On this day thread

[Muteswan]

19th February
1843 Adelina Patti, opera soprano (Lucio), born in Madrid, Spain.
1906 Will Keith Kellogg and Charles D. Bolin found the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company, now the multinational food manufacturer Kellogg's.
1910 Manchester United played its first game at Old Trafford.
1910 Typhoid Mary [Mary Mallon] is freed from her first periods of forced isolation and goes on to cause several further outbreaks of typhoid in the New York area.
1917 Richard "Dick" Emery, British comedian and actor, born in London, England (d. 1983).
1924 Lee Marvin, American actor (Paint Your Wagon, Cat Ballou), born in NYC, New York (d. 1987).
1941 The Swansea Blitz was the heavy and sustained bombing of Swansea by the German Luftwaffe from 19 to 21 February. A total of 230 people were killed and 409 were injured and 7,000 people had lost their homes. This period, to become known as the Three Nights' Blitz, started at 7.30 pm on 19 February. Over the three nights of the blitz, a total of nearly 14 hours of enemy activity were recorded. 1,273 high explosive bombs and 56,000 Incendiary bombs were estimated to have been dropped. An area measuring approximately 41 acres was targeted, with 857 properties destroyed and 11,000 damaged.
1945 US 5th Fleet launches invasion of Iwo Jima against the Japanese with 30,000 US Marines.
1948 Tony Iommi, American rock guitarist (Black Sabbath - "Paranoid"; "Iron Man"), born in Birmingham, England.
1950 Andy Powell, British rock guitarist and songwriter (Wishbone Ash - Argus), born in London, England.
1957 The beginning of British TV's first medical soap opera series 'Emergency Ward 10' which ran twice a week for 10 years.
1959 Britain, Turkey & Greece sign agreement granting Cyprus independence.
1961 Justin Fashanu, English footballer born today (d. 1998).
1963 USSR informs JFK it is withdrawing several thousand troops from Cuba.
1964 UK flies ½ ton of The Beatles wigs to the US.
1968 The High Court awarded compensation to 62 children born with thalidomide induced deformities.
1971 British TV chat show "Parkinson" debuts on BBC1 presented by Michael Parkinson.
1972 Harry Nilsson started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with his version of the Badfinger song 'Without You.'
1973 "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" single released by Dawn featuring Tony Orlando.
1977 Space shuttle Enterprise makes 1st Test flight atop a 747 jetliner.
1980 Bon Scott [Ronald Belford Scott], Australian rock musician (lead singer and lyricist of AC/DC), dies at 33.
1985 Canned & bottled Cherry Coke introduced by Coca-Cola.
1985 British soap opera "Eastenders" premieres on the BBC.
1995 Linford Christie runs world record 200m indoor (20.25 sec) and European record 60m indoor (6.47 sec).
2004 Johnny Cash's family blocked an attempt by advertisers to use his hit song 'Ring of Fire' to promote haemorrhoid-relief products.
2018 Nigeria says 110 girls missing, presumed kidnapped by Boko Haram after attack on school in Dapchi, Yobe state.

 

[Muteswan]

20th February
1472 Orkney and Shetland were pawned by Norway to Scotland in lieu of a dowry for Princess Margaret, daughter of Christian I, the King of Norway and Denmark.
1816 Gioachino Rossini's opera "Barber of Seville" premieres in Rome.
1856 The steam packet-ship John Rutledge, en route from Liverpool to New York, hits an iceberg and sinks with the loss of 120 passengers and 19 crew; only one survivor (Thomas Nye of New Bedford).
1927 Sidney Poitier, Bahamian-American actor, first black actor to win Oscar for Best Actor, born in Miami, Florida.
1940 The birth of Jimmy Greaves, England's third highest international goalscorer and the highest goalscorer in the history of Tottenham Hotspur football club.
1941 The second night of “3 night blitz” of Swansea.
1941 1st transport of Jews to concentration camps leave Plotsk Poland, Nazi Germany orders Polish Jews barred from using public transportation.
1942 Mitch McConnell, American politician, (Senator-R-KY, 1985-, and Senate Majority Leader 2015- ), born in Sheffield, Alabama.
1947 Peter Osgood, English striker (4 caps; Chelsea, Southampton), born in Clewer, Berkshire, England (d. 2006).
1947 Earl Mountbatten of Burma appointed as last viceroy of India to oversee the move to independence.
1950 Dylan Thomas arrives in NYC for his 1st US poetry reading tour.
1950 Walter Becker, American rock bassist, guitarist, songwriter and record producer (Steely Dan), born in New York (d. 2017).
1959 Jimi Hendrix (16), rock and roll guitarist, plays his first gig in the Temple De Hirsch synagogue basement, Seattle. He is fired from the band after the 1st set due to "wild" playing.
1967 Kurt Cobain, American rock singer-songwriter (Nirvana - "Smells Like Teen Spirit"), born in Aberdeen, Washington (d. 1994).
1971 Joost van der Westhuizen, South African rugby player, born in Pretoria (d. 2017).
1979 11 'loyalists' known as the "Shankill Butchers" are sentenced to life in prison for 19 murders; the gang was named for its late-night kidnapping, torture and murder (by throat slashing) of random Catholic civilians in Belfast.
2003 100 people died after pyrotechnics ignited a club during a gig by Great White in West Warwick, Rhode Island. Great White guitarist Ty Longley was also killed in the accident.
2015 Chelsea Football Club suspended three supporters as the club investigated racist chanting and phone footage of commuter, Sylla Souleymane being pushed and prevented access to a carriage on the Paris Metro.
2016 US primary elections: South Carolina Republican Primary - Donald Trump wins with 32.5%.
2016 US primary elections: Nevada Democratic Primary - Hillary Clinton wins with 52.6%.
2021 Swans fans in meltdown over defeat by Huddersfield, even though they would be in automatic promotion position if games in hand were won. It’s not over until it’s over.

 

[Muteswan]

21st February
1431 Joan of Arc's first day of interrogation during her trial for heresy.
1741 The death of Jethro Tull, English agricultural innovator. He perfected a horse-drawn seed drill that economically sowed the seeds in neat rows, an invention that helped form the basis of modern British agriculture.
1804 Cornish engineer Richard Trevithick demonstrated the world's first steam railway locomotive at Samuel Homfray's Penydaren Ironworks in South Wales.
1848 Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels publish "The Communist Manifesto" in London.
1893 Andres Segovia, Spanish classical guitarist, born in Linares, Spain (d. 1987).
1910 Eddie Waring, British sports commentator born today (d. 1986).
1924 Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwean revolutionary, Prime Minister of Zimbabwe (1980-87) and 1st black President of Zimbabwe (1988-2017), born in Harare, Zimbabwe (d. 2019).
1931 Alka Seltzer introduced.
1933 Nina Simone, (Eunice Wayman), US jazz, blues singer born today.
1945 Eric Liddell, Scottish 400m runner (Olympic gold 1924,portrayed in Chariots of Fire film) and Christian missionary in China, dies of an inoperable brain tumor at 43 while interned at the Weihsien Internment Camp in Weifang, Shandong, China.
1946 Alan Rickman, English actor (Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, Die Hard, Harry Potter), born in Hammersmith, London (d. 2016).
1947 1st instant developing camera demonstrated by Edwin Land at the Optical Society of America in NYC.
1958 Duncan Edwards, English midfielder (18 caps; Manchester United), dies from injuries sustained in Munich air disaster at 21.
1964 UK flies 24,000 rolls of Beatles wallpaper to US.
1964 New York band The Echoes recruited a new young unknown piano player, named Billy Joel.
1965 Rights activist Malcolm X is shot dead by Nation of Islam followers at Audubon Ballroom in New York City.
1967 Pink Floyd started their first sessions at the EMI Studios, St. John's Wood, London on their debut album The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn.
1968 Otis Redding had his first entry on the UK singles chart when '(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay' entered the chart.
1969 James Dean Bradfield, Welsh singer-songwriter (Manic Street Preachers), born in Pontypool, Wales.
1970 Simon and Garfunkel went to No.1 on the UK album chart with Bridge Over Troubled Water.
1972 The first session of the Widgery Tribunal, investigating the events of 'Bloody Sunday' (30 January 1972), is held in Coleraine, County Derry.
1980 British figure skater Robin Cousins wins men's singles gold medal at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics; goes on to pro career, TV analysis and stage performance & production.
1986 Charlotte Church, Welsh singer-songwriter, born in Llandaff, Wales.
2001 The European Commission banned all British milk, meat and livestock exports following the UK's first outbreak of foot and mouth disease for two decades.
2002 John Thaw, English actor (Inspector Morse), dies of cancer at 60.
2004 William John Charles, CBE (27 December 1931 – 21 February 2004) was a Welsh international footballer who played for Leeds United and Juventus during his 25-year playing career. Rated by many as the greatest all-round footballer ever to come from Britain, died today.
2013 Rhossili Bay on the Gower peninsula, was listed as the best beach in Britain and third best of all European beaches.

 

[Muteswan]

22nd February
1630 Native American Indians introduce pilgrims to popcorn, at Thanksgiving.
1732 George Washington, 1st President of the United States (1789-97) and Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, born in Westmoreland, Virginia (d. 1799).
1797 Over 1,000 French troops attempted to invade Britain and landed at Fishguard, but were soon repelled by the brave Welsh locals until the following day when Lord Cawdor arrived with about 600 men. The French surrendered a day later after no fighting. No other foreign force has managed to invade mainland Britain since.
1857 Robert Baden-Powell, British officer and founder of the modern scouting movement, born in Paddington, London (d. 1941).
1879 1st 5 cent & 10 cent store opened by Frank W. Woolworth in Utica, New York (failed almost immediately).
1889 Olave Baden-Powell, English founder of the Girl Guide (d. 1977).
1907 1st cabs with taxi meters begin operating in London.
1908 Sir John Mills, British actor, born in North Elmham, Norfolk, England (d. 2005).
1923 Born this day, in Taff's Well, Bleddyn Williams, former Wales and Lions rugby captain, who was known as 'the prince of centres' and was the last man to captain Wales to victory over New Zealand. He served during the Second World War with the RAF and afterwards became a rugby journalist with the Sunday People.
1926 Kenneth Williams, British actor (Hancock's Half Hour, Carry On films), born in King's Cross, London (d. 1988).
1928 Sir Bruce Forsyth, English comedian & TV host (Generation Game), born in London, England.
1935 Airplanes are no longer permitted to fly over the White House.
1949 Niki Lauda, Austrian auto racer (F1 world champ 1975, 77, 84), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 2019).
1950 Julie Walters, English actress (Educating Rita, Prick Up Your Ears), born in Birmingham, England.
1956 The first football league match to be played under floodlighting took place at Portsmouth. The home side lost 2-0 to Newcastle United.
1968 Rock group Genesis release their 1st record "Silent Sun".
1972 The Official Irish Republican Army detonated a car bomb at Aldershot barracks, Hampshire, killing seven and injuring nineteen others.
1975 Scottish group The Average White Band went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Pick Up The Pieces'.
1997 Dolly the Sheep, world's first cloned mammal (from an adult cell) is announced by the Roslin Institute in Scotland.
2019 Musician Peter Frampton announces he has a degenerative muscular disease and his next tour will be his last. Which was cancelled due to Covid (and I had tickets)

 

[Muteswan]

23rd February
1633 Samuel Pepys, English navy administrator and Member of Parliament famous for his Diary of the English Restoration period, born in London (d. 1703).
1685 George Frideric Handel, German-British baroque composer and organist (Messiah, Water Music), born in Halle, Duchy of Magdeburg, Germany (d. 1759).
1782 Engineer James Watt's patent for a rotary motion for the steam engine (his sun-and-planet gear) is granted.
1836 Alamo besieged for 13 days until March 6 by Mexican army under General Santa Anna; entire garrison eventually killed.
1886 "The Times" of London publishes world's 1st classified ad.
1919 Fascist Party formed in Italy by Benito Mussolini.
1934 Edward Elgar, English composer (Enigma Variations , Pomp and Circumstance), dies of colorectal cancer at 76.
1945 US Marines raise American flag on top of Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima. Photo of which by Joe Rosenthall later became iconic, inspiring the Marine Corps War Memorial sculpture.
1948 John Robert Gregg, Irish-American inventor of a shorthand system Gregg Shorthand, dies at 80.
1952 Bradley "Brad" Whitford, American rock guitarist (Aerosmith), born in Winchester, Massachusetts.
1959 The flag currently in use was officially recognised as the National Flag of Wales.
1963 Luciano Pavarotti makes his debut at the Vienna State Opera in "La traviata".
1964 Dana Katherine Scully, American fictional character (The X-Files), born in Annapolis, Maryland.
1965 Stan Laurel, British comedian (Laurel & Hardy films), dies of a heart attack at 74.
1974 'Rebel Rebel' by David Bowie entered the UK chart.
1976 L. S. Lowry, British painter of industrial scenes, dies at 88.
1991 US President George H. W. Bush gives Iraq a 24-hour deadline to withdraw from Kuwait or face a ground war.
1995 James Herriot [Alfred Wight], Scottish author (All Creatures Great & Small), dies at 78.
1996 "Trainspotting" directed by Danny Boyle based on the book by Irvine Welsh, starring Ewan McGregor, Robert Carlyle and Jonny Lee Miller opens in cinemas in the UK and Ireland.
1999 British TV drama "Queer as Folk" written by Russell T. Davies, starring Aidan Gillen, Craig Kelly and Charlie Hunnam premieres on Channel 4.
2000 Sir Stanley Matthews CBE, English soccer forward (54 caps; Stoke, Blackpool), dies at 85.
2014 The oldest known survivor of the Nazi Holocaust, Alice Herz-Sommer, died in London at the age of 110.
2020 First major COVID-19 outbreak in Europe in Italy with 152 cases and three deaths, prompting emergency measures, locking down 10 towns in Lombardy.

 

[Muteswan]

24th February
1582 Pope Gregory XIII announces New Style (Gregorian) calendar.
1786 Wilhelm Grimm, German story teller (Grimm's Fairy Tales), born in Hanau, Hesse-Cassel, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1859).
1797 Colonel William Tate and his force of 1,000-1,500 soldiers surrender after the Last Invasion of Britain (according to legend, to Welsh women in tall black hats, mistaken for elite guards regiment).
1871 An explosion at Pentre Colliery, Ton Pentre, killed 39 men and nine horses. The probable cause of the explosion was ‘Firedamp’ which is a flammable gas, usually methane, found naturally in coal mines.
1909 Suffragettes attempted to break into the Houses of Parliament. The police made 29 arrests.
1923 The Flying Scotsman began hauling scheduled services between London & Scotland.
1931 Brian Close, cricketer (played for England between 1949 & 1976), born in Rawden, West Riding (d. 2015).
1940 Denis Law, Scottish footballer (Manchester United, Manchester City), born in Aberdeen, Scotland.
1948 Dennis "Minder" Waterman, actor , born in London, England.
1955 Steve Jobs, American computer entrepreneur and co-founder of Apple, born in San Francisco, California (d. 2011).
1969 Mariner 6 launched for Mars flyby to study planet's atmosphere.
1969 The Jimi Hendrix Experience played their last ever-British performance when they appeared at the Royal Albert Hall.
1975 Led Zeppelin released their sixth album Physical Graffiti in the UK.
1981 The Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer ended months of speculation by announcing that they would marry in the summer.
1989 150 million year old fossil egg found in Utah with a fossilized dinosaur embryo inside, the oldest dinosaur egg yet found in the Northern Hemisphere.
1993 Bobby Moore, English football defender (108 caps; captain World Cup 1966; West Ham United), dies of bowel & liver cancer at 51.
1996 The last occurrence of February 24 as a leap day in the European Union and for the Roman Catholic Church.
1999 Home Secretary Jack Straw published the McPherson Report into the police handling of the murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence. The Metropolitan Police were criticised for what the report called 'institutionalised racism'.
2008 Fidel Castro retires as the President of Cuba due to ill health after nearly fifty years.
2010 Sachin Tendulkar scores the first double century in One Day International cricket.
2011 Final Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery.
2014 A 4.4 billion-year-old Crystal is discovered to be the oldest known fragment from the earth's crust.
2020 Former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein found guilty of rape and a criminal sexual act in landmark case that ignited #MeToo movement.

 

[Muteswan]

25 February
1246 Dafydd ap Llywelyn, King of Gwynedd, 1st to take name Prince of Wales, dies at about 33.
1570 Pope Pius V excommunicates Queen Elizabeth I of England for heresy and persecution of English Catholics during her reign.
1723 Christopher Wren, English astronomer and architect (St. Paul's Cathedral), dies at 90.
1836 Samuel Colt patents first multi-shot revolving-cylinder revolver, enabling the firearm to be fired multiple times without reloading.
1838 London pedestrian walks 20 miles backward then forward in 8 hours.
1841 Pierre Auguste Renoir, French Impressionist painter and sculptor, born in Limoges, France (d. 1919).
1858 Today 19 men were killed in a mining accident at Lower Duffryn Colliery, Mountain Ash.
1913 English suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst went on trial for a bomb attack on the home of David Lloyd George, Chancellor of the Exchequer.
1914 The birth of John Arlott, cricket commentator for the BBC's Test Match Special. The BBC referred to his 'wonderful gift for evoking cricketing moments'.
1932 Austrian immigrant Adolf Hitler gets German citizenship.
1939 The first Anderson air raid shelters appeared. In all, two and a half million were built.
1943 George Harrison, The Beatles,British guitarist, singer, songwriter, born in Liverpool, England (d. 2001).
1957 Buddy Holly & Crickets record "That'll Be the Day".
1959 Mike Peters, Welsh rock singer (Alarm - "Rain In the Summertime"; Big Country,2010-13), born in Prestatyn, Wales.
1963 Beatles release their 1st single in US "Please Please Me".
1964 Muhammad Ali [Cassius Clay] wins his first world heavyweight boxing title when Sonny Liston fails to come out for round 7 at the Convention Center, Miami Beach.
1969 West Germany gives $5 million to an Arab terrorist as ransom for the passengers and crew of a hijacked jumbo jet.
1972 Miners voted overwhelmingly in favour of a pay settlement after a seven week strike that seriously affected power supplies in Britain.
1978 England cricket all-rounder Sir Ian Botham scores first Test century, 103 v New Zealand in Christchurch.
1980 British political comedy "Yes Minister" written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn, starring Paul Eddington, Nigel Hawthorne and Derek Fowlds premieres on BBC Two.
1983 Tennessee Williams, US playwright and writer (Streetcar Named Desire), dies at 71.
1984 'Jump', by Van Halen started a five-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart.
1989 Javed Miandad scores 271 v NZ at Eden Park.
1989 Mike Tyson TKOs Frank Bruno in 5 for heavyweight boxing title.
1995 At a private party for 1,200 select guests on the closing night of the Frank Sinatra Desert Classic golf tournament, Frank Sinatra sang before a live audience for the very last time. His closing song was 'The Best is Yet to Come'.
2001 Sir Donald Bradman AC, Australian Cricket Batsman and captain (52 Tests; 6,996 runs @ WR 99.94 average; HS 334; 29 x 100s), dies of pneumonia at 92.
2015 Ministers confirmed that they would be changing the law to make it easier to levy tough penalties (up to £500,000) on companies that were behind persistent phone calls and texts that promised compensation for payment protection insurance, mis-selling and cold calls promoting solar panels.

 

[Monty]

https://twitter.com/WWIIpix/status/1365211569274183685

 

[Muteswan]

26th February
1797 The Bank of England issued the first ever one pound note. Printed on watermark paper with a vignette of Britannia on the top left hand corner, the hand-signed white £1 notes were withdrawn in the 1820s.
1802 Victor Hugo, French author (Hunchback of Notre Dame, Les Miserables), born in Besançon, France (d. 1885).
1829 Levi Strauss, German-born American clothing designer who founded the 1st company to manufacture blue jeans (Levi Strauss & Co.), born in Buttenheim, Bavaria (d. 1902).
1839 The first Grand National Steeplechase was run at Aintree near Liverpool. The winner was ‘Lottery’ ridden by Jem Mason.
1846 William "Buffalo Bill" Cody, Wild West hunter and showman (Buffalo Bill's Wild West), born in Davenport Iowa (d. 1917).
1852 John Harvey Kellogg, American surgeon and nutritionist, inspired flaked cereal industry, born in Tyrone, Michigan (d. 1943).
1914 HMHS Britannic, sister to the Titanic, is launched at Harland & Wolff, Belfast.
1915 The Welsh Guards came into existence today.
1917 1st jazz records recorded - "Dixie Jazz Band One Step" and "Livery Stable Blues" by Original Dixieland Jass Band for the Victor Talking Machine Company.
1925 Everton Weekes OBE, West Indian cricket batsman (48 Tests; 4,455 runs @ 58.61, 15 x 100s), born in Saint Michael, Barbados (d. 2020).
1932 Johnny Cash, American country singer (I Walk the Line, Ring of Fire, A Boy Named Sue), born in Kingsland, Arkansas (d. 2003)
1935 RADAR (Radio Detection and Ranging) first demonstrated by Robert Watson-Watt, at Daventry, Northamptonshire.
1935 Adolf Hitler ordered the Luftwaffe to be re-formed, violating the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles.
1936 Adolf Hitler introduces Ferdinand Porsche's "Volkswagen".
1946 Colin Bell MBE, English soccer midfielder (48 caps; Manchester City 394 games), born in Hesleden, England (d. 2021).
1952 Churchill told the House of Commons that Britain now had an atomic bomb which it intended to test in Australia.
1962 The start of filming of Dr. No, the first film involving English agent 007 - James Bond.
1969 Peter Sarstedt started a four week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Where Do You Go To My Lovely?
1971 Two Royal Ulster Constabulary officers are shot and killed by the Irish Republican Army while on a mobile patrol in the Ardoyne area of Belfast, North Ireland.
1972 Ireland-Wales Five Nations Rugby match scheduled for Lansdowne Road, Dublin is cancelled because of escalating political situation; Championship not completed for first time since World War II.
1973 Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Norwegian football player & manager, born in Kristiansund, Norway.
1977 1st flight of Space Shuttle (atop a Boeing 747).
1977 Shane Williams MBE, Welsh rugby winger (87 caps Wales, 4 British & Irish Lions; Neath, Ospreys), born in Morriston, Swansea, Wales.
1983 Michael Jackson's "Thriller" album goes #1 and stays #1 for 37 weeks in the US.
1987 The Church of England's General Synod voted by a huge majority in favour of the ordination of women priests.
1990 The sea wall at Towyn was breached due to a combination of high tides and extreme weather, resulting in flood damage to 2,800 homes, and the evacuation of over 2,000 people.
1991 Coalition planes bomb Iraqi forces retreating from Kuwait during the Gulf War, killing hundreds and creating the so-called 'Highway of Death'.
1993 "World Trade Center bombing of 1993": truck bomb explodes in parking garage of NYC World Trade Center at 12:18pm, killing 6 and injuring over 1,000 in what was the deadliest act of terrorism perpetrated on US soil at the time.
1995 Barings, the country's oldest merchant bank, declared bankruptcy after discovering that Nicholas Leeson, the firm's chief trader in Singapore, had lost approximately £625 million of the bank's assets on unauthorized futures and options transactions.
1997 Armed Forces Minister, Nicholas Soames, fought off Labour demands for his resignation over the Ministry of Defence's suppression of information about the still unexplained 'Gulf War syndrome'.
2013 A hot air balloon crashes in Luxor, Egypt, killing 19 tourists.
2014 Michael Adebolajo (aged 29) was given a whole-life term and Michael Adebowale (aged 22) was jailed for a minimum of 45 years for murdering 25 year old Fusilier Lee Rigby. They had driven into Fusilier Rigby with a car, before hacking him to death in Woolwich, south-east London, on 22nd May 2013. The two men claimed that they were 'soldiers of Allah' and that the killing was a legitimate act because Britain was at war with Muslim people.
2018 Cold weather nicknamed "the Beast from the East" hits Europe, killing 7 and covering Pompeii in snow.
2019 UK reaches its highest-ever winter temperature with 21.2°C (70.2F) in Kew Gardens, London.
2020 Saudi Arabia bars overseas pilgrims from accessing religious sites of Mecca and Medina because of COVID-19 fears for 1st time in living memory.

 

[Muteswan]

27th February
1557 1st Russian Embassy arrives in London.
1807 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet (Song of Hiawatha), born in Portland, Maine (d. 1882).
1827 1st Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans.
1879 Russian Chemist Constantin Fahlberg discovers saccharin (artificial sweetener).
1900 In London, the Trades Union Congress and the Independent Labour Party (formed in 1893) meet, results in a Labour Representative Committee and eventually the modern Labour Party in 1906. Ramsay MacDonald became secretary.
1902 John Steinbeck, American author (Grapes of Wrath-Nobel 1962), born in Salinas, California (d. 1968).
1907 Psychiatrists Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud meet for the first time in Vienna.
1907 London's main criminal court, the Old Bailey was built, on the site of Newgate Prison.
1919 1st public performance of Holst's "Planets".
1932 The birth, in London, of the film actress Elizabeth Taylor.
1941 Paddy Ashdown, British MP, leader of Liberal Democrats (1988-1999), born in New Delhi, British Raj (d. 2018).
1941 Born this day in Newport, Monmouthshire,Charlie Faulkner, Welsh rugby international, who was part of the legendary Pontypool front row, making his international debut at the age of 34.
1957 Adrian Smith, English heavy metal guitarist (Iron Maiden-Aces High), born in London Borough of Hackney, London.
1964 21 year-old former hairdresser and cloakroom attendant at The Cavern Club, Cilla Black was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Anyone Who Had A Heart.
1969 Born this day in Cardiff,Gareth Llewellyn, former Wales rugby international and captain, who won 92 caps.
1973 Mark Taylor, Welsh rugby union footballer, born in Blaenavon, United Kingdom.
1991 The Gulf War came to an end with the liberation of Kuwait & the retreat of Iraqi forces.
1996 First ever appearance of Pokémon in role-playing video game "Pocket Monsters Red and Green" for Game Boy in Japan.
1998 Britain's House of Lords agrees to end 1,000 years of male precedence by giving a monarch's first-born daughter the same claim to the throne as any first born son.
1999 Aston Villa are the last Premier League team to play a match with an all-English starting XI in a 4-1 defeat by Coventry.
2002 Spike Milligan, Irish comedian and writer died, aged 83. After the death of his friend Harry Secombe from cancer on 11th April 2001, Milligan said, "I'm glad he died before me, because I didn't want him to sing at my funeral." On his headstone is inscribed "I'Duirt mé leat go raibh mé breoite", which is Irish for "I told you I was ill.
2003 Rowan Williams is enthroned as the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury.
2012 Wikileaks begins disclosing 5 million emails from private intelligence company Stratfor.
2015 Leonard Nimoy, American actor (Spock-Star Trek, Mission Impossible), dies of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at 83.
2015 Former pop star Gary Glitter was jailed for 16 years for having sex with a 12 year old girl, attempting to rape an 8 year old and repeatedly molesting a third. Glitter was told by the judge that the sentence would have been longer if the offences had taken place today rather than in the 1970s. Glitter (real name Paul Gadd) was jailed in 1999 after admitting possessing 4,000 indecent images of children and was also jailed in Vietnam in 2002 after being found guilty of sexually abusing two girls aged 10 and 11.
2019 Michael Cohen, former lawyer to Donald Trump testifies before the House Oversight Committee saying Trump is "racist", a "con man" and "a cheat".
2020 Dow Jones Index suffers its biggest points fall in history closing down 1,190.95 in New York amid concerns about COVID-19.
2021 Wales win the Triple Crown by beating England 40-24.

 

[Muteswan]

28th February
1784 John Wesley signed the deed of declaration which established the Wesleyan faith. It has been called the Magna Carta of Methodism.
1824 Charles Blondin, French acrobat and tight rope walker, born in St. Omer (d. 1897).
1849 1st boat load of gold rush prospectors arrives in San Francisco from the east coast.
1925 Harry H Corbett, English actor (Steptoe & Son, Jabberwacky), born in Rangoon, Burma (d. 1982).
1928 Born this day in Ferndale, Rhondda, Sir Stanley Baker, actor and film producer, best known for his roles in ‘Zulu’ and ‘The Guns of Navarone’. Baker was a close friend of both Richard Burton and Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson.
1931 Peter Alliss, English golfer (Ryder Cup 1957 GB winners) and author, course designer and television presenter, commentator (BBC, ESPN, ABC Sports), born in Berlin, Germany (d. 2020).
1932 Brian Moore, British sports commentator (BBC Radio, London Weekend Television 'The Big Match'), born in Benenden, Kent, England (d. 2001).
1942 Brian Jones, British blues and rock guitarist, organist and sitar player (Rolling Stones, 1962-69), born in Gloucestershire, England (d. 1969).
1961 Barry McGuigan, Irish boxer, born in Clones, Ireland.
1966 The Cavern Club, Liverpool, where the Beatles and other pop groups began, was forced into liquidation.
1970 Simon and Garfunkel started a six week run at the top of the US singles chart with 'Bridge Over Troubled Water'.
1971 A British soldier dies in Derry after his vehicle had been attacked with petrol bombs (he died as a result of inhaling chemicals from fire extinguishers that were used to put out the fire).
1974 UK general election results in a hung parliament.
1975 At 8.37 am in the London rush hour, a Northern Line underground train crashed through the buffers at Moorgate station and hit a solid dead-end wall, killing 41 people and seriously injuring 50.
1979 Mr Ed, talking horse, dies.
1984 British satirical puppet show "Spitting Image" premieres on ITV.
1990 Colin Milburn, cricketer (9 Tests for England, 654 runs), dies.
1991 Gulf War ends after Iraq accepts a ceasefire following their retreat from Kuwait.
1993 Gun battle erupts near Waco, Texas at Branch Davidian compound after FBI attempts a raid.
2001 A GNER train from York to London King's Cross crashed at Great Heck between Goole and Selby, North Yorkshire, on the East Coast main line. Gary Hart fell asleep at the wheel of his Land Rover and plunged 40ft down the railway embankment from the M62 into the path of an express train. The 4.45am Great North Eastern Intercity service from Newcastle to London King's Cross ploughed into the Land Rover before colliding with a coal train travelling north. 10 people, including both train drivers, died and more than 70 were injured.
2013 The brains of two rats successfully connected so that they share information.
2019 Summit between North Korea's Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump collapses without agreement.
2019 André Previn, German-American conductor (London Symphony), film score composer (My Fair Lady), and jazz pianist, dies at 89.
2020 The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Wales occurred today in Mumbles, Swansea.

 

[Muteswan]

1st March
589 Saint David, Patron Saint of Wales, dies at approx 90.
1244 Gruffydd ap Llywelyn Fawr, son of Welsh leader Llywelyn the Great, dies trying to escape from the Tower of London b. 1200.
1711 "The Spectator" begins publishing (London) founded by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele.
1810 Frederic Chopin, Polish-French pianist and composer, born in Żelazowa Wola, Duchy of Warsaw (d. 1849).
1854 SS City of Glasgow leaves Liverpool harbour with approximately 480 passengers and crew; she was never seen again.
1890 1st US edition of Sherlock Holmes' first story "A Study in Scarlet" by Arthur Conan Doyle published.
1904 Glenn Miller, American bandleader and jazz composer (Glenn Miller Orchestra - "In The Mood"; "Moonlight Srenade"; "String Of Pearls"), born in Clarinda, Iowa (d. 1944).
1905 Doris Hare, Welsh actress, (On the Buses), born in Bargoed, Glamorgan, Wales (d. 2000).
1910 David Niven, British actor (Casino Royale, The Pink Panther), born in London, England (d. 1983).
1936 Boulder (Hoover) Dam fully completed.
1944 Roger Daltrey, English singer and founder of the rock band "The Who", born in East Acton, London, England.
1946 The British Government took control of the Bank of England, after 252 years.
1947 The International Monetary Fund began financial operations. Its goal was to stabilize exchange rates and to assist the reconstruction of the world’s international payment system.
1954 Ron Howard, born in Oklahoma, American actor and director (American Graffiti, Happy Days).
1958 Buddy Holly played the first of 25 dates on his only UK tour at the Trocadero, Elephant & Castle, London.
1967 Working at Abbey Road studios,The Beatles started recording a new John Lennon song 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds'.
1967 Born on this day in Swansea, Steffan Rhodri, actor best known for portraying Dave Coaches on Gavin & Stacey and as Reg Cattermole in Harry Potter. Massive Swans fan. YJB.
1969 Dafydd Ieuan, born today in Bangor, Welsh drummer (Super Furry Animals).
1971 Hundreds of thousands of workers across Britain took part in an unofficial day of protest against the government's new Industrial Relations Bill.
1973 Pink Floyd released their eighth studio album The Dark Side Of The Moon in the US.
1977 Bank of America adopts the name VISA for its credit cards.
1980 Dixie Dean, English footballer, died at age 73 after suffering a heart attack at Everton's home ground Goodison Park whilst watching a match against their closest rivals, Liverpool.
1981 Republican prisoners in the Maze began a second hunger strike; among them is Bobby Sands.
1994 Fred West was charged with two further murders following more human remains found at his home.
1994 Nirvana played their final ever concert when they appeared at The Terminal Einz in Munich, Germany.
2004 The Welsh Whisky Company launched Penderyn Single Malt Whisky on 1st March 2004. It was the first whisky to be manufactured commercially in Wales since the Welsh Whiskey Distillery closed its plant at Frongoch near Bala in 1903.
2006 Peter Osgood, English striker (4 caps; Chelsea, Southampton), dies from a heart attack at 59.
2006 The Senedd in Cardiff Bay, was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II. It is the main public building of the Welsh Parliament, the main centre for democracy and devolution in Wales.
2016 76-year-old Ginger Baker posted on his blog that he had cancelled all of his scheduled shows for the year and was going into immediate retirement. The former drummer for Cream and Blind Faith revealed that his doctor had just diagnosed him with serious heart problems, causing him to announce all forthcoming shows cancelled.
2020 The meteorological office announced that February had been the wettest in over 150 years.
Every year. Today is the first official day of the coracle fishing season on the Rivers Towy and Taf. The season then opens on the Teifi on the 1st April.

 

[Muteswan]

2nd March
1791 John Wesley, English co-founder of Methodism dies at 87 (b. 1703).
1882 Queen Victoria narrowly escapes assassination when Roderick Maclean shoots at her while boarding a train in Windsor.
1888 The Convention of Constantinople signed, guaranteeing free maritime passage through the Suez Canal during war and peace.
1904 Dr. Seuss [Theodor Geisel], American children's author (The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham), born in Springfield, Massachusetts (d. 1991).
1927 Ray Prosser, Welsh rugby union prop (22 caps Wales, 1 British & Irish Lions; Pontypool) and coach (Pontypool RFC 1969-87), born in Pontypool, Wales (d. 2020).
1930 D. H. Lawrence, English poet and writer (Lady Chatterley's Lover), dies of tuberculosis at 44.
1931 Mikhail Gorbachev, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1985-91), born in Stavropol, Russia.
1933 "King Kong" film directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, starring Fay Wray premieres at Radio City Music Hall and RKO Roxy in NYC.
1939 Howard Carter, British archaeologist and egyptologist who found King Tutankhamun's tomb, dies at 65.
1944 Fumes from locomotive stalled in a tunnel suffocate 521 in Italy.
1947 Harry Redknapp,player (West Ham United; AFC Bournemouth) and manager (Bournemouth, West Ham, Tottenham, Portsmouth, QPR, Southampton), born in London, England.
1948 Rory Gallagher, Irish rock and blues guitarist and songwriter, born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, Ireland (d. 1995).
1948 Larry Carlton, American jazz and rock session and touring guitarist (Crusaders, Steely Dan), born in Torrance, California.
1949 J. P. R. Williams, Welsh rugby union fullback (55 caps Wales, 8 British & Irish Lions; Grand Slam 1971, 76, 78), born in Bridgend, Wales.
1950 Karen Carpenter, American pop vocalist and drummer, born in New Haven, Connecticut (d. 1983).
1958 Ian Woosnam, Welsh golfer (US Masters 1991), born in Oswestry, England.
1959 Ceremony to mark the start of construction of the Sydney Opera House at Bennelong Point, Sydney.
1962 Jon Bon Jovi [John Bongiovi], American rock singer-songwriter, born in Sayreville, New Jersey.
1965 One of the most popular musical films of all time, "The Sound of Music", starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, is released.
1968 Daniel Craig, English actor (James Bond films), born in Chester, England.
1969 The maiden flight of Concorde, the Anglo-French supersonic airline.
1974 Grand jury concludes US President Richard Nixon is involved in Watergate cover-up.
1974 Australian cricket batsman Greg Chappell makes 247no in drawn 1st Test vs NZ in Wellington; also hits 133 in 2nd innings; brother Ian 145 and 121 also scores twin centuries.
1977 Andrew Strauss OBE, English cricket batsman and captain (100 Tests, 21 x 100s, 7,037 runs; 127 ODIs), born in Johannesburg, South Africa.
1983 Compact Disc recordings developed by Phillips & Sony introduced.
1995 British financial dealer Nick Leeson, who bankrupted Barings Bank, was arrested at Frankfurt Airport.
2011 One of cricket’s great upsets; Kevin O’Brien hits fastest century in World Cup history off 50 balls (ends 113 off 63) to help Ireland beat England by 3 wickets in Bangalore.
2020 Russian President Vladimir Putin proposes constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

 

[Muteswan]

3rd March
1284 The Statute of Rhuddlan (also known as the Statutes of Wales) was enacted 'On This Day'. It introduced the English common law system to Wales, allowing the King to appoint royal officials such as sheriffs, coroners and bailiffs to collect taxes and administer justice.
1847 Alexander Graham Bell, Scottish-born British-American inventor (telephone), born in Edinburgh, Scotland (d. 1922).
1865 Opening of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, the founding member of the HSBC Group.
1875 Georges Bizet's last and greatest opera "Carmen" premieres in Paris.
1891 The Penalty Spot Kick rule in Association Football is conceived, but does not come into effect until the next season.
1918 Peter O'Sullevan, British horse racing commentator 'the voice of racing', born in Kenmare, Ireland (d. 2015).
1920 James Doohan, Canadian actor (Star Trek, Scottie), born in Vancouver, British Columbia (d. 2005).
1931 "Star Spangled Banner" officially becomes US national anthem by congressional resolution.
1932 Alfieri Maserati, Italian auto racer and engineer ( Maserati Racing), dies from poorly executed kidney surgery at 44.
1943 173 people were killed in a crush while trying to enter an air-raid shelter at Bethnal Green tube station, in London.
1948 Terence "Snowy" White, British guitarist (Thin Lizzy), born in Barnstaple, Devon.
1956 Elvis Presley's 1st hit in Billboard's top 10: "Heartbreak Hotel".
1958 Bob Bradley, soccer coach (Olympic gold 1996), born in Montclair, New Jersey.............
1966 The BBC announced that it would begin broadcasting television programmes in colour in 1967.
1973 Slade's 'Com On Feel The Noize', entered the UK chart at No.1.
1985 NUM members returned to work after their costly year long strike, without a peace deal being won by their leader Arthur Scargill.
1991 Los Angeles police officers severely beat motorist Rodney King, the beating is famously captured on amateur video and later leads to riots when the police officers are acquitted.
2009 The Sri Lankan cricket team is attacked by terrorists while on their way to the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore for 2nd Test against Pakistan; match abandoned.
2111 In a referendum held on 3rd March 2011 the people of Wales voted in favour of extending the law-making powers of the National Assembly for Wales.
2017 Mass grave of 800 children and infants confirmed at a former Catholic care home in Tuam, Ireland.
2020 World Bank pledges $12 billion in emergency aid for developing countries dealing with COVID-19.
2020 Iran releases 54,000 people from prison to avoid spread of COVID-19 as country reports 77 deaths and 2,300 cases including two dozen MPs.

 

[Muteswan]

4th March
1678 Antonio Vivaldi, Baroque violin virtuoso and composer (The Four Seasons), born in Venice, Italy (d. 1741).
1789 1st US Congress meets and declares constitution in effect (9 senators, 13 reps).
1824 The "National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck" founded in the United Kingdom by Sir William Hillary later to be renamed The Royal National Lifeboat Institution in 1858.
1877 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballet "Swan Lake" has its world premiere, performed by the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow.
1890 Longest bridge in Great Britain, the Forth Bridge (railway) at 1,710 ft in length is opened in Scotland by the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII.
1909 Harry B Helmsley, American billionaire builder (Empire State Building), born in NYC, New York.
1922 1st vampire film Nosferatu premieres at the Berlin Zoological Garden, Germany, an adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula.
1923 Sir Patrick Moore, astronomer, was born.
1924 "Happy Birthday To You" published by Claydon Summy.
1936 James "Jim" Clark, Scottish F1 Indianapolis 500 winner and World Champion (1963 & 1965), born in Kilmany, Fife, Scotland (d. 1968).
1948 Chris Squire, rock bassist (Yes-Fish Out of Water), born in London, England (d. 2015).
1948 Shakin' Stevens, (Michael Barratt), Welsh singer, born today in Ely, Cardiff.
1951 The birth of former Scottish footballer and manager Kenny Dalgleish.
1954 Willie Thorne, English snooker player (1985 Classic), born in Leicester, England (d. 2020).
1955 Born this day, in Llandudno, Joseph Patrick 'Joey' Jones, former Welsh soccer international. He also won the European Cup with Liverpool and is best remembered for his uncompromising style of play and committed attitude.
1965 David Attenbrough became the new controller of BBC2.
1966 John Lennon says "We (the Beatles) are more popular than Jesus".
1966 North Sea Gas 1st pumped ashore by BP.
1967 The Rolling Stones went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Ruby Tuesday'.
1969 London East End gang bosses twins Ronnie and Reggie Kray are found guilty of murder. Both will die in captivity.
1982 Landon Donovan, American soccer player.
1982 Frank Zappa's son Dweezil and his daughter Moon Unit formed a band called Fred Zeppelin.
1984 Kevin O'Brien, Irish cricket batsman (3 Tests; 142 ODIs; 89 T20I; fastest century ever in ODI World Cup, off 50 balls v England 2011), born in Dublin, Republic of Ireland.
1989 The Louvre Pyramid designed by I. M. Pei is inaugurated by French President Francois Mitterrand.
2012 Vladimir Putin wins Russian presidential election amid allegations of voter fraud.
2018 Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia Skripal are poisoned by nerve agent in Salisbury, England.