View todays celebrity birthdays and find out what happened in history today.
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1836 – The birth of Joseph Chamberlain, self-made businessman, influential British politician, statesman and the father of former Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. He resigned from Gladstone’s Third Government in 1886 in opposition to Irish Home Rule and as Secretary of State for the Colonies he presided over the Second Boer War. Despite never becoming Prime Minister, he is regarded as one of the most important British politicians of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
1884 – The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) was founded in London.
1918 – National Savings stamps were introduced in Britain.
1941 – Twenty B-17s flew on their first mission with the RAF over Wilhelmshaven, Germany.
1961 – For the first time since 1941, Britain provided both women finalists for the Wimbledon Ladies’ singles title – Christine Truman and Angela Mortimer
1965 – Ronald Biggs, who was serving a 30-year prison sentence for his part in the Great Train Robbery, escaped from Wandsworth prison.
1967 – The death of Vivien Leigh, English film actress whose films included Gone With The Wind.
1985 – Britain lifted its trade ban with Argentina after the Falklands crisis ended.
1986 – British Steel made a profit for the first time in 17 years.
1988 – A London double-decker bus parked in Battersea, was put on sale for £40,000. It had been converted into a luxury home to overcome rising property prices in the capital.
1996 – Four young children and four adults were attacked by a man with a machete at St Luke’s Infants’ School in Blakenhall, Wolverhampton. Teacher Lisa Potts’s arm was almost severed in the attack and four children were injured. In 1997, Queen Elizabeth presented her with the George Medal for her heroism in saving the children’s lives. Her attacker, Horrett Campbell, was sent indefinitely to a secure mental hospital.
1996 – A patent was filed by two British scientists to use genetically engineered mosquitoes to immunize their victims against malaria by transferring a protein in their saliva.
2000 – J. K. Rowling’s fourth Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire went on sale, breaking all publishing records.
2005 – The G8 summit in Gleneagles ended with a deal to boost aid for developing countries by almost £28 billion.
2006 – The death of the actor and voice artist Peter Hawkins. He voiced Bill and Ben the Flower Pot Men, Big Ears & Mr. Plod from The Adventures of Noddy, all the voices for the animated series Captain Pugwash, The Adventures of Tintin and many more. He also voiced several characters on Doctor Who in the show’s early years, most notably the Daleks and the Cybermen. During the 1960s, 70s and 80s Hawkins was one of the most sought after voiceovers for television and radio.
2016 – The opening of the Dickens Bar & Inn, in Scarborough, originally named Pickwick Inn after Dickens’ first novel, The Pickwick Papers. The pub is located on the corner of Huntriss Row where Dickens gave readings at the Assembly Rooms in 1858. The author had a number of literary links to Scarborough and the surrounding areas, including Filey and Malton.
2018 – Brexit Secretary David Davis resigns in a stand against Rime Minister Theresa May’s softer Brexit policy.
Did you know that on this day in 1889, The Wall Street Journal issued their first paper? It has been printed without interruption ever since.
There’s very little difference between perspective and opinion.
John Denver – Real Name: Henry John Deutschendorf Jr.
Shakespeare’s wife’s name was Anne Hathaway.
The coach in Air Bud would have looked really stupid if putting the dog in the game didn’t work.
“There are many ways to roll with the punches. Still, it’s probably best to avoid people who punch you.” – Alex Bosworth
The world premiere of Blazing Saddles took place at the Pickwick Drive-In theater in Burbank, CA where 200 guests watched the film on horseback.
A group of wild Horses is called a Herd.
It is illegal to be in possession of a US $100,000 bill, a Gold Certificate, due to Executive Order 6102.
Natural disasters only occur where they can cause the most damage and casualties. #moviecliches
“Never purchase beauty products in a hardware store.” – Miss Piggy
The monster that attacked Luke in the trash compactor in Star Wars was a ‘dianoga.’
The person who invented the tire reinvented the wheel.
“If you’re bored, you’re boring.” – Barbara “Cutie” Cooper
Rudolph Valentino – Real Name: Rudolpho D’Antonguolia
“With my little band, I did everything they did with a big band. I made the blues jump.” – Louis Jordan
“I like it when you read a script and there’s the part that you show to the other characters and then there’s the part that only the audience knows.” – Anjelica Huston
“A man should make all he can, and give all he can.” – Nelson Rockefeller
“I won’t eat anything that has intelligent life, but I’d gladly eat a network executive or a politician.” – Marty Feldman
“They want you to believe the Sun is hot. I urge you to ask yourself ‘Have they ever touched it? Think about it.” – Jaden Smith
“What I like to think, and perhaps it is an adolescent thought, is that anything can happen. As long as you think that anything can happen, it will. We’re all allowed to have our dreams.” – Anjelica Huston
“Wherever we look upon this earth, the opportunities take shape within the problems.” – Nelson Rockefeller
1993 – The Holbeck Hall Hotel in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, fell into the sea following a landslide, making news around the world.
1805 – The first Trooping of the Colour took place on Horse Guards Parade. It was Edward VII who moved Trooping the Colour to its June date, because of the vagaries of British weather.
2012 – The Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant took place on the Tideway of the River Thames, as part of the celebrations of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.