This Day in History

[Dave]

Latest post of the previous page:

April 15th

1984 Tommy Cooper, English comedian, collapsed and died from a heart attack in front of millions of television viewers, midway through his act on the London Weekend Television variety show Live From Her Majesty's.

1989 Britain's worst football disaster at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield. 96 football fans were crushed to death shortly after the start of the FA Cup semi-final match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. Most of those killed were from Liverpool. Fresh inquests into the 96 deaths began in Warrington on Monday, 31st March 2014. On 26th April 2016 the jury of 9 reached a verdict that vindicated the bereaved families who had forught for 27 years against South Yorkshire police claims that misbehaving supporters caused the disaster. It was the longest inquest in British legal history.

1964 Footballer George Best made his debut for Northern Ireland against Wales.

1912 The British built Titanic luxury ocean liner that had collided earlier with an iceberg about 400 miles from Newfoundland sank at 2:20 a.m. More than 1,500 people drowned or froze to death in the icy waters. Most of the 700 survivors were women and children. As the ship sank, the band played music to calm the passengers and all the musicians went down with the ship. They were recognized for their heroism and bandleader Wallace Hartley aged 33, from Colne in Lancashire, is commemorated in a memorial in the town's centre. His graveis in Colne cemetery. The words 'Nearer My God To Thee', the alleged last song that the band played on RMS Titanic, are engraved on the plinth along with a violin and bow.

1901The birth of Joe Davis, world snooker and billiards champion from 1927-1946.

1793 The Bank of England issued the first £5 notes.

[youtube]Kn4kH9c0JdA[/youtube]

[Mel]

Also on April 15th the pilot episode of The Liver Birds aired on BBC1 in 1969. It starred Pauline Collins and Polly James.

[boatbuilder]

Probably one of the most notable things to happen on this day was 75 years ago on 15th April 1942 when the people from the tiny Island of Malta in the Mediterranean Sea ( 121 sq miles ) were awarded The George Cross by King George VI. Malta played a crucial role in World War II owing to its proximity to Axis shipping lanes and the Germans and Italians bombed the Island on a daily basis and sunk any ships trying to supply food and medical supplies to the Island.

[Dave]

April 16th

1889 Charlie Chaplin, English-born film actor and director was born.

2008 It was announced that Karen Matthews (aged 32, from Dewsbury) was to stand trial alongside Michael Donovan, charged with the kidnapping and false imprisonment of her 9 year old daughter Shannon who disappeared on 19th February. On 23rd January 2009, Matthews and Donovan were sentenced to eight years in prison by Mr. Justice McCombe. In February 2017 a British television drama of the kidnap (entitled 'The Moorside) was shown on BBC Television.

1996The Duke and Duchess of York, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, announced that they were to divorce.

1912 American Harriet Quimby became the first woman to fly an airplane across the English Channel. She took off from Dover, en route to Calais, France and made the flight in 59 minutes, landing about 25 miles from Calais, on a beach. Although Quimby died at the age of thirty-seven (in an aeroplane accident), she had a major influence upon the role of women in aviation.

1918 Spike Milligan, English comedian and writer was born.

[youtube]5zmsCRNlNNQ[/youtube]

[Dave]

April 17th

1888 The formation of the English Football League took place at a formal meeting in the Royal Hotel, Manchester.

1984 WPC Yvonne Fletcher was shot dead during an anti Gadaafi protest outside the Libyan People’s Bureau in London. Ten others were wounded and the events led to an 11-day siege of the building. Diplomatic relations with Libya were severed on 23rd April and her killer escaped under the cloak of diplomatic immunity.

2013 The funeral of Baroness Margaret Thatcher. She was the longest-serving British Prime Minister of the 20th century and the first woman to have held the office. She was born in a shop in Grantham, Lincolnshire that was formerly her father's grocery shop. There is a commemorative plaque  on the building.

1969 After a two-month trial, Sirhan Sirhan was convicted of Robert Kennedy's murder and six days later, he was sentenced to death. The sentence was commuted to life in prison in 1972 after the California Supreme Court, in its decision in California v. Anderson, invalidated all pending death sentences imposed in California prior to 1972.

1998 Linda McCartney died after a long battle against cancer. Married Paul McCartney in 1969 when she was working as a photographer. As well as a being a member of Wings, she became an animal rights campaigner and launched her own brand of vegetarian food.

[youtube]nIV93gFtv8w[/youtube]

[boatbuilder]

Also on April 17th in 1970, Apollo 13, the U.S. lunar spacecraft that suffered oxygen tank No. 2 blowing up in the spacecraft on its journey to the moon, safely returns to Earth landing in the Pacific Ocean.

[Dave]

April 18th

1689 The death of Lord Chief Justice George Jeffreys, known as the Hanging Judge. He led the Taunton Assize trials that came in the aftermath of the Battle of Sedgemoor, the battle that ended the Monmouth Rebellion in England. The trials took place in the Great Hall of Taunton Castle, now the home of the Museum of Somerset. Of more than 500 prisoners brought before the court, 144 were hanged and their remains displayed around the county.

1946 The birth of Hayley Mills, English actress, daughter of actor John Mills and sister of actress Juliet Mills.

1988 In the House of Commons, the 16th-century symbol of the Speaker’s authority, the Mace, was damaged by Ron Brown, Labour MP for Leith, when he flung it to the floor during a debate. It was described by his own supporters as ‘a childish stunt’ and led to his 20 day suspension.

1906 An earthquake, measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, shook the town of San Francisco , California and Thirty thousand homes were either partially or wholly destroyed and an estimated 3,000 are reported dead. The earthquake set off a series of fires which swept through the city.

1956 The British Chancellor Harold Macmillan unveiled plans for a new state saving scheme offering cash prizes instead of interest. The premium bond would be "something completely new for the saver in Great Britain," he told MPs.

[youtube]TrB_oI4FovA[/youtube]

[Dave]

April 19th

1587 The English naval commander Sir Francis Drake sailed a small number of ships into Cadiz Harbour and sank most of the Spanish fleet. The incident became known as 'singeing the King of Spain's beard'.

1883 At a meeting in Liverpool to establish a home for dogs, the proposer, T.F. Agnew, suggested it should perhaps be turned into a home for children as he had seen the work of the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to children. On the evening of this day, the Liverpool Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children was formed. Later, it would become the National Society (NSPCC).

1951 The first Miss World Contest was won by Kiki Haakonson, a 21 year old from Sweden. There were 30 contestants and 25 came from Britain, although all nations could enter. The contest was devised by Mecca publicity officer, Eric Morley, as part of the Festival of Britain celebrations.

1995 168 die in the Oklahoma City bombing. Timothy McVeigh, the mastermind behind the attack, was executed on June 11, 2001. The motives for the bombing, which also killed 19 babies and children, remain somewhat unclear.

2005 Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger has been elected as the successor to Pope John Paul II The new Pope has taken the name Pope Benedict XVI and is the head of the world's 1.1 billion Roman Catholics.

[youtube]l08zD9Pn1jk[/youtube]

[Dave]

April 20th

1889 Adolf Hitler was born in Austria, then part of Austria-Hungary, and raised near Linz.

1968 The Conservative right-winger, Enoch Powell, made a hard-hitting speech attacking the government's immigration policy. Mr Powell said Britain had to be mad to allow in 50,000 dependents of immigrants each year. He compared it to watching a nation busily engaged in heaping up its own funeral pyre. "Like the Roman, I seem to see the river Tiber foaming with much blood."

1981 Steve Davis became the world snooker champion at 23 years of age, beating Doug Mountjoy at Sheffield. On 17th April 2016 he announced his retirement, aged 58. Davis won six world titles and 28 ranking titles, putting him joint second on the all-time list with Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins.

1992 Benny Hill, English comedian died. Between the end of World War II and the dawn of television he worked as a radio performer. His film credits included parts in nine films such as Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and The Italian Job. His world famous Benny Hill Show Hill ran for nearly four decades and remained a cult series in much of the world long after Hill's death.

1999 Two students ( Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold ) wearing balaclavas go through Columbine High School in Denver, Colorado, firing automatic weapons and throwing homemade bombs killing 13 people and wounded 24 others before the two students committed suicide. They had originally planted two home made bombs in the cafeteria and were planning on murdering the students as they ran from the building, when the bombs failed to go off they went into the school and began the massacre.

[youtube]5G4ydhxeFrA[/youtube]

[Dave]

April 21st

1509 Henry VIII became King of England following the death of his father, Henry VII.

1916 Roger Casement, the Irish-born British consular official, landed in Ireland from a German submarine prepared to lead the Sinn Fein rebellion, but was arrested as the 'Easter Uprising’ took place. The rebellion against the British in Dublin reached its worst level as Irish republicans took over sections of the city, while a Royal Navy gunboat bombarded them from the River Liffey.

1918 Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the legendary German ace pilot who had destroyed 80 Allied aircraft, was shot down by an RAF fighter and died from the crash behind British lines. He was known as the ‘Red Baron’ because of his distinctive red Fokker tri-plane.

1926 Queen Elizabeth II was born. On 23rd January 2015, (following the death of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz), the Queen became the oldest reigning monarch in the world and on 21st April 2016 she became the first 90 year old head of state of the UK and 15 other Commonwealth realms.

1956 Elvis Presley has his first number one hit with "Heartbreak Hotel" which tops of the Billboard charts.

[youtube]0lcoTwZ-dI0[/youtube]

[Dave]

April 22nd

1943Britain discontinued printing £1,000 notes.

1945 Adolf Hitler admits defeat. The German dictator announced in the underground Führerbunker that he plans to commit suicide after learning that Soviet forces had entered Berlin.

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".

1969 – Dion Dublin, English footballer and sportscaster, was born.

1983 – The German magazine Stern claims the "Hitler Diaries" had been found in wreckage in East Germany; the diaries are subsequently revealed to be forgeries.

[youtube]Glrkw_4-GhQ[/youtube]

[boatbuilder]

1969 – Dion Dublin, English footballer and sportscaster.

What about him, Dave?

[morty1753]

Born on that day

[Dave]

1969 – Dion Dublin, English footballer and sportscaster.

What about him, Dave?

Born on that day

Sorry about that, boatbuilder, I wasn't concentrating. You're right, morty, he was born in 1969 on 22nd April, I'll edit the entry.

[Dave]

April 23rd

303 Apr 23, St. George, dragon-slaying knight, died. He was made the patron saint of England in the 14th century. George, later fired by the Pope as mythical, was tortured and beheaded at Nicomedia. He was a soldier who was reported to have risen to a high rank under Diocletian.

1564 The birth of poet & playwright William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. He died on his 52nd birthday in 1616.

1968 The first decimal coins appeared in Britain - the 5p and 10p pieces which replaced the 1 shilling and 2 shilling coins.

1975 At a speech at Tulane University, President Gerald Ford says the Vietnam War is finished as far as America is concerned. “Today, Americans can regain the sense of pride that existed before Vietnam. But it cannot be achieved by re-fighting a war.” This was devastating news to the South Vietnamese, who were desperately pleading for U.S. support as the North Vietnamese surrounded Saigon for the final assault on the capital city

2011 The death of John Sullivan, the television scriptwriter responsible for several popular British sitcoms, including Only Fools and Horses, Citizen Smith and Just Good Friends.

[youtube]LFuYIi5-igc[/youtube]

[Dave]

April 24th

1953 Winston Churchill was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

1954 Liverpool ended 50 consecutive seasons in the top flight with a 3-0 loss to Blackpool. They would not return for eight years.

1967 Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov dies in Soyuz 1when its parachute fails to open. He is the first human to die during a space mission.

1989 British jockey Peter Scudamore became the first National Hunt jockey in Britain to ride 200 winners in a season.

1993 The Bishopsgate bombing occurred when the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) detonated an ANFO truck bomb on Bishopsgate, a major thoroughfare in London's financial district, the City of London. A news photographer was killed in the explosion and 44 people were injured; the damage cost £350 million to repair. As a result of the bombing, which occurred just over a year after the bombing of the nearby Baltic Exchange, a "ring of steel" was implemented to protect the City, and many firms introduced disaster recovery plans in case of further attacks or similar disasters.*

*The video is dated 23rd of April but every website I look at, including the BBC, states the bombing took place on 24th April.


[youtube]qavq419Qtfk[/youtube]