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.
March 18th – On This Day
1960 - The steam locomotive, Evening Star (No. 92220), the last steam locomotive built by British Railways was named at Swindon Works after the name was chosen from a competition in the BR Western Region Staff Magazine.
March 17th – On This Day
2015 - The UK's first Bio-Bus, nicknamed 'the poo bus' was officially launched in Bristol as "Service Number 2". Powered entirely on gas generated by human and food waste, it went into regular service on 25th March.
March 16th – On This Day
1689 - The 23rd Regiment of Foot (later known as the Royal Welch Fusiliers) was founded to oppose James II and the imminent war with France.
March 15th – On This Day
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.