October 1st – On This Day
1990 - A large explosion above the Pacific Ocean turned out to be a meteorite. It was originally thought to be a nuclear event; however, analysis concluded that the exploding object had been a stony, 100-ton asteroid.
September 30th – On This Day
1840 - The foundation stone for Nelson’s Column (laid by Charles Davidson Scott) was laid in Trafalgar Square and completed in 1843.
September 29th – On This Day
2007 - Calder Hall, the world’s first commercial nuclear power station, was demolished in a controlled explosion. When it closed on 31st March 2003, the first reactor had been in use for nearly 47 years.
September 28th – On This Day
1928 - Alexander Fleming accidentally discovered what later became known as penicillin when he found that a mould had developed on an accidentally contaminated staphylococcus culture plate. His ‘bacteria killer’ discovery changed the world of modern medicine and has saved millions of people around the world.
September 27th – On This Day
1825 - The world’s first public railway service began with the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway. Built by George Stephenson, the track was 27 miles long, and the steam locomotive pulled 32 passenger wagons at ten miles per hour.
September 26th – On This Day
1997 - Two earthquakes strike the Italian regions of Umbria and the Marche, causing part of the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi to collapse and damaging priceless artefacts.
September 25th – On This Day
1977 - Independent airline owner Freddie Laker took on the main commercial airlines with his first ‘Skytrain’ service between London and New York… Look how comfortable those seats look!
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.
September 23rd – On This Day
2019 - Travel company Thomas Cook (founded by Thomas Cook, a Baptist cabinet maker, on 5th July 1841) goes into liquidation, stranding 600,000 travellers worldwide with 150,000 of them being British.