View todays celebrity birthdays and find out what happened in history today.
1954 – Roger Bannister, a 25 year old British medical student, became the first man to run a mile in less than four minute (at the Iffley Road Sports Ground, Oxford). His time was 3 minute 59.4 seconds.
1959 – Icelandic gunboats fire lived ammunition at British trawlers during a Cod War between Britain and Iceland over fishing rights in the North Sea.
1960 – Princess Margaret, sister of Queen Elizabeth II, married Anthony Armstrong-Jones at Westminster Abbey in London. It was the first televised royal wedding and was watched by more than 20 million viewers.
1961 – The first football team to achieve the double (FA Cup and League champions), was Tottenham Hotspur led by Danny Blanchflower when they beat Leicester City 2-0 to win the Cup at Wembley.
1966 – At Chester Crown Court, ‘Moors murderers’ Ian Brady and Myra Hindley were found guilty of torturing and killing several children before burying their bodies on the moors north of Manchester.
1979 – Six rock-cut tombs (see image) at Heysham in Lancashire became Grade I listed and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Further excavation in 1993 on land below the stone coffins showed that the site had been occupied about 12,000 years previously.
1988 – Graeme Hick, Worcestershire’s 21 year year old cricketer, scored 405 runs, not out, in a county championship match. It was the biggest innings in England in 93 years.
1990 – London telephone codes changed to 071 and 081 (replacing 01).
1994 – The Queen and France’s President Francois Mitterrand formally opened the Channel Tunnel during two elaborate ceremonies in France and Britain.
1995 – The Queen Mother opened (in Hyde Park) three days of VE Day celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the ending of World War Two.
1997 – The Bank of England was given independence from political control. It was the most significant change in its 300 year history.
1999 – In an historic vote, electors in Scotland and Wales went to the polls to chose their representatives for the newly-devolved Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly.
2019 – The Duchess of Sussex gave birth to a boy, the first child for Prince Harry and his wife Megan. The baby was delivered at 05:26 BST and weighed 7lbs 3oz (3.2kg). At his birth, he became 7th in line to the throne.
Did you know that on this day in 1840, the world’s first adhesive postage stamp in a public postal system was used? It was named the Penny Black.
“Mmmmmmm mmmmmm mmmmmmmmmm mmmmmm” (Crash Test Dummies) #songlyrics
I wonder if I’ve ever pressed the “8” key on my microwave.
A group of Dogs is called a Kennel. A group of Puppies is called a Litter. A group of Dogs (feral) is called a Pack.
A group of Rumours is a Nest.
A zebra is white with black stripes.
When I die, I want to go peacefully like my grandfather did- in his sleep. Not yelling and screaming like the passengers in his car.
The first video to be played twice on MTV was The Who’s You Better, You Bet.
The revolution will not be televised. It will be tweeted.
“All I’m saying is when we split the cheque three ways the steak-eater picks the pocket of the salad-man.” – The Blue Raja #moviequotes
The Internet is mostly made of sand and photons.
“Why are there five syllables in the word ‘monosyllabic’?” – Steven Wright
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.