On This Day

nlag · On This Day

Ok....A new thread which I will try to update most days with little snippets of history. Feel free to contribute on any given day.

nlag

1st April

All Fools' Day (April Fools' Day).

1578 William Harvey, the English physician who explained the circulation of blood, was born.

1841 The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, originally created from the 9 acres of Princess Augusta's botanic garden, was opened to the public.

1908 The Territorial Army, a force of volunteer soldiers mainly for home defence, was formed in Britain.

1918 The Royal Air Force was formed. It incorporated the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service.

1935 Green Belt legislation was introduced to stop indiscriminate building on many areas of the countryside.

1973 Britain introduced VAT (Value Added Tax). It replaced Purchase Tax and Selective Employment Tax.

1980 Britain's first nudist beach opened at Brighton.

1983 Tens of thousands of peace demonstrators formed a human chain stretching for 14 miles, lining a route along what the protesters called "Nuclear Valley" in Berkshire.

1989 Despite threats of non-payment and other protests, the Community Charge or Poll Tax was introduced in Scotland.

1990 Up to 1,000 prisoners staged a riot at Strangeways Prison in Scumchester in a violent protest against overcrowding. It was the longest prison riot in British history and lasted until April 25th. One remand prisoner died.

1998 A world record price for a musical instrument. A 1727 Stradivarius violin was sold at Christie's for £947,500.

2000 The Enigma machine, used by the Germans to encrypt messages in the Second World War, was stolen from Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire.

nlag

3rd April

1043 Edward the Confessor was crowned King of England in Winchester Cathedral

1367 The birth of Henry IV, (son of John of Gaunt). He became the first Lancastrian king of England in 1399. His reign was marked by many uprisings from home and abroad.

1721 Sir Robert Walpole was appointed first lord of the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer, effectively Britain's first prime minister.

1862 The death of Sir James Clark Ross, English polar explorer who has the Ross Barrier, Sea and Island named after him.

1901 Death of the British Impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte, founder of the Savoy Theatre and Hotel and manager of the Gilbert & Sullivan opera company.

1913 English suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst was sentenced to 3 years in prison for inciting supporters to place explosives at the London home of British politician David Lloyd George. The Home Secretary banned all future public meetings of suffragettes.

1933 Everest was conquered for the first time by plane when 2 specially built British planes made aviation history by flying over the summit. The pilots were the Marquis of Douglas and Clydesdale and Fl. Lt. David McIntyre.

1954 Oxford won the 100th Boat Race in rough conditions on the River Thames.

1981 Mobs of youths went on the rampage in Brixton, South London, throwing petrol bombs and looting shops. Police harassment over a long period was given as the cause.

1987 The jewels of the late Duchess of Windsor, (the former Mrs Wallis Simpson who married Edward VI of England after his abdication in 1936,) fetched more than £31 million at auction, six times more than the expected figure.

1993 The Grand National was declared void after a series of events at the start reduced the world-famous horse race to a shambles. 30 of the 39 riders failed to realise a false start had been called and set off around the racetrack, completing both laps of the course and passing the finish line before they realised their mistake.

2000 A controversial plan to give asylum seekers vouchers instead of cash came into force.

raveydavey

nlag

4th April

1581 Queen Elizabeth I knighted Francis Drake aboard his ship the Golden Hind at Deptford after his successful circumnavigation of the world.

1617 John Napier, the Scottish mathematician who invented logarithms died.

1934 Yorkshireman Percy Shaw laid the first "cats' eyes" along the centre of the road at an accident black spot near Bradford.

1949 The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was established by 12 Western states including Great Britain. The military alliance provided for a collective self-defence against Soviet aggression and greatly increased American influence in Europe.

1958 The first Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) protest march left Hyde Park in London towards Aldermaston in Berkshire.

1964 British pop group The Beatles occupied the first five places in the US singles pop charts with:- 'Can't Buy Me Love', 'Twist and Shout', 'She Loves You', 'I Want To Hold Your Hand' and 'Please Please Me'.

1981 An emotional Aintree saw Bob Champion win the Grand National on Aldaniti. Champion, suffering from cancer, had been given eight months to live, while Aldaniti, who had led all the way, had been plagued with tendon problems and a broken back.

1984 The women from the main peace camp at Greenham Common in Berkshire were evicted, but said it would not end their protest.

1985 Royal Assent was given for the Bill to hand Hong Kong to China in 1997.

1988 The British TV soap opera 'Crossroads' came to an end after 24 years with the transmission of the last of its 4,510 episodes.

1991 Children at the centre of 'satanic abuse allegations' in the Orkney Islands were reunited with their families after the case was thrown out of court.

1997 The residents of Eigg, a small island off the west coast of Scotland, bought their island with help from an anonymous English millionairess, after an eight-month ownership battle.

raveydavey

nlag

nlag

5th April

1827 Joseph Lister, the English physician who introduced the idea of using antiseptics during surgery, was born.

1843 Queen Victoria proclaimed Hong Kong a British crown colony.

1895 The start of the trial of Irish playwright Oscar Wilde who was accused of homosexuality.

1902 25 football fans were killed at Ibrox Park, Glasgow, Scotland when a stand collapsed during a Scotland / England international match. At least another 200 were injured.

1955 Sir Winston Churchill, the British leader who guided Great Britain through the crisis of World War II, retired as Prime Minister, aged 81, handing over to Anthony Eden.

1964 Automatic, driverless trains began operating on the London Underground.

1976 Harold Wilson resigned as Prime Minister and was succeeded by James Callaghan.

1976 James Callaghan won the Labour leadership contest and took over at Number 10 Downing Street.

1982 A British Task Force set sail from Southampton to recapture the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic after the invasion by Argentina.

1997 The 150th running of the Grand National at Aintree, Liverpool was cancelled because of an IRA bomb scare.

1999 Richard Dunwoody became the most successful jump jockey of all time, when he clocked up his 1,679th win at Wincanton. (The record is now held by Tony McCoy with over 2,000 winners.)

2001 Perry Wacker, a Dutch lorry driver was sentenced to 14 years in prison for his part in the deaths of 58 Chinese illegal immigrants. They were found suffocated in the back of his lorry when it was searched at Dover in June 2000.

2002 People queued for miles beside the Thames to pay their last respects to the Queen Mother, whose body was lying in state in Westminster Hall, London.

NE1

nlag

6th April

1199 King Richard I (Richard the Lionheart) died after being wounded by a crossbow bolt during a siege in France.

1580 An earth tremor damaged several London churches, including the old St Paul's Cathedral.

1843 English poet William Wordsworth was appointed Poet Laureate, a day before his 73rd birthday.

1913 Suffragettes increased their militant activities by cutting telephone lines and damaging post boxes.

1944 Pay As You Earn (PAYE) income tax was introduced into Britain. It was devised by Cornelius Gregg.

1963 Britain and the USA signed the Polaris missile agreement. Polaris was a submarine launched, nuclear tipped weapon designed as a nuclear deterrent.

1975 'Operation Babylift'. A plane carrying 99 Vietnamese orphans, victims of the war in Vietnam, landed at Heathrow airport.

1984 The 17-year-old South African barefoot long and middle distance runner, Zola Budd, was granted British citizenship by Home Secretary, Leon Brittan, after only a matter of weeks, enabling her to compete as a British citizen in the Olympic games. The decision provoked considerable controversy.

1989 The government announced it was to abolish legislation which guarantees 'jobs for life' for more than 9,000 dockers.

1990 Married women in Britain became independent entities for income tax purposes for the first time, making them responsible for their own tax declarations. Their income was no longer assessed with that of their husbands.

1993 Following public disquiet, Queen Elizabeth II began paying income tax.

1997 BBC news reporter Martin Bell announced that he would be standing as an independent 'anti-sleaze' candidate against Tory MP Neil Hamilton at the forthcoming General Election.

30 Mill

nlag

7th April

1739 English highwayman Dick Turpin was hanged in York for murdering an inn-keeper. Before becoming a highwayman, he had been a butcher's apprentice.

1770 William Wordsworth, English romantic poet and Poet Laureate, was born.

1827 Chemist John Walker of Stockton on Tees sold the world's first box of matches.

1832 Joseph Thompson, a farmer, went to Carlisle to sell his wife, both having agreed to part. A large crowd gathered as he offered her for 50 shillings. After an hour, the price was knocked down to 20 shillings, together with a Newfoundland dog as an incentive.

1853 Queen Victoria became the first monarch to receive chloroform. It was administered to ease the birth of her eighth child, Prince Leopold.

1914 The House of Commons passed the Irish Home Rule Bill.

1936 Butlins opened its first family holiday camp at Skegness.

1958 An Easter march to the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston attracted 3,000 anti-atomic bomb marchers and a further 12,000 members of the new CND movement (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament).

1968 British world motor-racing champion Jim Clark died in a crash at the Hockenheim circuit in Germany.

1976 MP John Stonehouse resigned from the Labour Party, leaving James Callaghan's government in a minority of one. Stonehouse was accused of faking his own death, and also faced 18 charges of theft, forgery, attempted insurance frauds and conspiracy.

1986 Home computing pioneer Sir Clive Sinclair sold the rights to his machines to Amstrad.

1997 The 150th Grand National (cancelled on the 5th) due to bomb threats by the IRA, was held for the first time ever on a Monday, with the organisers offering free admission. Some 20,000 people had been left stranded over the weekend, as their cars and coaches were locked in the course. There was limited accommodation space in the city and surrounding areas, and those local residents not affected by the incident opened their doors and took in many of those stranded.

cardboardbox?Youwerelucky

raveydavey

NE1

I drove a Sinclair C5 once..............they were brilliantly crap Laughing

nlag

8th April

1838 The day before his 32nd birthday, Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s 236 ft steamship Great Western sailed from Bristol on her maiden voyage to New York. The journey took 15 days, half the time of the fastest sailing ship. She became the first steamship to make regular Atlantic crossings.

1889 Adrian Boult, English conductor was born.

1904 Britain and France settled their foreign affairs differences with a newly negotiated 'Entente Cordiale'. Britain recognised the Suez Canal Convention and surrendered its claim to Madagascar.

1908 King Edward VII appointed Liberal politician Herbert Asquith as Prime Minister following the death of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman.

1919 The birth of Ian (Douglas) Smith, Rhodesian Prime Minister who advocated white supremacy and unilaterally declared independence (UDI) from Britain in 1965. After the transfer of power to the black majority in 1979, he was elected a member of parliament in the government of Robert Mugabe.

1925 The Australian Government and the British Colonial Office offered low interest loans to encourage Britons to borrow the money to emigrate to Australia.

1946 The League of Nations held its last meeting in Geneva before dissolution. It was replaced by the United Nations (UN).

1953 British colonial authorities in Kenya sentenced Jomo Kenyatta to seven years' imprisonment. He allegedly organized the extremist Mau Mau in their violence against white settlers and the colonial government.

1990 British golfer Nick Faldo won his second successive US Masters after a play-off.

1995 British-born Nicholas Ingram was executed in the electric chair in the US after two appeals to the US Supreme Court were turned down. He had been on death row since 1983 for murdering J C Sawyer and injuring his wife, Eunice Sawyer, during a robbery.

1997 The results of the first ultrasonic scan of the front of the Titanic revealed a series of six short slits as the principal damage to the ship after it struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic in 1912

raveydavey

NE1

raveydavey

9 April

2001: The £8million trial of two Leeds footballers, Lee Bowyer and Jonathan Woodgate, accused of a street attack on an Asian student, was halted after the judge at Hull Crown Court ruled a newspaper article could unfairly prejudice the case against them.

2003: Saddam statue topples with regime
Iraqis turn on symbols of their former leader, pulling down a statue and tearing it to pieces as US tanks roll into the centre of Baghdad.

1976: Young Liberal leader cleared of robbery
The president of the Young Liberals, Peter Hain, has been acquitted of robbing a branch of Barclays bank. (Thats the same Peter Hain who is now a cabinet minister for Labour - fickle thing, politics)

2005: Prince Charles marries Camilla
The Prince of Wales weds Camilla Parker-Bowles at a civil ceremony followed by a blessing.

1984: Dozens arrested in picket line violence
About 100 pickets are arrested during violent clashes with police outside two working coal pits in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. The so-called "flying pickets" - striking miners bussed in from other parts of the country - targeted Cresswell colliery in Derbyshire and Babbington in Nottinghamshire.

1983: Jenny Pitman became the first woman trainer to saddle a Grand National winner when 13-1 shot Corbiere, ridden by Ben de Haan, won at Aintree. This was despite having to stop for directions twice.

1988: Alan Shearer, then a Southampton player, became the youngest person, at 17 years and 240 days, to score a top-flight hat-trick, against Arsenal.

2001: John Aloisi, then of Coventry, scored six goals as Australia set a new record with a 22-0 defeat of Tonga in an Oceania World Cup qualifier. The Socceroos went on to set a new mark with their 31-0 win over American Samoa two days later, striker Archie Thompson chalking up 13 goals at Coffs Harbour.

halfaperson

I don’t know if I enjoy nlags facts or raveys comments best on this thread. Great stuff chaps keep it up.

halfaperson

raveydavey

halfaperson

ravey

raveydavey

halfaperson

30 Mill

raveydavey

April 10th:

1814 - Napoleon was defeated at the Battle of Toulouse by the British and the Spanish. The defeat led to his abdication and exile to Elba.

1849 - Walter Hunt patented the safety pin. He sold the rights for $100.

1912 - The Titanic set sail from Southampton, England.

1929: The first British world motor racing champion Mike Hawthorn was born. Less than six months after winning the title, in 1958, he was killed in a car crash in Surrey.

1998: Northern Ireland peace deal reached. The Northern Ireland peace talks ended with an historic agreement called the Good Friday Agreement.

2000: A Football League tribunal fined Bolton £45,000 for inducing manager Sam Allardyce to join them from Notts County.

2002: England captain David Beckham suffered a broken foot during Scumchester United's Champions League match against Deportivo La Coruna, sparking fears he would not be fit for the World Cup. However, the midfielder recovered to lead his country out against Sweden in Saitama on June 2. Phew!

raveydavey

April 11th:

1855 Britain's first pillar boxes were put up in London. There were six of them, all painted green.

1939 The game of darts was banned in public houses in Glasgow because it was 'too dangerous'.

1941 - Germany bombers blitzed Coventry, England.

1945 - During World War II, American soldiers liberated the Nazi concentration camp of Buchenwald in Germany.

1970 - Apollo 13 blasted off on a mission to the moon that was disrupted when an explosion crippled the spacecraft. The astronauts did return safely. Fortunately the crew included Tom Hanks who saved the day before embarking on a glittering Hollywood career.

1981: Brixton ablaze after riot. The arrest of a black man leads to hundreds of youths rampaging through the streets of Brixton in south London. Unfortunately Gene Hunt was otherwise occupied dealing with some dozy mare from the future.

1990: Customs seize 'supergun'. Customs officers in Middlesbrough say they have seized what they believe to be the barrel of a massive gun on a ship bound for Iraq.

raveydavey

April 12th:

1606 The Union Flag became the official flag of Britain. It combined the flags of St. George (England) and St. Andrew (Scotland). As Wales was not a Kingdom but a Principality it could not be included on the flag. In 1801 the cross of St. Patrick (Ireland) was incorporated to create the flag that has been flown ever since. Hurrah!

1838 English settlers in South Africa defeated the Zulus at the Battle of Tugela. The settlers had guns whereas the Zulus only had spears. That bloody well showed them!

1937 British engineer, Frank Whittle, tested the first jet engine at the Thomson-Houston factory in Rugby. The first jet flight was achieved by the German Heinkel, but it was Whittle’s engine that was used as the prototype.

1961: Soviets win space race. The Soviet Union beats the USA in the race to get the first man into space and Yuri Gagarin becomes a national hero.

1984: Scargill vetoes national ballot on strike. Arthur Scargill, leader of the miners' union the NUM, will not allow a national ballot to take place on whether to stop the strike. Bit of a mistake that....

raveydavey

April 13th:

1771 Richard Trevithick, Cornish engineer was born. He designed high pressure steam engines and road, steam powered locomotives including 'the Puffing Devil'. It was one of the world's first road vehicles to carry passengers. Another legendary British engineer

1892 The birth of Sir Arthur Travers Harris, Royal Air Force Bomber commander, nicknamed ‘Bomber Harris’, who instituted the mass bombing raids over Germany, including the controversial blanket bombing of Dresden.

1912 The formation of the Royal Flying Corps (later incorporated into the RAF).

1935 Imperial Airways and QANTAS inaugurated their London to Australia air service.

1936 Luton Town footballer Joe Payne, aged 22, set a goal scoring record when he scored ten goals in one match against Bristol Rovers.

1992 Neil Kinnock resigned as Labour Party leader. He blamed the Conservative backed press for his party's defeat at the general election.

1997: Tiger Woods wins Masters at 21. Golfing sensation Tiger Woods wins the US Masters, the youngest player ever to do so.

NE1

have you taken over from Nlag, Ravey?

raveydavey

He's having a break so I said I'd stand in with the daily facts til he gets back.

NE1

raveydavey

April 14th:

1471 The Yorkists defeated the Lancastrians at the Battle of Barnet. Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, ‘the Kingmaker’, was slain in the battle. He had put Henry VI on the throne, but Edward IV returned from exile in Holland to reclaim the crown. Yorkshire beats Lancashire - a theme repeated through history.

1527: Birth of Philip II of Spain, who, in 1588, tried to conquer England, but sent his ill-fated Armada to destruction. He didn't try that again.

1889: Birth of Arnold Toynbee, English economic historian who coined the phrase ‘Industrial Revolution’ in his book covering that period in Britain.

1912 The British built luxury liner Titanic struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic shortly before midnight, and sank in the early hours of the next morning. 1500 passengers and crew were killed.

1931 The Ministry of Transport issued the first Highway Code, a set of guidelines and rules for drivers. Even now this is routinely ignored by some drivers and most cyclists.

1939 The birth of Trevor Locke, policeman who was taken hostage while on guard duty outside the Iranian Embassy in London. He tackled the terrorist leader as the SAS stormed the building, saving the life of the first SAS man on the scene. Saving the SAS? How hard was he?

1950 Comic strip hero Dan Dare, the pilot of a space ship, made his first appearance in the first edition of the comic, the Eagle. The comic merged with Lion comic in 1969. All 900,000 copies of the first issue were sold. Its founders were Mancunian Frank Hampson and an Oxford-educated vicar Marcus Morris.

1970: Critical explosion cripples Apollo 13. An explosion on board Apollo 13 causes one of the most critical situations in American space history. Fortunately Tom Hanks was on board to deal with the crisis.

1983 The first cordless telephone, capable of operating up to 600 feet from base, was introduced. It was made by Fidelity and British Telecom and sold for £170. Bargain

1996 British golfer Nick Faldo won the US Masters title for the third time.

1989 Police in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, revealed that violent prisoners were being put into a bright pink cell which seemed to have a calming effect. The colour was named Baker-Miller Pink after the police chief and psychologist who thought up the idea. They like pink in 'uddersfield

2000 Kenneth Noye, who carried out a "road rage" killing on the M25 began a life sentence after being convicted of murder at the Old Bailey in London. He fled to the Costa del Sol after the attack and was arrested in 1998 by British police.

raveydavey

April 15th:

1901: Snooker legend Joe Davis was born. He went on to win 15 world titles, starting with the inaugural competition in 1927, up to his retirement from the championship in 1946. He also won the world professional billiards title four times. He died in 1978.

1942: Malta gets George Cross for bravery. The people of Malta are awarded the George Cross in recognition of their heroic struggle against occupation.

1945: British troops liberate Bergen-Belsen. British troops enter the concentration camp after negotiating a truce with the German commandant.

1953: Britain honours American hero. Reis Leming, a 22-year-old US airman, is awarded the George Medal for rescuing people trapped by winter floods.

1986: Viv Richards hit a Test century off only 56 balls against England on his home ground of St John's, Antigua. Ahem, that was lucky... Rolling Eyes

1989: Britain's worst football disaster at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield. 95 football fans were crushed to death shortly after the start of the FA Cup semi-final match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. Most of those killed were from Liverpool.

2006: Accrington Stanley sealed their promotion to the Football League 44 years after the original club resigned their league status and later went out of business.

halfaperson

cardboardbox?Youwerelucky

16th April

Charlie Chaplin was born

(not that I have been waiting for this date since I found out when he was born or anything Rolling Eyes

)

raveydavey

April 16th:

1705 Queen Anne of England knighted the scientist Isaac Newton at Trinity College, Cambridge. Famously Newton discovered gravity - where would we be without it? He then retired to live a quiet life on the back of a one pound note.

1746: The Duke of Cumberland’s forces defeated the Jacobite Scots at the Battle of Culloden near Inverness. The bloody battle earned the Duke the name ‘Butcher Cumberland’. The Young Pretender Charles Stuart escaped and was later helped by Flora Macdonald to flee the country.

1889 Charlie Chaplin, English-born film actor and director was born. Very Happy

1918 Spike Milligan, English comedian and writer was born.

1953: Queen launches Royal Yacht Britannia. Thousands welcome the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh when they arrived in Scotland to launch the new royal yacht, Britannia.

1964: 'Great Train Robbers' get 300 years. Some of the longest sentences in British criminal history have been imposed on men involved in the so-called "Great Train Robbery".

raveydavey

April 17th:

1860: The first international boxing match between a US boxer, John C Heenan and a British boxer, champion Tom Sayers, at Farnborough, Hampshire took place. Despite being 46 lb lighter, Sayers forced a draw after 42 rounds of bare-knuckle brawling. Now thats what I call a fight!

1968: London Bridge was sold for £1m to American oil tycoon Robert McCullough. He decided to knock it down, brick by brick, and have it re-built at Lake Havasu in the United States. He did mean to buy London Bridge, didn't he?

1969: Devlin is youngest-ever woman MP
A 21-year-old woman, Bernadette Devlin, is voted in as Britain's youngest ever female MP and the country's third youngest ever.

1984: Libyan embassy shots kill policewoman
WPC Yvonne Fletcher has been killed after shots were fired

1986: British journalist McCarthy kidnapped.
John McCarthy is abducted on his way to the airport - three bodies, believed to be of British hostages, are also found.

1992: Benny Hill, English comedian died. A sad day indeed.

1994: West Indian batsman Brian Lara broke the record for the highest individual score in Test Cricket when he scored 375 against England in Antigua.

30 Mill

raveydavey

April 18th:

1903: Bury registered the biggest winning margin in FA Cup final history when they beat Derby 6-0 at Crystal Palace.

1906: At 5.12 am the first rumblings of the San Francisco earthquake were felt. Enrico Caruso was in the city to sing in Carmen with the Metropolitan Opera. He survived the destruction, but swore never to return. Four square miles, 514 blocks of 28,000 buildings were destroyed by the earthquake, which killed over 450 people.

1955: Albert Einstein dies. Eminent scientist Dr Albert Einstein, who developed the theory of relativity, dies in hospital aged 76.

1980: Robert Mugabe became Prime Minister of Zimbabwe as the Union Jack was lowered in the dying seconds of a nation called Rhodesia. I can see trouble there...

1988: In the House of Commons, the 16th-century symbol of the Speaker’s authority, the Mace, was damaged by Ron Brown, Labour MP for Leith, when he flung it to the floor during a debate. It was described by his own supporters as ‘a childish stunt’ and led to his 20 day suspension.

halfaperson

raveydavey

raveydavey

April 19th:

1587: English naval commander Sir Francis Drake sails a small number of ships into Cadiz Harbour and sinks most of the Spanish fleet. They don't like it up 'em!

1824: Lord Byron, the great English poet, died (aged 36) from malaria on his way to fight for Greek independence

1933: 'Dickie' Bird, (Harold Dennis Bird) English cricket umpire, was born in Barnsley, Yorkshire.

1927: Hollywood actress Mae West is found guilty of indecent behaviour in her production of 'Sex' on Broadway. She is sentenced to 10 days in prison and fined 500 dollars.

1956: Prince Rainier marries Grace Kelly. Prince Rainier III of Monaco marries film actress Grace Kelly in a religious ceremony at the Cathedral of Monaco.

1993: Waco cult siege ends with inferno. At least 70 people are feared to have died in a fire at the besieged headquarters of the Branch Davidian sect near Waco, Texas.

halfaperson

I stand Corrected sir. He got 400 in the 2004 Test i was thinking about. The 375 was a record at the time in 1994. At the same ground as well

raveydavey

April 20th:

1657 The Spanish Fleet was destroyed in the Battle at Santa Cruz by an English Fleet commanded by Admiral Blake. They just don't learn do they?

1770 Captain James Cook discovered New South Wales in Australia. A good Yorkshire bloke discovers somewhere for the upsidedowners to live.

1912 The Irish-born writer Bram Stoker, author of Count Dracula, died at his London home. He was 65. Which ties in nicely with Capt Cook (above)

1968: Powell slates immigration policy. The Conservative right-winger, Enoch Powell, has made a hard-hitting speech attacking the government's immigration policy. Widely denounced, but since proved right (to a point).

1964 BBC Two launched, with a power cut because of a fire at Battersea Power Station.

1981 Steve "interesting" Davis became the world snooker champion at 23 years of age, beating Doug Mountjoy at Sheffield.

raveydavey

April 21st:

1509 Henry VIII became King of England following the death of his father, Henry VII.

1816 Charlotte Bronte, eldest of the three literary sisters, was born. Her publisher rejected her first novel, 'The Professor,' but she went on to write her masterpiece, 'Jane Eyre'. A proud Yorkshire lass.

1918 Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the legendary German ace pilot who had destroyed 80 Allied aircraft, was shot down by an RAF fighter and died from the crash behind British lines. He was known as the ‘Red Baron’ because of his distinctive red Fokker tri-plane. If memory serves correctly he was shot down by Snoopy, the famous cartoon dog.

1926 Queen Elizabeth II was born. Happy birthday ma'am!

1945: Red Army enters outskirts of Berlin. Russian troops capture some outlying suburbs of Berlin at the beginning of what promises to be a bitter battle for control of the city.

1955: Fleet Street papers back after strike. National newspapers have been published for the first time in nearly a month following the end of the maintenance workers' strike.

1964 BBC television launched Playschool as the opening programme of their second channel. BBC2 actually opened a day late due to a major power failure the previous day. One of the main presenters was Brian Cant. Careful how you say that if your from darn sarf.

1983 One pound coins replaced notes in England and Wales. Boo!

Tommo

wewantourdarbyback

*calculated pats age at 82*

*runs away*

raveydavey

wewantourdarbyback

raveydavey

April 22nd:

2008: The roof blows off the Florence Nightingale pub in Leeds due to a gas explosion. 5 People are injured, not thought to be life threatening.

1662 King Charles II granted a charter to the Royal Society of London, which became an important centre of scientific activity in England.

1778 James Hargreaves, the English inventor of the spinning jenny died. After he had begun to sell the machines to help support his large family, hand spinners, fearing unemployment, broke into his house and destroyed a number of jennies, causing Hargreaves to move from Blackburn to Nottingham in 1768.

1834 The South Atlantic island of St Helena was declared a British crown colony.

1838 The British steamer Sirius became the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean from England to New York. The voyage took 18 days and 10 hours.

1915 The second battle of Ypres started when German troops released clouds of deadly chlorine gas on British troops. It was the first major gas attack of World War I.

raveydavey

April 23rd: The National Day of England and the Feast Day of St. George

1564 The birth of poet & playwright William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. He died on his 52nd birthday in 1616.

1661 Charles II was crowned King of England, completing the restoration of the monarchy. His father, Charles I, had been beheaded by Oliver Cromwell following the Civil War.

1775 J M W Turner, English painter was born.

1968: Decimal coins reach the high street. The first decimal coins make their way into purses throughout Britain in preparation for replacing the current system of pounds, shillings and pence by 1971.

1983 Canadian snooker player Cliff Thorburn completed the first televised maximum break of 147 during the World Snooker Championships at the Crucible Theatre, in Sheffield.

1984: Scientist finds Aids virus. The discovery of a virus which may cause Aids, the fatal disease sweeping through America, is hailed as a "monumental breakthrough" in medical research.

raveydavey

April 24th:

1882 Lord Dowding, air force commander who directed the 1940 Battle of Britain, was born.

1932 A mass trespass by thousands of ramblers took place on Kinder Scout in the Peak District. Their aim was to establish public right of access on the moors and mountains that were privately owned for grouse shooting.

1949 Sweet rationing in Britain ended. It had been introduced during World War II.

1953 Winston Churchill was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

1965 The official opening of the Pennine Way in England - a 250 mile path along the Pennine Hills from Edale in Derbyshire to Kirk Yetholm on the Scottish border. The opening ceremony was held at Malham Moor, North Yorkshire.

1982: First Briton dies in Falklands campaign. A crewman of a Sea King helicopter on its way to the Falklands Islands is missing and presumed dead after the aircraft crashed.

1990: Hubble telescope takes off for space. The space shuttle Discovery takes off, carrying the revolutionary Hubble Telescope into orbit high above the Earth's atmosphere. I hope they've double checked everything. It would be a bugger to get it up there and find it doesn't work properly...

1993: IRA bomb devastates City of London. A massive bomb rips through the heart of the City of London, killing one and injuring more than 40.

2003 Britain's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest failed to score a single point, a fact later blamed on the UK's stance during the Iraq conflict.
Nothing to do with the song being shite at all.

raveydavey

April 26th:

1607: Captain John Smith landed at Cape Henry, in Virginia with the first group of colonists who established a permanent English settlement in America.

1895: The start of the trial of playwright Oscar Wilde who was charged with homosexuality. When arrested, well known wit Wilde is rumour to have remarked "Well I'll be buggered"

1938: My dad was born. Happy 70th birthday dad! Very Happy

1962: First US rocket lands on Moon. The American Moon rocket Ranger IV lands on the far side of the Moon but fails to send back pictures due a technical fault.

1975: Labour votes to leave the EEC. Party members vote by almost 2-1 to leave the EEC, underlining the deep divisions over the issue of Europe. If only they done what they voted for...

2004: Malcolm Glazer bought a further 4.1million Scumchester United shares, increasing his shareholding from 16.69% to 18.25%. He later became controlling shareholder.

eddiesleftfoot

Glazer's really screwed the Scum up hasn't he ? Sad

Any billionaires please apply in writing to Ken Bates

NE1

what happened to April 25th?

1981 - Mr & Mrs NE1 marry in Royston in a Blizzard, followed by a reception at the Ardsley House Hotel where guests drank the hotel dry of gin

Very Happy

the previous day had been the first day of the cricket season. However it was the one & only day ever that snow stopped play at Headingley due to a white out.

Tommo

Baldy

April 27th.. Mr Ne1, thinks to himsen, what the hell have I done Sad

NE1

raveydavey

raveydavey

April 27th:

1296: An English army, led by Edward I, defeated the Scots at the Battle of Dunbar.

1937: The world's longest suspension bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, is officially opened. Its length: 4,200 feet. It is not really golden though.

1939: Conscription for men aged 20 - 21 was announced in Britain.

1945: Russians and Americans link at Elbe. Russian and American troops join hands at the River Elbe in Germany, bringing the end of the war a step closer.

1828: The opening of the London Zoological Gardens in Regent's Park, London. Lady visitors were politely requested to refrain from poking the beasts through the bars of the cages. Shocked

1971: Protest disrupts Welsh language trial. Police in Wales remove demonstrators from the entrance of a courtroom after they disrupted proceedings inside. What a complete waste of time this bit of political correctness still proves to be. Duplicating signs, paperwork and even vehicle documents so an all but dead language can be forced upon the rest of us. How many people speak Welsh as their main language on a daily basis? About as many as speak Klingon I reckon...

1984: Libyan embassy siege ends. The siege of the Libyan Embassy in London ends 11 days after the shooting of WPC Yvonne Fletcher.

1992: The House of Commons elected a woman to the post of Speaker for the first time. She was Betty Boothroyd, the 62-year-old Labour MP for West Bromwich.

NE1

30 Mill

For those that missed it

April 25th 1915 - (Unofficial) The birth of a magnificent nation, known as the Lucky Country for very good reasons

raveydavey

April 28th:

1603: Queen Elizabeth I's funeral took place at Westminster Abbey.
Obviously she was just Queen Elizabeth then, not becoming Queen Elizabeth I until several hundred years later when Queen Elizabeth II was crowned.

1770: English navigator Captain James Cook and his crew, including the botanist Joseph Banks, landed in Australia, at Stingray Bay, which was later named Botany Bay.

1772: The world's most travelled goat died in London. She had circumnavigated the world twice, first on Dolphin under Captain Wallis, then on Cook's Endeavour. The Lord of the Admiralty signed a document acknowledging her age and adventures, but she died soon after.

1789: The crew of the Bounty, led by Fletcher Christian, mutinied against the harsh life at sea under Captain Bligh. They were on the return journey from Tahiti where they had spent six months gathering breadfruit trees. Bligh and 17 others were cast adrift in a small boat without a chart. While the mutineers eventually colonized Pitcairn Island, Bligh managed to sail the small craft 3,618 miles to Timor, near Java, arriving there on 14th June.

1795 Birth of Charles Sturt, English explorer who headed three major Australian expeditions. With Hume, he discovered the River Darling. He also charted the Murray to its source near Adelaide, suffering great hardships along the way. Another area he explored, the Sturt desert, is named after him.

1801: Birth of Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, one of the most effective social and industrial reformers in 19th-century England. He introduced the Coal Mines Act in 1842 which prohibited the employment of women and children underground. He was also the acknowledged leader of the evangelical movement within the Church of England.

1923: The first FA Cup Final was held at Wembley Stadium. 200,000 people arrived at a stadium which was only designed to hold 125,000 and when 60,000 irate fans rushed the turnstiles a human torrent swept onto the pitch. Players were engulfed by the crowd and 1,000 men, women and children were injured. Finals were made 'all ticket' after that. The game began one hour late and Bolton beat West Ham 2-0.

1986: Soviets admit nuclear accident. The Soviet Union acknowledges there has been an accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Ukraine.

NE1

raveydavey

April 29th:

1696 There were many attempts on the life of William III, King of England, who attracted opposition, in part because he was a foreigner. This day, three would-be assassins, Rookwood, Lowick and Cranbourne, were executed for an attempt that failed.

1884 Oxford University agreed to admit female students to examinations. However, woman were not to be awarded degrees. The thin end of the wedge.

1909 In a revolutionary budget, the British Chancellor David Lloyd George introduced a new 'supertax' of sixpence in the pound for anyone earning more than £5,000 a year. The new high level of supertax was to pay for old age pensions and re-armament of the forces.

1935 Just one year after their invention by Percy Shaw of Yorkshire, "cats' eyes" were being inserted into British roads.

1970: Chelsea beat Leeds 2-1 after extra-time to win the first replay of a Wembley FA Cup final. Dirty cockney bastards. Evil or Very Mad

1978: Afghan coup rebels claim victory. The new left-wing rulers of Afghanistan say almost all the leaders of the ousted Daoud regime are dead. I can see this going horribly wrong...

1990 Scottish snooker player Stephen Hendry beat Jimmy White 18 frames to 12 to become the youngest ever world champion at the age of 21 years and 106 days.

1992: LA in flames after 'not guilty' verdict. Fierce rioting breaks out in Los Angeles following the acquittal of four white police officers accused of beating black motorist Rodney King.

raveydavey

April 30th:

1821 The first iron steamship, Aaron Manby, named after the proprietor of the Staffordshire ironworks at which it had been made, was completed. It weighed 116 tons and after trials on the River Thames it made its maiden voyage across the Channel.

1938 The FA Cup was televised on British TV in its entirety, for the first time. Preston played Huddersfield Town and Preston won in the last minute of extra time. The TV audience was estimated as 10,000. Which is about the same amount as will watch this years game between Portsmouth and the Sheepworriers.

1948 The Land Rover was introduced at the Amsterdam Motor Show.

1952 The British public got the chance to read 'The Diary of a Young Girl', written by Anne Frank who hid from the Nazis in Holland during the war.

1975: Saigon surrenders. The war in Vietnam ends as the government in Saigon announces its unconditional surrender to the Vietcong.

1980 Armed terrorists siezed the Iranian Embassy in London taking 20 hostages and threatening to blow up the building. Where's Andy McNab?

1993: Tennis star stabbed: The world number one women's tennis player, Monica Seles, is stabbed in the back during a quarter-final match in Hamburg. I know the feeling most days at work.

1999: Dozens injured in Soho nail bomb. Two people are killed and at least 30 injured in the third nail-bomb attack in London in two weeks.

cardboardbox?Youwerelucky

Keep it up Ravey - this thread is much appreciated

30 Mill

Have to agree there

raveydavey

Why thankyou! Wink

May 1st:

May Day - originally a Roman festival which began on 28th April and lasted several days to mark the commencement of summer. In England, middle and lower classes would gather flowers - ‘go a maying’ - and the prettiest village maid was crowned Queen of the May, celebrated with dancing around the maypole.

1707 The Union of England and Scotland was proclaimed.

1769 The birth of Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, in Ireland. Known as the Iron Duke, he defeated Napoleon at Waterloo. Up yours Frenchy!

1955 Stirling Moss and co-driver Dennis Jenkinson became the first British drivers to win the Mille Miglia. His Mercedes Benz finished 30 minutes ahead of the second car, driven by the legendary Argentinian, Fangio. Up yours Argy! (part 1)

1982: RAF bombs Port Stanley. British planes attack the airstrip near the capital of the Falkland Islands in the war to rid the islands of Argentine forces. This is a fantastic real life tale of daring do and I strongly recommend that you read the book "Vulcan 607".
It was to be one of the most ambitious operations since 617 Squadron bounced their revolutionary bombs into the dams of the Ruhr Valley in 1943...When Argentine forces invaded the Falklands in the early hours of 2 April 1982, Britain's military chiefs were faced with a real-life Mission Impossible. Its opening shot, they decided, would be Operation Black Buck: to strike a body blow at the occupying army, and make them realize that nothing was safe - not even Buenos Aires...The idea was simple: to destroy the vital landing strip at Port Stanley. The reality was more complicated. The only aircraft that could possibly do the job was three months from being scrapped, and the distance it had to travel was four thousand miles beyond its maximum range. It would take fifteen Victor tankers and seventeen separate in-flight refuellings to get one Avro Vulcan B2 over the target, and give its crew any chance of coming back alive. Yet less than a month later, a formation of elderly British jets was launched from a remote island aribase to carry out the longest-range air attack in history.
At the tip of the spear was a single aircraft, six men, and twenty-one thousand-pound bombs, facing a hornet's nest of modern weaponry: the radar-guided guns and missiles of the Argentine defences. There would be no second chances...It was the end of an era - the last time the RAF flew heavy bombers into combat before they were replaced by their digital, fly-by-wire, laser-guided successors. There were many who believed it couldn't be done. Up yours Argy (part 2)

1994: Race ace Senna killed in car crash. The world-class Brazilian racing driver Ayrton Senna dies in a crash at the San Marino Grand Prix in Italy.
A truly momentous loss for motorsport and probably the only reason that a certain M Schumacher won so many titles. Senna was probably the best driver F1 has ever seen.

1997 A landslide victory for the Labour Party in the General election brought an end to the Conservative Party's 18 years in power. The new Prime Minister was Tony Blair. What first appeared to be a fantastic victory wil be remembered by history as one of modern Britains darkest days. How did he fool so many of us?

2000: May Day violence on London streets. Hundreds of anti-capitalist demonstrators fight running battles with police - the Cenotaph and statue of Winston Churchill are defaced with graffiti.

eddiesleftfoot · May 1 2008 - LUFC shafted by FL and arbitration panel

May 1 2008 - LUFC shafted by FL and arbitration panel Evil or Very Mad

cardboardbox?Youwerelucky · May 1 2008 - LUFC shafted by FL and arbitration panel

raveydavey

May 2nd:

1923: At the BBC’s new studio (opened the previous day) at Savoy Hill, London the first Woman’s Hour programme was broadcast on radio. Thin. End. Wedge.

1952: Comet inaugurates the jet age. The world's first ever jet airliner - the De Havilland Comet 1 - sets off from London to Johannesburg on its maiden flight. Another stark reminder of how we used to lead the world in such things.

1982: British sub sinks Argentine cruiser. The General Belgrano is destroyed in a controversial move by the Royal Navy off the disputed Falklands Islands - a thousand men are believed to be on board.

1997: Labour routs Tories in historic election.The Labour Party wins the general election by a landslide, leaving the Conservative Party in tatters after 18 years in power. Funnily enough this was listed yesterday on other websites. It seems we elected the bastards twice... Evil or Very Mad

2000: Formula One driver David Coulthard's private jet crashes, killing both pilots. Coulthard survives.

2005: Nottingham Forest, European champions 25 years earlier, were relegated to League One, English football's third tier. At least that won't happen to us...oh, hang on...

2007: Scumchester United lost their Champions League semi-final against AC Milan 5-3 on aggregate. The Rossoneri went on to win the competition. Twisted Evil

raveydavey

May 3rd:

1497 A rising broke out in Cornwall, provoked by taxation. James Tutchet led an army of 15,000 from Taunton through the southern counties to attack London.

1841 New Zealand was declared a British colony.

1926 Britain's first General Strike, in support of the miners. It ended on May 12th

1934 Henry Cooper, English boxer was born.

1951: King George opens Festival of Britain. The King inaugurates the Festival of Britain at a service in St Paul's Cathedral and later attends a concert at the new Royal Festival Hall on London's south bank.

1952 Newcastle United became the first team since 1891 to win two FA Cups in succession by beating Arsenal 1-0. This was the last time the Toon won anything of note, probably. Even their trophy room is in black and white.

1968: Surgeons conduct UK's first heart transplant. The first heart transplant in Britain is carried out at the National Heart Hospital in Marylebone, London.

2003: Sunderland's 14th successive defeat, 1-0 at Aston Villa, condemned them to relegation from the Premiership.

halfaperson

raveydavey

May 4th:

Today is internationally recognised as Star Wars Day. Think about it.

1471 The Battle of Tewkesbury, the last battle in the Wars of the Roses, took place. The Yorkists defeated the Lancastrians. Cool

1904 A provisional agreement was signed in Scumchester’s Midland Hotel by the Hon. Charles Rolls, seller and repairer of motor cars, and Henry Royce, electrical engineer and builder of a single motor car. In 1907 the Rolls Royce silver Ghost was the first of their many luxury models.

1954: Warrington and Halifax played in front of rugby league's biggest-ever crowd when 102,569 attended their Challenge Cup final replay at Odsal.

1973: Sunderland beat Leeds to win the FA Cup against all odds. Ian Porterfield scored the only goal of the game, with goalkeeper Jimmy Montgomery producing an amazing second-half save. The bastards.

1979: Election victory for Margaret Thatcher. The Conservative Party wins the general election making Margaret Thatcher Britain's first woman prime minister.

1982: Argentines destroy HMS Sheffield. The British ship HMS Sheffield is sunk by an Argentine missile fired from a fighter bomber.

Baldy

raveydavey

May 5th:

1760 The first public hanging took place at Tyburn in London. Earl Ferrers was executed after being convicted of murdering his valet. He was the first to be hanged by the new 'drop' which had just been introduced in the place of the barbarous cart, ladder and medieval three-cornered gibbet.

1930 Yorkshire aviator Amy Johnson took off from Croydon Airport in her Gypsy Moth plane 'Jason'. She became the first woman to fly solo to Australia, arriving on May 24th.

1955 World famous American virologist Dr Jonas Salk witnessed a ceremonial polio vaccination in London when Margaret Jenkins from Kent became the 500,000th person in London to receive the vaccine to prevent the crippling disease poliomyelitis.

1967: First all-British satellite 'Ariel 3' launched. The first ever all-British satellite is successfully launched into orbit from the United States. It was followed by Daz 2, Bold 3-in-1 and Persil 8.

1980: SAS rescue ends Iran embassy siege. The siege of the Iranian embassy in London comes to a dramatic end after a raid by SAS commandos.

2001: Sun shines on foot-and-mouth crisis. Britain's tourist industry hopes the bank holiday weekend and good weather will attract visitors to areas previously closed due to foot-and-mouth disease.

halfaperson

eddiesleftfoot

raveydavey

May 6th:

1954: Bannister breaks four-minute mile. Roger Bannister, a 25-year-old British medical student, becomes the first man to run a mile in less than four minutes. apparently although Roger did the actual running, this success was largely due to Jeffrey Archer....

1961 The first football team to achieve the double (FA Cup and League champions), was Tottenham Hotspurt led by Danny Blanchflower when they beat Leicester City 2-0 to win the Cup at Wembley.

1966: Moors murderers jailed for life. Ian Brady and his lover Myra Hindley are sentenced to life imprisonment for the so-called Moors murders. Evil bastards is not an innapropriate phrase.

1988 Graeme Hick, Worcestershire's 21 year year old cricketer, scored more than 400 runs in a county championship match, the highest innings in England this century. He was shite at international level though I seem to recall.

1994: President and Queen open Chunnel. The Queen and France's President Francois Mitterrand formally open the Channel Tunnel during two elaborate ceremonies in France and Britain.

1997: Brown sets Bank of England free. The Chancellor, Gordon Brown, gives the Bank of England independence from political control. Thats working well isn't it?

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. And yet still they hang around with the begging bowl thrust out.

raveydavey

May 7th:

1765 HMS Victory, the ship which became the flagship of British Admiral Horatio Nelson, was launched at Chatham. The ship is now preserved at Portsmouth.

1900: Worcestershire bowled Yorkshire out for just 99 in a County Championship match at Bradford but still went on to lose by an innings as they were bowled out for 43 and 51.

1915 World War I - The Cunard liner Lusitania, bound for Liverpool, was torpedoed by a German submarine off the coast of Ireland with the loss of almost 1,200 lives. The loss of 128 US citizens brought the USA to the verge of war with Germany.

1921: The Second Division game between Stockport and Leicester attracted just 13 spectators to Old Trafford - the lowest crowd on record for a Football League match. I shall say no more.

1945: Germany signs unconditional surrender. Germany signs an unconditional surrender ending six years of war in Europe. Take that Jerry.

1956: Minister rejects anti-smoking lobby. The Health Minister, RH Turton, rejects calls for a government campaign against smoking, saying no ill-effects have been proven. Hmmm.... Confused

1959 British Rail announced plans to close down 230 stations. Mistake.

1997 Scottish football team Glasgow Rangers won their 9th successive Scottish League title - to equal the record held by their closest rivals, Glasgow Celtic.

2000: Scumchester City netted four second-half goals to win promotion from Division One at Blackburn.

2001: Scumchester City were relegated after losing at Ipswich.

2006: Tottenham failed to qualify for the Champions League following a 2-1 defeat to West Ham after many of their first team went down to food poisoning. That was a funny affair wasn't it. Did the investigation ever turn anything up, or did it quietly "go away"

wewantourdarbyback

raveydavey

May 8th:

1559 The Act of Supremacy was passed by which the new Queen Elizabeth I became "Supreme Governor" of the Church of England and a Common Prayer book was introduced.

1660 Charles II was proclaimed King of England. This was the restoration of the monarchy after the English Civil War and the reign of Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector.

1896 The highest county cricket championship innings score, 887, was achieved by Yorkshire against Warwickshire at Edgbaston. Take that, Brummies!

1926 David Attenborough, English naturalist and broadcaster was born. A prime candidate for the Greatest Living Englishman award.

1945: Rejoicing at end of war in Europe. The Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, officially announces the end of the war with Germany.

1968: Krays held on suspicion of murder. The Kray twins, Reginald and Ronnie aged 34, and their 41-year-old brother Charlie have been arrested after a series of dawn raids in London.

1984: Moscow pulls out of US Olympics. Twelve weeks before the opening ceremony of the Los Angeles Olympic Games, the USSR announces it is boycotting them.

1984 The official opening of the Thames Barrier in London. The barrier is designed to be raised when exceptionally high tides on the River Thames threaten to flood parts of London. Except it won't work (according to that programme on ITV at the weekend...)

raveydavey

May 9th:

1662 The first recorded Punch & Judy Show in Britain took place at Covent Garden in London. That's the way to do it!

1860 Sir J.M. Barrie, Scottish playwright best known for Peter Pan, was born.

1896 The first 'Horseless Carriage' Show opened at the Imperial Institute in London, when ten engine-powered models went on show to the public.

1927: Joe Davis beat Tom Dennis 20-11 at Camkin's Hall, Birmingham to win the first world professional snooker championship. Davis beat a field of 10 to take the trophy.

1934 Alan Bennett, Yorkshire actor and playwright born.

1940 The RAF began night bombing of Germany. In London, it was announced that Winston Churchill would lead a coalition government after Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain said that he was stepping aside.

1960 Start of the sexual revolution of the 1960s when the birth control pill went on the market.

2007: West Ham confirmed they would not appeal the £5.5million fine imposed on them by the Premier League's independent Commission over the signings of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano. I'll bet they bloody didn't.

cardboardbox?Youwerelucky

May 9th 2008 - Boxy's missus brings a curry & naan breads to kitchen table, Boxy turns and elbows plate out of missus' hands, plate tips on daughter 5 who screams and jumps up (not badly burnt just shock) - curry covers kitchen floor, walls, door, table, shoes, slippers, daughters school clothes, stains floor & wall, all kids cry cos daughter is crying, boxy has to eat toast instead, boxy cries Evil or Very Mad

wewantourdarbyback

halfaperson

raveydavey

May 10th:

1850 Sir Thomas Johnstone Lipton, founder of Lipton's grocery chain, was born in Glasgow. He went from errand boy to millionaire by the age of 30. This became Argyle Stores, then Safeway and is now part of Morrisons - the Yorkshire supermarket chain.

1916 Explorer Ernest Shackleton and companions reached the Falkland island of South Georgia after sailing 800 miles in 16 days in an open boat. They were looking for help for the remaining members of their party marooned on Elephant island, Antarctica.

1940: Churchill takes helm as Germans advance. German forces invade the Low Countries by air and land, while in London, Chamberlain is replaced by Churchill.

1967: Two Rolling Stones on drugs charges. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards appeared before magistrates charged with drug offences.

1994: Mandela becomes SA's first black president. Nelson Mandela becomes South Africa's first black president after more than three centuries of white rule. A truly historic event.

2004: Eddie Gray stepped down as Leeds manager but remained at the club in a consultancy role.

2008: raveydavey did a car boot sale this morning and is now about to go sit in the garden, read the paper and drink beer. Later there will be meat cremated over hot coals.

wewantourdarbyback

2008 - revision, revision and more revision Rolling Eyes

raveydavey

wewantourdarbyback

*googles ravey to crash BBQ*