On this day thread

[Muteswan]

30th March
1811 Robert Bunsen, German chemist who invented the Bunsen Burner, born in Göttingen (d. 1899).
1853 Vincent van Gogh, Dutch artist, painter and pioneer of Expressionism (The Potato Eaters, Irises), born in Groot-Zundert, Netherlands (d. 1890).
1856 Russia signs the Treaty of Paris, ending the Crimean War.
1867 Alaska Purchase: US buys Alaska from Russia for $7,200,000 ($109 million in 2018), roughly 2 cents an acre.
1930 Rolf Harris, Australian-British comedian, actor, painter, singer-songwriter television personality, and convicted sex offender, born in Bassendean, Western Australia.
1945 Eric Clapton, English singer and guitarist (Cream - "Sunshine Of Your Love; Derek & The Dominos - "Layla"; solo -"Tears in Heaven"), born in Ripley, Surrey, England.
1950 Phototransistor invention announced, Murray Hill, New Jersey.
1954 Test Cricket debut of Garry Sobers v England at Kingston.
1965 Piers Morgan, English newspaper editor and TV personality (Daily Mirror, CNN), born in Newick, England.
1967 Cover picture of Beatles' "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album is photographed by Michael Cooper.
1972 Northern Ireland's Government and Parliament dissolved by the British Government and 'direct rule' from Westminster is introduced.
1979 Airey Neave, a British politician, is killed by a car bomb as he exits the Palace of Westminster. The Irish National Liberation Army claims responsibility.
1979 Born today American singer, songwriter, pianist Norah Jones, who is the daughter of Indian sitar player and composer Ravi Shankar.
1981 US President Ronald Reagan is shot and wounded in an assassination attempt by John Hinckley, three others are also wounded.
1981 "Chariots of Fire" directed by Hugh Hudson and starring Ben Cross and Ian Charleson premieres at a Royal Command Film Performance.
1984 World's most valuable tip - New York police detective Robert Cunningham offers waitress Phyllis Penzo half of $1 lottery ticket, next day they win $6 million.
1986 James Cagney, American actor (Yankee Doodle Dandy), dies at 86.
1987 The picture 'Sunflowers', painted by Vincent van Gogh was sold at auction by Christie's for £24,750,000.
1996 The Prodigy started a three-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Firestarter'.
1997 Pop group The Spice Girls helped launch Britain's newest terrestrial TV channel - Channel 5.
2002 Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, (born August 4th 1900), died peacefully in her sleep, aged 101.
2011 Global credit information group Experian report that economic recovery in Wales slower than the rest of the UK, forecasting growth of 1.6% vs 2.2% for the rest of the UK.
2013 Phil Ramone [Rabinowitz], South-African born American music producer (co-founded A&R records), dies from an aortic aneurysm at 79.
2020 Bill Withers, American singer-songwriter and rhythm & blues musician ("Ain't No Sunshine"; "Lean on Me"; "Just The Two Of Us"), dies of heart complications at 81.

 

[Muteswan]

31st March
1596 René Descartes, French philosopher (he thought, therefore he was), born in Descartes, Indre-et-Loire, France (d. 1650).
1685 Johann Sebastian Bach, German composer (Mattheus-Passion),born in Eisenach, Germany (d. 1750).
1727 Isaac Newton, English physicist and astronomer (Principia), dies in London at 84.
1837 John Constable, English landscape painter (Hay Wain), dies at 60.
1855 Charlotte Bronte, Yorkshire novelist and author of Jane Eyre, died during her pregnancy, aged 38.
1889 Eiffel Tower officially opens in Paris. Built for the Exposition Universelle, at 300m high it retains the record for the tallest man made structure for 41 years.
1912 Both the Oxford and the Cambridge boats sank in the annual university boat race.
1930 The Motion Pictures Production Code is instituted, imposing strict guidelines on the treatment of sex, crime, religion and violence in film for the next 38 years.
1935 Herb Alpert, American jazz trumpeter and bandleader (Tijuana Brass - "This Guy's In Love With You"), and record executive (A & M), born in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, California.
1939 Britain & France agree to support Poland if invaded by Germany.
1948 Thijs van Leer, Dutch rock singer, organist, and flutist (Focus), born in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
1949 RCA Victor introduced the 45rpm single record, which had been in development since 1940.
1955 Angus Young, Scottish rock guitarist (AC/DC - "Highway to Hell"), born in Glasgow, Scotland.
1958 Chuck Berry's rock 'n' roll classic 'Johnny B. Goode' single was released.
1960 Lonnie Donegan was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'My Old Man's A Dustman'.
1966 Harold Wilson won a sweeping victory in the general election, with a majority of about 100 seats in the House of Commons.
1971 Ewan McGregor, Scottish actor (Trainspotting, Star Wars Episodes I, II, III), born in Perth, Scotland.
1972 The Beatles' Official Fan Club closed down.
1979 The last British soldier leaves the Maltese Islands. Malta declares its Freedom Day (Jum il-Helsien).
1980 Jesse Owens, American athlete (4 Olympic gold 1936), dies of lung cancer at 66.
1983 "Monty Python's The Meaning of Life," is released in the US.
1986 Hampton Court Palace was severely damaged by fire.
1990 An anti-poll tax rally in London erupted into the worst riots in the city for a 100 years when 200,000 protestors took to the streets.
1990 Lyra McKee, Northern Irish journalist, killed by the New IRA in a terrorist attack, born in Belfast, Northern Ireland (d. 2019).
2011 Edward Stobart, who built up the Eddie Stobart lorry empire and ran it for more than 30 years, died at the age of 56.
2016 Ronnie Corbett, British comedian (The Two Ronnies), dies at 85.
2020 British pensioner Robert Weighton becomes the world's oldest man at 112 years.

 

[Muteswan]

1st April
1748 Ruins of Pompeii rediscovered by Spaniard Rocque Joaquin de Alcubierre.
1841 The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew were opened to the public.
1854 "Hard Times" begins serialisation in Charles Dickens magazine, "Household Words".
1888 Students from Rotterdam, Netherlands establish a cricket club called Rotterdamsche Cricket & Football Club Sparta which evolves into Sparta Rotterdam.
1891 The Wrigley Company is founded in Chicago, Illinois.
1905 "SOS" first adopted as a morse distress signal (· · · – – – · · ·) by German government.
1918 United Kingdom: the Royal Air Force is created from the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps.
1922 Jane Bunford, Britain's tallest-ever person measuring 2.41 metres (7 ft 11 in) at the time of her death, dies at 26.
1927 1st automatic record changer introduced by His Master's Voice.
1938 Nescafé introduces their flagship brand in Switzerland.
1940 Annie Nightingale, English broadcaster, 1st BBC Radio 1 female presenter, born in London.
1947 1st Jewish immigrants to Israel disembark at Port of Eilat.
1948 J. J. Williams, Welsh rugby union winger (30 caps Wales, 7 British & Irish Lions; Grand Slam 1976, 78), born in Nantyffyllon, Wales (d. 2020).
1948 Born on this day in Glanamman near Ammanford,Dai Davies former Wales football international.
During his career, Davies was goalkeeper for Wrexham, Swansea, Everton and Tranmere Rovers and made 52 appearances for Wales.
1952 Big Bang theory proposed in Physical Review by Alpher, Bethe & Gamow.
1957 David Gower, English Cricket Batsman and captain (117 Tests; 8,231 runs @ 44.25; 18 x 100; 114 ODIs), born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England.
1961 Susan Boyle, Scottish singer, debut 2009 album 'I Dreamed a Dream' was the biggest selling album in the world in 2009.
1973 Britain introduced VAT (Value Added Tax). It replaced Purchase Tax and Selective Employment Tax.
1976 Making their live debut in the UK, AC/DC played at The Red Cow in Hammersmith, London.
1976 Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs found Apple Computer in the garage of Jobs' parents house in Cupertino, California.
1980 Britain's first nudist beach opened at Brighton.
1984 Marvin Gaye, American singer (Sexual Healing), shot to death by his father Marvin Gaye Sr in LA at 44.
2004 Google introduces Gmail: the launch is met with skepticism on account of the launch date.
2006 The Serious Organised Crime Agency, dubbed the 'British FBI', is created in the United Kingdom.
2007 Today prescription charges were abolished for NHS patients in Wales.
2018 Steven Bochco, American TV producer and co-creator of Hill Street Blues, LA Law and NYPD Blue, dies at 74.

 

[Muteswan]

2nd April
1725 Giacomo Casanova, Italian writer, adventurer and famous lover, born in Venice, Italy (d. 1798).
1801 Napoleonic Wars: The British led by Horatio Nelson destroy the Danish fleet in the naval Battle of Copenhagen.
1805 Hans Christian Andersen, Danish author of 150 fairy tales (The Ugly Duckling, The Snow Queen), born in Odense, Denmark (d. 1875).
1872 Samuel Morse, American painter and inventor of the electric telegraph and Morse Code, dies at 80.
1877 1st human cannonball act performed by 14-year-old Rossa Matilda Richter known as Zazel at the Royal Aquarium in London.
1912 Titanic undergoes sea trials under its own power.
1914 Alec Guinness, British actor (The Ladykillers, The Bridge on the River Kwai), born in London, England (d. 2000).
1921 Albert Einstein lectures in New York City on his new "Theory of Relativity".
1939 Marvin Gaye [Gay], American soul singer-songwriter, born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1984).
1946 Britain's Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst was founded.
1960 Linford Christie, British athlete (Olympic gold men's 100m 1992), born in Saint Andrew, Jamaica.
1962 The first official Panda crossing is opened outside Waterloo station, London.
1964 The Beatles had their fourth UK No.1 single with 'Can't Buy Me Love.'
1966 Soviet Union's Luna 10 becomes 1st spacecraft to orbit Moon.
1968 "2001 A Space Odyssey" directed by Stanley Kubrick, premieres at the Uptown Theater in Washington, D.C.
1977 Red Rum won the Grand National for a record third time.
1977 Fleetwood Mac went to No.1 on the US album chart with Rumours.
1978 TV soap show "Dallas" starring Larry Hagman and Barbara Bel Geddes premieres on CBS (as a 5 week mini-series).
1978 Velcro was 1st put on the market.
1982 Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic, a British possession for 149 years. The British government dispatched a naval task force to engage the Argentine Navy and Air Force. The resulting conflict lasted 74 days and ended with the Argentine surrender on 14th June 1982, which returned the islands to British control.
1987 One of the greatest jazz drummers of all time, Buddy Rich died aged 69 due to complications caused by a brain tumour.
2005 Newcastle United teammates Kieron Dyer and Lee Bowyer are sent off for fighting each other in a 3-0 home defeat to EPL rivals Aston Villa at St. James’ Park.
2007 A smoking ban came into force in Wales, making it illegal for anyone to smoke in an enclosed public place and within the workplace.
2020 Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro downplays the COVID-19 pandemic saying "its not all its being made out to be".
2020 Eddie Large [McGinnis], British comedian (Little and Large), dies of heart issues and Covid-19 complications at 78.
Today is International Autism Day.

 

[Muteswan]

3rd April
1721 Robert Walpole becomes Britain's 1st Lord of the Treasury - effective Prime Minister, although that term was never officially used (indeed, it was considered an insult) until much later.
1882 American outlaw Jesse James is killed by Robert Ford at home in St Joseph.
1888 The first of 11 brutal murders of women occurred in or near the impoverished Whitechapel district in the East End of London. The crimes remain unsolved to this day. At various points some or all of the killings were ascribed to the notorious, unidentified serial killer known as Jack the Ripper.
1913 British suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst sentenced to 3 years in jail 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.
1922 Doris Day [Kappelhoff], American singer, animal welfare activist and actress known as the "girl next door" actress (Pillow Talk, The Man Who Knew Too Much), born in Cincinnati, Ohio (d. 2019).
1924 Marlon Brando, American actor (The Godfather, A Streetcar Named Desire and On the Waterfront), born in Omaha, Nebraska (d. 2004).
1945 Born this day, in Swansea, Gary Sprake, a former Wales football international who is best remembered as the goalkeeper for Leeds United for more than a decade, during which, they were a dominant side in the English domestic game.
Sprake was a brilliant goalkeeper, but was occasionally prone to mistakes. He self-deprecatingly called his autobiography 'Careless Hands' referring to an incident at Anfield when he threw the ball into his own net because he changed his mind about rolling the ball out to start an attack and tried to draw the ball back into his body. "It went over my shoulder right into the net in front of 30,000 people and right in front of the Kop."
1960 Elvis Presley records ‘It's Now Or Never’, ‘Fever’ and ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight’ at RCA studios in Nashville, Tennessee.
1964 Nigel Farage, British politician and leader of the UKIP who campaigned for Brexit, born in Downe, Kent.
1964 Bob Dylan made his first appearance on the UK charts with 'The Times They Are A-Changin'.
1968 "Planet of the Apes", starring Charlton Heston and Roddy McDowell premiers nationally in United States.
1970 Miriam Hargrave of England passes her drivers test on 40th attempt.
1976 21st Eurovision Song Contest: Brotherhood of Man for United Kingdom wins singing "Save Your Kisses for Me" in The Hague.
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.
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.
2007 Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards denies saying he smoked his father's ashes in an interview with NME.

 

[Muteswan]

4th April
1581 Francis Drake knighted by Queen Elizabeth I aboard Golden Hind at Deptford.
1900 Assassination attempt on Prince of Wales, later British King Edward VII when shot by Jean-Baptiste Sipido in protest over Boer war.
1913 Muddy Waters [McKinley Morganfield], American blues guitarist (Hoochie Coochie Man), born in Jug's Corner (Issaquena County) or Rolling Fork, Mississippi (d. 1983).
1930 Les Ames makes the 1st Test Cricket century by a wicketkeeper (149).
1934 Yorkshireman Percy Shaw laid the first "cats' eyes" along the centre of the road at an accident black spot near Bradford.
1944 Born this day in Ystradgynlais, Ronnie Rees, a former Wales football international who was a member of Jimmy Hill's Coventry side that gained rapid promotion from Division Three to Division One.
1949 The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was established by 12 Western states including Great Britain.
1958 The first Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) protest march left Hyde Park in London towards Aldermaston in Berkshire.
1963 Graham Norton [Graham Walker], Irish comedian and TV presenter, born in Dublin.
1964 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'.
1968 US civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated by James Earl Ray at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee.
1968 Riots break out in over 100 cities in the United States following the assassination of African-American civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr.
1975 Microsoft is founded as a partnership between Bill Gates and Paul Allen to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800.
1975 British sitcom "The Good Life" starring Richard Briers, Felicity Kendal, Paul Eddington and Penelope Keith debuts on BBC One
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.
1981 Bucks Fizz won the Eurovision Song Contest held in Dublin, Ireland with the UK entry 'Making Your Mind Up'.
1984 The women from the main peace camp at Greenham Common in Berkshire were evicted, but said it would not end their protest against nuclear weapons being sited at the RAF base.
1995 Kenny Everett [Maurice James Christopher Cole], British TV personality and disc Jockey, dies at 50 of an AIDS related illness.
2007 Fifteen British Royal Navy personnel from HMS Cornwall who had been held in Iran, were released by the Iranian President. In the course of events the Iranians claimed that the British forces had been sailing in Iranian waters.
2014 Levi Bellfield the triple murderer and killer of 13 year old Milly Dowler’s in 2011 was awarded £4,500 compensation after a prison attack in 2009 in which he suffered minor cuts. Bellfield had launched his legal action after claiming that the prison staff should have protected him.

 

[Muteswan]

5th April
1895 Oscar Wilde loses libel case against Marquess of Queensberry, who accused him of homosexual practices.
1900 Spencer Tracy, American actor (Woman of the Year, Adam's Rib), born in Milwaukee (d. 1967).
1902 In Glasgow, Scotland the Ibrox disaster occurs after a section of a grandstand collapses killing 25 and injuring 517.
1906 Mount Vesuvius erupts and devastates towns in the Naples province, killing more than 100 people.
1908 (Ruth Elizabeth) "Bette" Davis, American actress(Jezebel; All About Eve), born in Lowell, Massachusetts (d. 1989).
1916 Gregory Peck, American actor (To Kill a Mockingbird, MacArthur), born in San Diego, California (d. 2003).
1922 Tom Finney, English football player (Preston North End), born in Preston, Lancashire (d. 2014).
1923 Firestone Tire and Rubber Company starts producing inflatable tyres.
1935 Peter Grant, English rock band manager (Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin), born in South Norwood, England (d. 1995).
1939 Membership of Hitler Youth becomes obligatory.
1945 Tommy Smith, English soccer defender (1 cap; Football League Div 1 1966, 73, 76, 77; FA Cup 1965, 74; European Cup 1977; Liverpool 467 games), born in Liverpool, Merseyside (d. 2019).
1950 Agnetha Fältskog [Anna Ulvaeus], Swedish singer (ABBA - "Dancing Queen"), born in Jönköping, Sweden.
1964 Automatic, driverless trains began operating on the London Underground.
1974 Last day of Test cricket for Garry Sobers & Rohan Kanhai.
1975 Born this day in Swansea, John Hartson, former Wales football international who is best remembered for playing spells at Celtic, Arsenal and West Ham United. In July 2009 he was diagnosed with testicular cancer which had spread to his brain. The treatment he received was successful and by December of that year it was reported that the cancer had been eliminated.
1976 Howard Hughes, American reclusive billionaire, filmmaker and aviator, dies at 72.
1982 Aircraft carriers Invincible and Hermes with escort vessels left Portsmouth for the Falkland Islands.
1994 Kurt Cobain, American grunge rocker (Nirvana), commits suicide at 27 by shooting himself in the head with a shotgun.
1997 The 150th running of the Grand National at Aintree, Liverpool was cancelled because of an IRA bomb scare.
1998 British drummer Cozy Powell (Colin Flooks) was killed when his car smashed into crash barriers on the M4 motorway near Bristol, England.
2006 Gene Pitney was found dead aged 65 in his bed in a Cardiff hotel. The American singer was on a UK tour and had shown no signs of illness.
2012 Jim Marshall, who made rock ’n’ roll rawer and noisier by inventing the Marshall amplifier died at a hospice in London, aged 88.
2018 Eric Bristow MBE ['The Crafty Cockney'], English darts player (BDO World Champion 1980-81, 84-86), dies of a heart attack at 60.
2020 Peter Walker, English cricket batsman (3 Tests; Glamorgan CCC), dies after a stroke at 84.
2020 British Prime Minister Boris Johnson admitted to hospital suffering from COVID-19.
2020 Dr Catherine Calderwood, Scotland's chief medical officer, resigned after the Scottish Sun newspaper published photographs of her and her family visiting their second home during the coronavirus lockdown.

 

[Muteswan]

6th April
1199 King Richard I (Richard the Lionheart) died from an infection following the removal of an arrow from his shoulder, after being wounded by a crossbow bolt during a siege in France.
1722 Peter the Great, Tsar of Russia, ends tax on men with beards.
1889 George Eastman begins selling his Kodak flexible rolled film for the first time.
1896 1st modern Summer Olympic Games open in Athens, Greece.
1896 The Snowdon Mountain Railway opened today. The railway runs from Llanberis to the summit of Snowdon.
1925 1st film shown on an airplane (British Air).
1926 Ian Paisley, First Minister of Northern Ireland (Democratic Unionist Party: 2007-08), loyalist politician and Protestant religious leader, born in Armagh, Northern Ireland (d. 2014).
1929 André Previn, German-American conductor (London Symphony), film score composer (My Fair Lady), and jazz pianist, born in Berlin, Germany (d. 2019).
1937 Merle Haggard, American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler, born today. He also died today in 2016 of complications from pneumonia.
1938 Paul Daniels, British magician (The Paul Daniels Magic Show), born in South Bank, Yorkshire (d. 2016).
1944 Pay As You Earn (PAYE) income tax was introduced into Britain. It was devised by Cornelius Gregg.
1967 The first master tape of The Beatles new album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was made.
1968 Pink Floyd announced founder Syd Barrett had officially left the group. Barrett was suffering from psychiatric disorders compounded by drug use.
1971 Igor Stravinsky, Russian composer (Le Sacre du Printemps - The Rite of Spring; The Firebird), dies of pneumonia at 88.
1974 19th Eurovision Song Contest: ABBA for Sweden wins singing "Waterloo" in Brighton, England.
1980 Post It Notes introduced.
1981 Robert Earnshaw, Welsh soccer striker (59 caps; scored hat-tricks in Premier League, Divisions 1, 2 & 3, FA Cup, League Cup and international match; Cardiff City), born in Mufulira, Zambia.
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.
1991 Argentine soccer star Diego Maradona suspended for 15 months by Italian League for testing positive for cocaine use.
1992 Isaac Asimov, Russian scientist and sci-fi writer (I Robot, Foundation Trilogy), dies from kidney failure at 72.
2009 "Star Trek" film reboot directed by J.J. Abrams, starring Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto premieres in Austin, Texas.
2016 France passes legislation making it illegal to pay for sex.
2020 Nadia, a tiger at the Bronx Zoo (New York City), tests positive for COVID-19, 1st known case of human-to-cat transmission.

 

[Muteswan]

7th April
1724 Johann Sebastian Bach's "St John Passion" premieres in Leipzig.
1739 English highwayman Dick Turpin was hanged in York for murdering an inn-keeper.
1770 William Wordsworth, English poet laureate (The Prelude), born in Cockermouth, Cumberland (d. 1850).
1805 Premiere of Ludwig van Beethoven's "Eroica", in Vienna, conducted by the composer.
1827 Chemist John Walker of Stockton on Tees sold the world's first box of 'friction matches' that he had invented the previous year.
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.
1860 Will Keith Kellogg, American cereal manufacturer (Kellogg's cereal brand), born in Battle Creek, Michigan (d. 1951).
1902 Texas Oil Company (Texaco) forms.
1915 Billie Holiday [Eleanora Fagan], American jazz singer (Lady Sings the Blues), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1959).
1930 Born this day in Trebanog, Rhondda,Cliff Morgan, who was a former Wales and Lions rugby international and captain. He was nicknamed 'Morgan the Magnificent' for his try in the first Test of the 1955 British Lions tour to South Africa at Ellis Park, which helped secure a 23-22 victory. Following his retirement from rugby, he found a new career in broadcasting and was one of the original team captains on the TV quiz 'A Question of Sport'. Between 1976 and 1987 he was Head of Sport & Outside Broadcasts for BBC Television, covering World Cups and Olympic Games, as well as Royal Weddings and other ceremonial occasions. Although he survived a stroke at the age of 42 and later cancer of the vocal cords, he was tragically robbed of the ability to speak. Cliff died on 29th August 2013.
1945 Born this day in Swansea, Martyn Lewis, who is a television news presenter and journalist. He is best known for his uninterrupted commentary on the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales.
1947 Henry Ford, American industrialist & auto maker (Ford Model T), dies at 83.
1948 World Health Organization formed by the United Nations.
1951 Janis Ian [Janis Eddy Fink], American singer-songwriter and folk musician ("At Seventeen"; "Society's Child"), born in NYC, New York.
1968 British world motor-racing champion Jim Clark died in a crash at the Hockenheim circuit in Germany.
1983 Oldest human skeleton, aged 80,000 years, discovered in Egypt.
1986 Home computing pioneer Sir Clive Sinclair sold the rights to his machines to Amstrad.
1998 George Michael was arrested at The Will Rogers Memorial Park for committing a sex act in a public toilet.
2000 South African cricket captain Hansie Cronje is charged by Delhi police with fixing One Day International matches against India.
2014 Peaches Geldof, English columnist and daughter of Bob Geldof and Paula Yates, dies of a heroin overdose at 25.
2019 Rwanda marks 25 years and the beginning of 100 days of mourning since the genocide that killed 800,000 people.

 

[Muteswan]

8th April
1766 1st fire escape patented, wicker basket on a pulley & chain.
1820 The famous ancient Greek statue, Venus de Milo is discovered on the Aegean island of Milos.
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.
1861 Elisha Otis, American founder of the Otis Elevator Company and inventor of a safety device that prevents elevators from falling if the hoisting cable fails, dies of diphtheria at 50.
1886 William Ewart Gladstone introduces the first Irish Home Rule Bill into the British House of Commons.
1904 Great Britain and France establish their Entente Cordiale, a technical treaty settling long-standing disagreements over Morocco, Egypt, Africa, and the Pacific.
1904 New York City changes the name of Longacre Square to Times Square, in honour of The New York Times’s move to the area.
1941 Vivienne Westwood [Dame], English fashion designer, born in Tintwistle, England.
1942 Roger Chapman, British progressive rock vocalist (Family - "In My Own Time"), born in Leicester, England.
1944 Hywel Bennett, Welsh, actor (Family Way, Shelley), born in Garnant, Wales (d. 2017).
1947 Steve Howe, English progressive rock guitarist (Yes - "Roundabout"; Asia - "Heat Of The Moment"), born in London, England. Howe was voted Best Overall Guitarist in Guitar Player magazine five years in a row (1977-1981).
1967 12th Eurovision Song Contest: Sandie Shaw for United Kingdom wins singing "Puppet on a String" in Vienna.
1973 Pablo Picasso, Spanish painter (The Young Ladies of Avignon, Guernica), dies at 91.
1986 Clint Eastwood elected mayor of Carmel, California. Makes his day.
2010 Malcolm McLaren, British music manager (Sex Pistols; Bow Wow Wow), and musician, dies of cancer at 64.
2013 The death of former Prime Minister Baroness Thatcher, aged 87. She was Conservative prime minister from 1979 to 1990 and the first woman to have held the role.
2019 600 million birds die each year in the US after striking tall buildings with Chicago the worst city, according to Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

 

[Muteswan]

9th April
1483 Edward V (aged 12) succeeds his father Edward IV as king of England. He is never crowned, and disappears presumed murdered, after incarceration in the Tower of London with his younger brother Richard (the "Princes in the Tower").
1770 The explorer Captain Cook arrived in Botany Bay, Australia, the first European to do so.
1806 Isambard Kingdom Brunel, British engineer (SS Great Britain, Great Western Railway), born in Portsmouth, England (d. 1859).
1838 UK National Gallery re-opens in its new dedicated building in Trafalgar Square, London.
1916 The Libau sets sail from Germany with a cargo of 20,000 rifles to assist Irish republicans; Captain Karl Spindler changes the name of the vessel to the Aud to avoid British detection.
1917 Born this day in Cwm, Ebbw Vale, Ronnie Burgess, a former Wales soccer international and captain, Burgess worked as a miner before joining Tottenham Hotspur and captained them to the League title in the 1951 season. He later managed Swansea Town and Watford and acted as caretaker manager of the Wales national team for one match in 1965 due to the unavailability of team manager Dave Bowen.
1926 Hugh Hefner, American magazine publisher and businessman (Playboy), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2017).
1932 American singer-songwriter Carl Perkins who had the 1956 US No.2 & UK No.10 single 'Blue Suede Shoes’ was born today.
1957 Seve Ballesteros, Spanish golfer (British Open 1979, 84, 88, US Masters 1980, 83), born in Pedreña, Spain (d. 2011).
1959 Frank Lloyd Wright, American architect (Guggenheim) recognized as "the greatest American architect of all time", dies at 89
1969 Brian Trubshaw, the first British pilot to fly Concorde, made his first flight in the British built prototype. The 22 minute flight left from a test runway at Filton near Bristol and landed at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.
1976 "All the President's Men", directed by Alan J. Pakula, based on the non-fiction book by journalists Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward detailing their Watergate investigation, starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford, is released.
1986 "Dallas" announces it will revive killed Bobby Ewing character.
1989 53rd US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Englishman Nick Faldo wins the first of his 3 Masters titles after a final round 65 (−7) and a birdie on the 2nd hole of a sudden-death playoff with Scott Hoch.
1991 Born on this day in Morriston, Swansea, Liam Williams Wales and Lions rugby international.
1992 John Major elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after his Conservative Party wins the most votes in British electoral history.
2002 Funeral of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother at Westminster Abbey UK. More than a million people line the streets.
2005 The Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles were married, in a civil ceremony at the Guildhall in Windsor.
2021 The death was announced of Prince Philip (aged 99), husband of Queen Elizabeth II for more than 70 years. He officially retired from royal duties in May 2020 after 22,219 solo engagements. The Duke was the longest-reigning consort in British history and had recently been treated at King Edward VII Hospital and St Bartholomew’s Hospital for an infection.

 

[Muteswan]

10th April
1633 Bananas went on display in Thomas Johnson's shop window in London. This was the first time the fruit had been seen in Britain.
1815 Mount Tambora in the Dutch East Indies experiences a cataclysmic eruption, one of the most powerful in history, killing around 71,000 people, causes global volcanic winter.
1849 Safety pin patented by Walter Hunt (NYC); sold rights for $400.
1858 The 14.5 tonne bell, 'Big Ben', was cast in Stockton-on-Tees by Warner's of Cripplegate. However the bell cracked during testing. It was recast into the 13.76 tonne bell by Whitechapel Bell Foundry and is still in use today. It is the largest of the five bells in the clock tower of the Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament).
1912 The British built luxury liner Titanic set sail on its maiden and only voyage, from Berth 44, White Star Line dock, Southampton, bound for New York.
1916 1st professional golf tournament held. The Professional Golfers Association of America (PGA) is founded in New York City.
1925 Scribners publishes "The Great Gatsby" by F Scott Fitzgerald.
1938 NY makes syphilis test mandatory in order to get a marriage license.
1942 Ian Callaghan, English footballer, born in Toxteth, Liverpool, England.
1954 Wales beats Scotland, 15-3 at the St. Helen's Ground, Swansea to share Five Nations Rugby Championship with France and England; France's first title.
1955 Ruth Ellis shot her lover David Blakely outside a pub in Hampstead in North London. Following her murder trial she became the last woman to be hanged in Britain.
1957 "12 Angry Men", directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Henry Fonda and Lee J. Cobb, is released.
1967 Marvin Gaye recorded his version of 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine'.
1970 Paul McCartney officially announces the split of The Beatles.
1976 Peter Frampton went to No.1 on the US album chart with 'Frampton Comes Alive', one of the biggest selling 'live' albums in rock history.
1981 Imprisoned Provisional IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands elected to British Parliament for Northern Ireland county of Fermanagh and South Tyrone.
1982 Iron Maiden scored their first UK No.1 album with The Number Of The Beast.
1988 52nd US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Scotsman Sandy Lyle claims his second major title with a birdie on the 72nd hole to win by 1 stroke over Mark Calcavecchia.
1998 The Good Friday Agreement [Belfast Agreement] for Northern Ireland is signed by the British and Irish governments.
2013 The death of Prof. Sir Robert Edwards, aged 87. His pioneering work on IVF led to the birth of the world's first 'test tube baby', Louise Brown, at Oldham Hospital in 1978.
2015 Richie Benaud, Australian cricket captain, broadcaster (62 Tests, 248 wickets), dies of skin cancer at 84.
2019 First-ever photo of a black hole announced, taken by The Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration in 2017 in galaxy M87, 6.5 billion times the mass of earth, 55 million light-years away.

 

[Muteswan]

11th April
1755 James Parkinson, the English physician who discovered Parkinson's disease was born. His observations were so detailed and complete that they laid the foundation for all subsequent research.
1814 Napoleon Bonaparte abdicates unconditionally and he is exiled to the island of Elba in the Mediterranean.
1831 The 12th century Lewis chess pieces are exhibited at the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, shortly after their rediscovery in a sand bank on the Scottish Isle of Lewis.
1855 Britain's first pillar boxes were put up in London. There were six of them, all painted green.
1912 RMS Titanic leaves Queenstown, Ireland, for NY.
1936 Billy Butlin opened his first holiday camp at Skegness. One of the original chalets is on site and is a grade II listed building.
1946 Whispering Bob Harris, English music presenter known for being a host of the BBC2 music programme The Old Grey Whistle Test, born today.
1955 Gary Sobers starts run of 85 Test Cricket appearances for WI uninterrupted.
1960 Jeremy Clarkson, English journalist and broadcaster (Top Gear), born in Doncaster, England.
1964 The Beatles set a new chart record when they had 14 songs on the Billboard Hot 100.
1966 Frank Sinatra records "Strangers in the Night" single for his album of the same name.
1969 Cerys Matthews, Welsh singer and songwriter (Catatonia), born in Cardiff, Wales.
1970 Peter Green quit Fleetwood Mac while on tour in Germany, to avoid breach of contract he agreed to finish the current tour. While touring Europe in late March 1970, Green took LSD at a party at a commune in Munich, an incident cited by Fleetwood Mac manager Clifford Davis as the crucial point in his mental decline.
1976 The Apple I computer, created by Steve Wozniak is released.
1981 The arrest of a black man led to hundreds of youths rampaging through the streets of Brixton in south London. Over a 100 vehicles were burned and almost 150 buildings were damaged. Reports suggested that up to 5,000 people were involved.
1986 Born this day in Felinfoel, David 'Dai' Greene, former 400-metre hurdle World Champion and European Gold medalist. He was captain of the Great Britain athletics team for the London 2012 Olympics.
1999 Neil Jenkins converts a Scott Gibbs try to give Wales a famous, 32-31 win over England at Wembley Stadium.
2000 South African cricket captain Hansie Cronje is sacked after admitting dishonesty following match-fixing allegations in India.
2001 The death of Harry Secombe, Welsh actor, singer and comedian. He is best known for playing Neddie Seagoon, the central character in the BBC radio comedy series The Goon Show (1951–60). St. Thomas boy.

 

[Muteswan]

12th April
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.
1919 British Parliament passes a 48-hour work week with minimum wages.
1925 Oliver Postgate, English animator, puppeteer and writer, born in Hendon, London (d. 2008). Bagpuss, Pingwings, Noggin the Nog, Ivor the Engine, Clangers and Pogles' Wood all made by his production company Smallfilms.
1927 The British Cabinet came out in favour of voting rights for women.
1930 4th Test Cricket WI v England ends in a draw after nine days. Wilfred Rhodes ends Test Cricket career aged 52 years 165 days
1932 Tiny Tim [Herbert Khaury], American singer and ukulele player ("Tiptoe Through The Tulips"), born in Manhattan, New York (d. 1996).
1937 Sir Frank Whittle ground-tests the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft at Rugby, England.
1940 Herbie Hancock, American jazz and funk pianist, and composer ("I Thought it Was You"; "Rockit"; "Watermelon Man"), born in Chicago, Illinois.
1941 Bobby Moore, English defender (108 caps; captain World Cup 1966; West Ham United), born in Barking, Essex (d. 1993).
1950 David Cassidy, American singer ("I Think I Love You"), and actor (Partridge Family - "Keith"), born in NYC, New York (d. 2017).
1954 Bill Haley and the Comets record "Rock Around Clock".
1955 Polio vaccine tested by Jonas Salk announced to be 'safe and effective' and is given full approval by the US Food and Drug Administration.
1961 Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first person to orbit Earth (Vostok 1).
1969 Wales beats England, 30-9 at the National Stadium, Cardiff to clinch their 16th Five Nations Rugby Championship and 11th Triple Crown.
1975 Josephine Baker, American French revue artist (Folies-Bergere), dies at 68.
1989 Sugar Ray Robinson, American boxer (world welterweight champion 1946-51; middleweight champion 1951-52, 55, 58), dies of Alzheimer's disease at 67.
1990 1st meeting of East German democratically elected parliament, acknowledges responsibility for the Holocaust and asks for forgiveness.
1992 Euro Disney (Disneyland Paris) opens in Marne-la-Vallee, France.
2012 Bodleian, Oxford University and Vatican libraries announce over 1.5 million pages of ancient texts will be made available across the internet.
2019 Tommy Smith, English soccer defender (1 cap; Football League Div 1 1966, 73, 76, 77; FA Cup 1965, 74; European Cup 1977; Liverpool 467 games), dies at 74.
2020 Peter Bonetti, English soccer goalkeeper (7 caps; World Cup 1966; Chelsea 600 games), dies at 78.
2020 The death (aged 90) of the British motor racing legend Sir Stirling Moss. Described as ‘A mighty racer and a true gentleman’, Stirling Moss was widely regarded as one of the greatest Formula 1 drivers of all time, even though he never won the World Championship. He won 16 of the 66 Formula 1 races he competed in (between 1951 and 1961) and in 1955, at Aintree, he became the first British driver to win a home grand prix.

 

[Muteswan]

13th April
1570 Guy Fawkes, English Catholic conspirator who was convicted in the "Gunpowder Plot" to blow up the British Parliament, born in York, England (d. 1606).
1732 The birth of Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guildford. As Lord North, he levied the tax on tea that so incensed the American colonists that it provoked the so called ‘Boston Tea Party’.
1742 George Frideric Handel's oratorio "Messiah" performed for the 1st time at New Music Hall in Dublin.
1743 Born this day in Shadwell, Virginia of Welsh descent, he always professed that his family had originally come from Snowdonia, Thomas Jefferson, known as a Founding Father of the United States and the primary author of the Declaration of Independence. He was the third president of the United States and also the founder of the University of Virginia.
1852 Frank W. Woolworth, American businessman, founder of F. W. Woolworth Co, born in Rodman, New York (d. 1919).
1866 Butch Cassidy [Robert LeRoy Parker], American desperado (Wild Bunch Passage), born in Beaver, Utah (d. 1908).
1892 Robert Watson-Watt, Scottish physicist and developer of the radar and radio direction finding in WWII, born in Brechin, Scotland (d. 1973).
1912 Royal Flying Corps forms (later Royal Air Force).
1937 Edward Fox, English actor (The Day of the Jackal, Gandhi), born in Chelsea, London.
1965 The Beatles record the song ‘Help!’ during an evening recording session at Abbey Road in London.
1967 Nancy and Frank Sinatra were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Somethin' Stupid'.
1970 Apollo 13 announces "Okay, Houston, we've had a problem here", as Beech-built oxygen tank explodes en route to Moon.
1971 Born today Mr. Phil Sumbler. Happy Birthday
1971 The Rolling Stones released 'Brown Sugar' taken from their latest album Sticky Fingers.
1974 Paul McCartney's Band On The Run went to No.1 on the US album charts.
1983 Born this day in Swansea, Nicole Cooke, Olympic gold medal winner and World Champion road bicycle racer.
1992 Born this day in Kings Lynn (his mother is Welsh and from Anglesey), George North, Wales rugby international and the first teenager to attain 20 caps for Wales. At 18 years old he became the youngest player ever to score a try in his debut for Wales and aged 19 became the youngest player in rugby history to score 10 international tries.
2009 68-year-old US music producer Phil Spector was convicted of murdering actress Lana Clarkson, after a five-month retrial.