotspur led by Danny Blanchflower when they beat Leicester City 2-0 to win the Cup at Wembley.

Moors Murderers

1966 At Chester Crown Court, ‘Moors murderers’ Ian Brady and Myra Hindley were found guilty of torturing and killing several children before burying their bodies on the moors north of Manchester.

Busy Tone

1990 London telephone codes changed to 071 and 081 (replacing 01).

The Channel Tunnel

1994 The Queen and France’s President Francois Mitterrand formally opened the Channel Tunnel during two elaborate ceremonies in France and Britain.

Independence Day

1997 The Bank of England was given independence from political control. It was the most significant change in its 300-year history.

Devolution

1999 In an historic vote, electors in Scotland and Wales went to the polls to chose their representatives for the newly-devolved Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly.

 

On This Day – A Spy for A Spy and the Spinning Jenny

Royal Charter

1662 King Charles II granted a charter to the Royal Society of London, which became an important centre of scientific activity in England.

Spinning Jenny

1778 James Hargreaves, the English inventor of the spinning jenny died. After he had begun to sell the machines to help support his large family, hand spinners, fearing unemployment, broke into his house and destroyed a number of jennies, causing Hargreaves to move from Blackburn to Nottingham in 1768.

St Helena

1834 The South Atlantic island of St Helena was declared a British crown colony.

Steamed Up

1838 The British steamer Sirius became the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean from England to New York. The voyage took 18 days and 10 hours.

Chemical Warfare

1915 The second battle of Ypres started when German troops released clouds of deadly chlorine gas on British troops. It was the first major gas attack of World War I.

Bring Out the Violins

1916 The birth of Yehudi Menuhin, the US born violinist. In 1965 he was granted.a knighthood, but did not receive the title until 1985, when he became a British citizen.

The Last Stand

1945 World War II – After learning that Soviet forces had taken Eberswalde without a fight, Adolf Hitler admitted defeat in his underground bunker and stated that suicide was his only recourse.

Small Change

1943 Britain discontinued printing £1,000 notes.

 A Spy for a Spy

1964 British businessman Greville Wynne, imprisoned by the Russians for spying, was swapped for the Russian spy Gordon Lonsdale, who was jailed by the British for his role in an espionage ring in 1961.

Around the World in 312 Days

1969 British yachtsman Robin Knox-Johnston sailed into Falmouth Harbour, completing the first non-stop solo voyage around the world. He was at sea for 312 days. His yacht was named Suhaili which means “good wind”.

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

1972 Sylvia Cook and John Fairfax became the first people to row across the Pacific Ocean (the world’s largest ocean). They arrived in Australia in their boat Britannia after being at sea for 362 days.

The Big Number Change

2000 The Big Number Change took place. It was an update of telephone dialling codes in Britain in response to the rapid growth of telecommunications and the impending exhaustion of numbers.