March 23rd – On This Day
1956 - Queen Elizabeth II laid the foundation stone of the new Coventry cathedral. The new building was built next to the remains of the 14th-century cathedral that had been destroyed in the 2nd World War.
March 22nd – On This Day
1997 - Comet Hale-Bopp made its closest approach to Earth in the skies over the northern hemisphere. Hale-Bopp was visible to the naked eye for about 18 months, making it one of the most-viewed comets in history. The comet’s next pass is predicted for the year 4300.
March 21st – On This Day
1990 - A demonstration in London against the poll tax became a riot. More than 400 people were arrested. During the early months of 1990, over 6,000 anti-poll tax actions were held nationwide, with demonstrations in England and Wales drawing together thousands of protestors.
March 20th – On This Day
1999 - British balloonist Brian Jones and Swiss physicist Bertrand Piccard became the first to fly a hot-air balloon non-stop around the world. They eventually landed in the Egyptian desert after a 45,755-kilometer (28,431-mile) flight lasting 19 days, 21 hours, and 47 minutes.
March 19th – On This Day
1969 - The 385-metre-tall (1,263 ft) TV-mast at Emley Moor transmitting station, United Kingdom, collapses due to ice build-up. The falling mast caused damage to a chapel and the transmitter building, but thankfully, no one was injured.
September 24th – On This Day
2009 - The UK's largest haul of Anglo-Saxon treasure was discovered buried in a field in Staffordshire. Terry Herbert, who found it on farmland using a metal detector, said that it was a metal detectorist's dream.