This Day in History

[Dave]

Latest post of the previous page:

March 9th

1831 The French Foreign Legion is founded.

1925 The start of Pink's War, an air to ground bombardment carried out by the Royal Air Force, under the command of Wing Commander Richard Charles Montagu Pink, against the tribesmen in north west Pakistan. It was the first Royal Air Force operation conducted independently of the British Army and Royal Navy.

1946 33 fans were killed and hundreds injured when a barrier collapsed at the Bolton Wanderers' football ground. The dead and injured were taken from the stand, with those who had perished lain along the touchline and covered in coats. Incredibly, a little under half an hour after leaving the pitch, the game was restarted, with a new sawdust lined touchline separating the players from the bodies. It was the deadliest football stadium-related disaster in British history until the Ibrox Park disaster in 1971.

1952 Bill Beaumont, former British Lions and England international rugby captain was born.

1956 British authorities deported Archbishop Makarios from Cyprus in an attempt to restore law and order to the island. He was accused of supporting terrorists.

1976 A line supporting a cable car snaps killing 42 people, including children, in the Dolomite mountains in northern Italy. 14-year-old Alessandra Piovesana was the only survivor.

1981 John Lambe who became known as the M5 Rapist was sentenced to life imprisonment. He was given a life sentence on each of 12 counts of rape and a six year sentence (concurrent) on four charges of attempted rape.

1994 IRA terrorists launched a mortar attack on Heathrow Airport. All the missiles failed to explode.

2015 Archaeologists began excavating up to 3,000 skeletons from a burial ground under London's Liverpool Street station. The Bedlam burial ground was used from 1569 to at least 1738 and included bodies belonging to victims of the Black Death. The site is to serve the cross-London Crossrail line, due to open in 2018.

And Finally.

1562 Kissing in public is made illegal in Naples, Italy, punishable by death.

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[boatbuilder]

I can't believe that they resumed the match with the bodies laying alongside the pitch. What a terrible thing to do.

[Dave]

I can't believe that they resumed the match with the bodies laying alongside the pitch. What a terrible thing to do.

It was a different time, boatbuilder, it could never happen now. Mind you, if it interfered with Sky Sports football coverage, bearing in mind the money they pay .................

Perhaps I'm getting cynical in my old age.

[Dave]

March 10th

1801 Britain's first National Census. A census has taken place every ten years since 1801, with the exception of the 1941 census, cancelled because of World War II.

1886 Cruft's Dog Show was held in London for the first time. Previously it had been held in Newcastle. The organizer was Charles Cruft, general manager of a dog biscuit firm.

1914 Suffragette Mary Richardson slashed Velazquez's painting - 'Rokeby Venus' at London's National Gallery with a meat cleaver as a protest against the Government's treatment of Emmeline Pankhurst.

1945 The most destructive bombing raid in history hits Tokyo. About 100,000 Tokyo citizens died in the fires caused by the U.S. airforce's incendiary bombs.

1956 Peter Twiss, former Brooke Bond tea taster and later a test pilot, became the first man to fly at more than 1,000 mph.

1957 Osama bin Laden, best known as the founding leader of the terrorist organization al-Qaeda, was born today.

1967 Singer Sandy Shaw released her record 'Puppet on a String' which won the Eurovision Song Contest for Britain.

1969 James Earl Ray is jailed for 99 years by a court in Memphis, Tennessee, after admitting the murder of the American civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr.

1988 Prince Charles narrowly escaped death in an avalanche at Kloisters (Switzerland). His friend Hugh Lindsay was killed.

2003 Former world motorcycle champion Barry Sheene died after a long battle against cancer.

And Finally.

1969 President Nixon, an avid bowler, had a one-lane bowling alley built in the basement of the White House.

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[boatbuilder]

1956 Peter Twiss, former Brooke Bond tea taster and later a test pilot, became the first man to fly at more than 1,000 mph.

This has nothing to do with 'This Day in History' but having read the above item, it seemed rather odd that this morning I came across the same surname, 'Twiss', which I don't recall having ever heard before. It was the name of a man who was hanged in Ireland for murder in 1895 - a John Twiss - and was the subject of this morning's 'Murder, Mystery and My Family', a series which I have been watching on BBC1.
Incidentally, the outcome of this episode was that the conviction was found to be 'unsafe'. The series has now finished but was very interesting and there were several convictions found to be 'unsafe'.

I know this is 'off-topic' but there's also an article here from Independent Ireland

[Dave]

I usually look at Teletext in the mornings, boatbuilder, and have seen odd bits of the programme. It looked quite interesting from what I saw, definitely different from antique and house programmes.

[boatbuilder]

They were all interesting Dave. I just caught up with the last one today as I had recorded them. They are all available on iPlayer.

[Dave]

March 11th

1682 The Chelsea Hospital, a retirement home and nursing home for British soldiers who were unfit for further duty due to injury or old age, was founded by Charles II.

1818 The publication of Mary's Shelley's book 'Frankenstein', frequently called the world’s first science fiction novel. She was married for six years to the poet PB Shelley.

1864 The Great Sheffield Flood: The largest man-made disaster ever to befall England destroyed 800 houses and killed 270 people in Sheffield when the Low Bradfield Reservoir bursts its banks while it was being filled for the first time. The claims for damages formed one of the largest insurance claims of the Victorian period.

1916 The birth, in Huddersfield, of Harold Wilson, Lord Wilson of Rievaulx, British Labour Prime Minister from 1964-70, and again from 1974-1976 until he resigned, aged 60.

1977 French film director Roman Polanski is charged with raping a 13-year- old girl in Hollywood.

1985 Mikhail Gorbachev was called upon to replace Konstantin Chernenko who had died the day before. During his first six years in office, he was instrumental in advocating foreign and domestic policy changes.

1988 The Bank of England pound note, first introduced on 12th March 1797, ceased to be legal tender in Britain at midnight. When the deadline for returning old notes was reached, it was estimated that some 70 million were still outstanding.

2004 At least 170 people were killed after powerful explosions tore through three Madrid train stations during the morning rush-hour.

2011 An earthquake with a magnitude of 8.9 hit the coast of Japan causing massive amounts of damage and dangerous tsunamis, making it the most powerful earthquake in Japan in recorded history.

2013 Former cabinet minister Chris Huhne and his former wife Vicky Pryce were both jailed for eight months for perverting the course of justice. The pair, sentenced at Southwark Crown Court, were convicted after she took driving licence points for him after he was caught speeding in 2003.

And Finally.

2014 Dozens of firefighters were called out to deal with a blaze .... at a fire station. The retained fire crew at Downham Market in Norfolk could do nothing, because their own fire engine was caught up in the blaze that started in their own building.

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[Dave]

March 12th

1868 Henry O'Farrell from Dublin, attempted to assassinate Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the second son and fourth child of Queen Victoria whilst he was on a tour of Australia. The attack caused great embarrassment in the colony, and led to a wave of anti-Irish sentiment, directed at all Irish people, including Protestant Loyalists.

1930 Mahatma Gandhi began his 300-mile march to the sea in protest against the British tax law securing a monopoly for salt. Joined by thousands of protesters, Gandhi and his followers eventually reached the Arabian Sea, where they made their own salt by evaporating sea water. The march, which resulted in the arrest of Gandhi and 60,000 others, earned new international respect and support for the leader and his movement.

1944 Britain barred all travel to Ireland in order to prevent the leaking of the date of the D-Day landings.

1945 Anne Frank, author of "The Diary of Anne Frank," died at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp from Typhus during a typhus epidemic that spread through the concentration camp.

1955 American jazz saxophonist and composer Charlie Parker died of a heart attack in New York City while watching Tommy Dorsey's Orchestra on television. He was 34. The coroner who performed his autopsy mistakenly estimated Parker's 34-year-old body to be between 50 and 60 years of age. (After years of drug and alcohol abuse).

1964 Jimmy Hoffa, the president of the powerful American Teamsters union, is sentenced to eight years on bribery charges.

1994 The famous 1934 "Surgeon's photo" of the Loch Ness Monster, reportedly taken by Col. Robert Wilson, is exposed as a hoax in a deathbed confession by Chris Spurling who claimed to help create the photo.

1999 One of the 20th century's finest musicians Yehudi Menuhin died, aged 82.

2009 The Iraqi journalist that threw his shoes at President Bush has been jailed for three years. Muntadar al-Zaidi told the court that his actions were 'just like any Iraqi' against the leader of an occupying force. Shoe hurling is a grave insult in Arab culture. Al-Zaidi has been hailed as a hero in the Arab world.

And Finally.

1941 Islanders on the Hebrides hid thousands of bottles of shipwrecked whisky from government officials. The salvage of the cargo began on 18 February and was completed on 12 March. The episode was celebrated in the film "Whisky Galore."


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[Dave]

March 13th

1770 The birth, in Leicester, of Daniel Lambert a jailer and animal breeder, famous for his unusually large size. By the time he was aged 35 he weighed 50 stone (700 lb / 320 kg) and was the heaviest authenticated person at the time. He died suddenly (aged 39, at Stamford, Lincolnshire) and was buried in St Martin's Church graveyard.

1873 Eight clubs met to form the Scottish Football Association. They were Queen's Park, Clydesdale, Vale of Leven, Dumbreck, Third Lanark, Eastern, Granville and Kilmarnock.

1961 Three men and two women go on trial at the Old Bailey charged with plotting to pass secrets to the Russians.

1970 Tom King trebles the Tory majority in the first by-election in which 18-year-olds can vote.

1983 Joshua Nkomo flees Zimbabwe 'death threats'. The Zimbabwe opposition leader flies into London as his country appears to be on the brink of civil war.

1996 Thomas Hamilton, a lone gunman carrying 4 handguns killed 16 children and their teacher at a school in Dunblane, Scotland. The killer fired randomly around the school gym in an attack that lasted just three minutes, but caused carnage in the class of five and six year olds. He then turned the gun on himself.

1997 Thousands of people report seeing a huge carpenter's square-shaped UFO including the Arizona Republican governor Fife Symington, the phenomena is known as the Phoenix Lights and although many theories have been put forward for what the lights were, many of those that saw them are still convinced they were a V-shaped UFO.

2006 Construction began on the memorial and museum to commemorate the victims of the 9/11 attacks.

2015 Former Granada TV weather presenter Fred Talbot was jailed for five years for indecent assault in connection with two schoolboys during his former career as a biology teacher in the 1970s. Talbot (65) was known to millions for his forecasts on a floating weather map for ITV's This Morning show.

And Finally.

2015 Lesley Simpson became the first female Guizer Jarl (chief Viking) in the 130-year history of Shetland's world famous fire festivals. The event is one of several Viking-themed torchlit processions that are held on Shetland every year.

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[Dave]

March 14th

1864 English explorer Samuel Baker was the first European to see the lake he named Lake Albert after the recently deceased Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria.

1933 Michael Caine, English film actor, was born today. He has appeared in major movies for more than 50 years including The Ipcress File, Alfie, The Italian Job, Educating Rita, Battle of Britain, A Bridge Too Far, The Cider House Rules and new Batman film series.

1945 The 617 Dambuster Squadron of the RAF dropped the heaviest bomb of the war (the 22,000-pound "Grand Slam") on the Bielefeld railway viaduct in Germany. Although known officially as the Bomb, Medium Capacity, 22,000pound, it was nicknamed 'Ten Ton Tess'. The bomb was designed by Barnes Wallis, who also designed the earlier 'bouncing bomb'. Bielefeld is now twinned with many European towns including Enniskillen in Northern Ireland and Rochdale in Lancashire.

1960 The Government announced plans for a Thames Barrier to protect London from flooding.

1964 Jack Ruby is sentenced to death for the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald. The conviction was later overturned and he died while awaiting retrial.

1984 Sinn Fein president, Gerry Adams, was shot and wounded in an attack in central Belfast when his car was riddled with bullets.

1991 The Birmingham Six walked free from jail after their convictions for the murder of 21 people in two pubs were quashed by the Court of Appeal.

1996 Joseph O'Connor, operator of the Devon trawler Pescado, which sank in 1991 with the loss of 6 lives, was jailed for 3 years.

2014 Thieves who had built a 50ft (15m) tunnel to a cash machine on Liverpool Road, Eccles, got away with more than £80,000. The complex nature of its structure could have taken months to excavate and echoes a similar raid in Fallowfield Shopping Precinct in January 2012. Police said they were looking for 'people acting suspiciously, possibly covered in soil.'

And Finally.

1964 For the first time in British recording history, all Top Ten singles in the UK were by British acts. No.1 was 'Anyone Who Had A Heart' by Cilla Black, No.2 - 'Bits and Pieces' by The Dave Clark Five, No.3 - 'Little Children' by Billy J Kramer, No.4 - 'Diane' by The Bachelors, No.5 - 'Not Fade Away' by The Rolling Stones, No.6 - 'Just One Look' by The Hollies, No.7 - 'Needles and Pins' by The Searchers, No.8 - 'I Think Of You' by The Merseybeats, No.9 - 'Boys Cry' by Eden Kane, and No. 10 - 'Let Me Go Lover' by Kathy Kirby.

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[boatbuilder]

Despite four of that 1964 Top 10 being Liverpool acts, it's strange that none were The Beatles.

[Dave]

Despite four of that 1964 Top 10 being Liverpool acts, it's strange that none were The Beatles.

They were probably number one for the other 51 weeks of the year, not that I'm biased of course.

[boatbuilder]

Despite four of that 1964 Top 10 being Liverpool acts, it's strange that none were The Beatles.

They were probably number one for the other 51 weeks of the year, not that I'm biased of course.

If I remember, I'll check my 'Guinness Book of Records' tomorrow Dave, although I do have a busy day ahead, already. A hospital appointment for my wife in the morning and I have a window blind to install in the afternoon..

[Dave]

March 15th

44 B.C. Julius Caesar is Assassinated by Marcus Brutus. Caesar's fortune teller had warned: "beware the Ides of March." The Ides of March falls on March 15th.

1824 Building work started on the London Bridge designed by John Rennie.

1909 Selfridges store (named after its owner Harry Gordon Selfridge) was opened in London's Oxford Street. In September 1997 they opened their first store outside London when the Trafford Centre (Manchester) opened.

1964 Actress Elizabeth Taylor and actor Richard Burton were married for the first time getting divorced in June 1974 only to get married again in October 1975 which lasts less than 12 months.

1972 Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather is premiered. The gangster movie based on Mario Puzo's novel is one of the most popular films of all time.

1974 A high profile case involving British MPs, health authorities and civil servants and the architect John Poulson has ended with Poulson and the high ranking senior Scottish civil servant William George Pottinger both being jailed for five years for corruption after being found guilty of bribing public figures to win contracts.

1976 The driver of a London Underground train was shot dead as he chased a gunman after a bomb exploded on the train.

1990 Iraq hanged British journalist Farzad Bazoft, a freelance reporter for The Observer, for alleged spying for Israel while working in Iraq. Immediately after the execution, Britain recalled her ambassador to Iraq and all ministerial visits were cancelled. Bazoft's story contributed to international isolation of Saddam's Hussein's regime and just months after the incident, on 2nd August 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait, sparking the first Gulf War.

2003 The death of Dame Thora Hird, British actress. She is best remembered for her role of almost two decades in Last of the Summer Wine but played many other roles in her long career. She won a BAFTA Best Actress award for her roles in two of Alan Bennett's Talking Heads monologues and a BAFTA for Best Actress in Lost for Words.

And Finally.

1958 After having been accused of using his father's money and influence to buy the election, JFK reads a telegram he said he received from his dad: "Dear Jack, Don't buy a single vote more than is necessary. I'll be damned if I'm going to pay for a landslide."

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[Dave]

March 16th

1926 Jerry Lewis, best known as a comedian who had his best success in the late forties and early Fifties in the "Martin and Lewis show", starring Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin , was born on this day.

1935 Voluntary driving tests were introduced in Britain and became compulsory in June of the same year.

1940 World War II: James Isbister became the first person killed in a German bombing raid; on Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands.

1968 U.S. troops kill between 300 and 500 unarmed civilians in My Lai, South Vietnam. Twenty-six soldiers were charged with criminal offenses, but only platoon leader Lieutenant William Calley Jr. was convicted. He was found guilty of killing 22 villagers and given a life sentence, but served only three and a half years under house arrest.

1968 Senator Robert F. Kennedy, the brother of assassinated President John F. Kennedy, announced his run for the Democratic presidential nomination.

1971 The British heavyweight boxing champion Henry Cooper announced his retirement after being defeated by Joe Bugner.

1976 Harold Wilson, Prime Minister for almost eight years, and leader of the Labour Party for 13 years, resigned. He insisted that there were no hidden reasons for his resignation although it was suggested that he might already have been aware of the first stages of early-onset Alzheimer's disease, which was to cause both his formerly excellent memory and his powers of concentration to fail dramatically.

1988 A gunman killed 3 mourners and injured at least 50 who had been attending a funeral for IRA members shot dead in Gibraltar.

1998 Sir George Martin (producer of The Beatles in the 1960s and 70s) announced his retirement, aged 73.

And Finally.

1974 Richard Nixon performs at the Grand Ole Opry. The U.S. President plays piano for the opening of the famous radio show's new theater.

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