On this day thread

[Muteswan]

16th September
1387 Henry V, King of England (1413-22) and France (1416-19), born in Monmouth Castle, Monmouth, Principality of Wales.
1400 Owain Glyndŵr, Welsh ruler and the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales, instigated the Welsh Revolt against the rule of Henry IV of England.
1485 Yeomen Warders, the bodyguard of the English Crown - popularly known as 'Beefeaters' - was established by King Henry VII. Yeoman Warders work full time at the Tower of London.
1736 Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, Dutch-German-Polish physicist, inventor and scientific instrument maker, who invented the thermometer and the Fahrenheit scale, dies at 50.
1859 Lake Nyasa, which forms Malawi's boundary with Tanzania & Mozambique discovered by British explorer David Livingstone.
1861 British Post Office Savings Banks opens.
1888 Walter Bentley, British car designer, was born.
1920 The "Wall Street bombing" occurs at 12:01 when a horse-drawn wagon explodes on Wall Street, New York, killing 38 and injuring 143.
1925 Born today, B.B. King, US blues guitarist. He gained the nickname "Beale Street Blues Boy", which was later shortened to "Blues Boy" and finally to B.B. King.
1942 Born on this day in Swansea, Barrie Hole former Wales football international who was voted at no 45 in Cardiff City's list of greatest ever players.
1958 Neville Southall, Welsh footballer, born in Llandudno, Wales.
1963 'She Loves You' by The Beatles was released by Swan Records in the US.
1965 Fred Quimby, American film producer (Tom and Jerry cartoons), dies of a heart attack at 79.
1968 Britain introduced a 'two tier' postal system - First and Second Class. Letters and parcels bearing the more expensive 1st class stamps would be given priority of delivery.
1977 Marc Bolan, English rock vocalist and guitarist (T-Rex - "Bang a Gong (Get It On)"), dies in a car crash at 29, when the car driven by his girlfriend, Gloria Jones, left the road and hit a tree in Barnes, London.
1978 Filming begins for "Monty Python's Life of Brian", on location in Monastir, Tunisia.
1982 Leon Leroy Knight, English footballer, born in Hackney, England.
1982 Leon James Britton (born today) is an English footballer and coach. A midfielder, he spent most of his career with Swansea City, having joined Swansea on a permanent transfer in 2003. Britton went on to make 520 appearances for the club.
1984 1st broadcast of "Miami Vice" on NBC-TV.
1988 Javed Miandad completes 211, his 5th Test Cricket double, v Australia.
1992 "Black Wednesday" UK government is forced to withdraw the pound sterling from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism after unable keep it above agreed lowest limit.
1997 Apple Computer Inc names co-founder Steve Jobs interim CEO.
2005 Gordon Gould, American physicist (inventor of the laser) dies at 85.
2015 Report 3 million people die each year of air pollution, more than malaria and HIV/Aids combined published in "Nature" journal.

 

[Muteswan]

17th September
1394 Jews are expelled from France by order of King Charles VI.
1598 Dutch sailors discover island of Mauritius.
1677 Stephen Hales, English physiologist, chemist and inventor (first person to measure blood pressure), born in Bekesbourne, Kent, England (d. 1761).
1683 Dutch scientist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek is the first to report the existence of bacteria.
1745 Prince Charles Edward Stewart or 'Bonnie Prince Charlie' as he was better known, arrived in Edinburgh and declared his father to be the rightful King of Scotland.
1787 The US Constitution is signed by delegates at the Philadelphia Convention.
1827 'Wides' in cricket were first scored in the Sussex v Kent game at Brighton.
1872 Phillip W Pratt patents his sprinkler system for extinguishing fires.
1877 William Henry Fox Talbot, English photographic pioneer, died. He made the earliest known surviving photographic negative in the late summer of 1835,
1929 Stirling Moss, British auto racer (16 x F1 Grands Prix; World F1 Drivers C'ship runner-up 1955-58; 12 Hours of Sebring 1954) and broadcaster (ABC F1, NASCAR), born in London, England (d. 2020).
1934 RCA Victor releases 1st 33 1/3 rpm recording - Beethoven's Fifth Symphony performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra, led by Leopold Stokowski at the Philadelphia Academy of Music.
1934 USSR joins League of Nations (Netherland, Switzerland & Portugal vote no).
1939 German U-29 sinks British aircraft carrier Courageous, 519 die.
1944 Blackout regulations eased in Britain to allow lights on buses, trains and at railway stations for the first time since the beginning of World War II in 1939.
1949 Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner, Warner Bros. cartoon characters created by Chuck Jones (Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series), first debuts in "Fast and Furry-ous".
1953 Steve Williams, drummer from Welsh hard rock Budgie. They were one of the earliest heavy metal bands and a seminal influence to many acts.
1954 "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding is published by Faber and Faber in London.
1956 Television is first broadcast in Australia.
1963 "The Fugitive" starring David Janssen premieres on ABC TV.
1963 Born on this day in Hamilton, New Zealand, Warren Gatland, who was appointed as the head coach of the Welsh rugby team on 1st December 2007. Under his guidance, Wales won the Six Nations Grand Slam in 2008, 2012 and 2019 and a further Championship win in 2013. He also led the British and Irish Lions to a series victory over Australia in 2013 and a drawn series with New Zealand in 2017. Gatland had previously guided London Wasps to winning the Zurich Premiership and Heineken cup.
1964 Beatles are paid a then record $150,000 for a concert (Kansas).
1964 The Supremes release "Baby Love".
1966 "Mission Impossible" premieres on CBS-TV.
1972 TV comedy "M*A*S*H", adapted from the movie, starring Alan Alda, Loretta Swit, Wayne Rogers, and McLean Stevenson debuts on CBS in the US.
1976 NASA publicly unveils space shuttle Enterprise in Palmdale, California, named after Star Trek Enterprise with cast attending.
1980 Polish workers under the leadership of Lech Wałęsa found the Solidarity movement at the Gdańsk Shipyard.
1982 "Bad to the Bone" single by George Thorogood and the Destroyers first released.
1985 Laura Ashley, Welsh fashion designer, businesswoman and co-founder of Laura Ashley, dies by falling down the stairs of her daughter's home at 60.
1986 Patricia "Pat" Phoenix, (Elsie Tanner), British actress (Coronation Street, L Shaped Room), dies of lung cancer at 62.
2000 Paula Yates, television personality and former wife of Bob Geldof, was found dead in bed from a suspected drug overdose. She was 40 years old.
2001 Major trading markets in the United States, including the New York Stock Exchange and the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), reopen for the first time since September 11.
2006 Alvin Wayne "Al" Casey, American rock and session guitarist (Duane Eddy: The Wrecking Crew) dies at 69.
2007 Worried savers continued to flock to some Northern Rock bank branches to withdraw their savings when the bank applied to the Bank of England for emergency funds. Chancellor Alistair Darling appealed for calm, nevertheless £2bn was withdrawn from Northern Rock accounts in just 3 days.
2019 Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg tells US Congress "I know you are trying but just not hard enough. Sorry.”
2021 The morning's newspapers carried the story of the death of Sir Clive Sinclair who died yesterday, aged 81. Sinclair popularised the home computer, the pocket calculator and the Sinclair C5 "a small, one-person battery electric recumbent tricycle." He launched the first affordable consumer computer in 1980, costing less than £100.

 

[Muteswan]

18th September
1685 The Taunton Assize trials came in the aftermath of the Battle of Sedgemoor, which ended the Monmouth Rebellion in England. Of more than 500 prisoners brought before the court, 144 were hanged and their remains displayed around the county.
1709 Samuel Johnson, English scholar and lexicographer (A Dictionary of the English Language), born in Lichfield Staffordshire (d. 1784).
1759 Battle of Quebec ends, French surrender to British who capture Quebec City.
1793 US President George Washington lays the cornerstone of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.
1809 The Royal Opera House opened, in Covent Garden, Central London. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House The current building is the third theatre on the site following disastrous fires in 1808 and 1857.
1812 Great Fire of Moscow burns out after 5 days, 75% of the city destroyed and 12,000 killed.
1851 New York Times starts publishing (2 cents a copy).
1885 Riots break out in Montreal to protest against compulsory smallpox vaccination. Sounds familiar.
1939 William Joyce, whose upper-class accent earned him the nickname Lord Haw-Haw, made his first Nazi propaganda broadcast from Germany to the UK.
1944 British submarine Tradewind torpedoes Junyo Maru: 5,600 killed, including 1,377 allied POWs and 4,200 Javanese slave labourers.
1947 The Central Intelligence Agency officially comes into existence after being established by President Truman in July.
1949 Mo Mowlam, British Labour Party politician (Member of Parliament for Redcar), born in Watford, Hertfordshire, England (d. 2005).
1951 "A Streetcar Named Desire", directed by Elia Kazan and based on Tennessee Williams' 1947 play of the same name, starring Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh, is released.
1958 The Fresno Drop: Bank of America mails out 60,000 BankAmericards in Fresco, California, the first credit card (later renamed VISA).
1964 TV series "The Addams Family", starring John Astin, Carolyn Jones, Ted Cassidy, and Jackie Coogan, premieres on ABC.
1970 Jimi Hendrix was pronounced dead on arrival at St. Mary Abbot's Hospital in London at the age of 27 after choking on his own vomit. Hendrix left the message 'I need help bad man', on his managers answer phone earlier that night.
1971 Lance Armstrong, American road cyclist (7 Tour de France titles) banned for illegal drug use, born in Plano, Texas.
1973 German FR & German DR admitted to UN.
1977 US Voyager I takes 1st space photograph of Earth & Moon together.
1994 Warwickshire became the first side to win the County Cricket Championship, the Benson and Hedges Cup and the Sunday League title in one season.
1997 The Welsh devolution referendum held today was to determine whether there was support for the creation of an assembly for Wales with devolved powers. The 1979 referendum had been such a resounding defeat that it killed off any prospects of devolution for Wales for a generation. Attitudes changed. The referendum resulted in a narrow majority in favour, which led to the passing of the Government of Wales Act 1998 and the formation of the National Assembly for Wales in 1999.
2014 The world famous golf club, the Royal & Ancient at St. Andrews, voted overwhelmingly to end its 260-year ban on female members, with immediate effect.
2014 A referendum was held in Scotland, with one single question on the ballot paper - "Should Scotland be an independent country?" The "No" side won, with 2,001,926 (55.3%) voting against independence and 1,617,989 (44.7%) voting in favour.
2017 England footballer Wayne Rooney pleads guilty to drunk driving and is banned for driving for 2 years.
2020 Earliest dated evidence for the human species in the Arabian Peninsula as fossilized footprints 120,000 years old uncovered in Saudi Arabia's Nefud Desert.
2021 Swansea City came back from a 3-0 deficit at half time to draw 3-3 with Luton Town.

 

[Muteswan]

19th September
1839 Birth of George Cadbury, the chocolate manufacturer. A Quaker, he believed in taking care of the welfare of his workforce, and he created a model village for his employees at Bournville, Birmingham.
1851 Birth of William Hesketh Lever. He changed the process of soap manufacture by using vegetable oils instead of tallow. Like George Cadbury he cared about the welfare of his workers, and established the new town of Port Sunlight Merseyside, to house them.
1876 1st carpet sweeper patented (Melville Bissell of Grand Rapids, Mich).
1879 The famous illuminations in Blackpool were switched on for the first time, a month before electricity was generally available in London. The first display was known as 'Artificial sunshine', and consisted of just eight Arc lamps which bathed the Promenade.
1893 New Zealand becomes the first country to grant all women the right to vote.
1896 Beginning of the Bombay plague epidemic when Dr.Acacio Gabriel Viegas detects the first case in Mandvi. Goes on to spread and kill 12 million in India.
1905 Thomas John Barnardo, British philanthropist (Barnardo's Children's Homes), died.
1909 Ferry Porsche, Austrian automobile pioneer (Porsche AG), born in Wiener Neustadt, Austria-Hungary (d. 1998).
1911 William Golding, English novelist (Lord of the Flies, Nobel Prize for Literature 1983), born in Newquay, Cornwall (d. 1993).
1916 First landing at Schiphol Airport, Netherlands (Farman F-22 of Soesterberg).
1926 The San Siro is inaugurated with a match between AC Milan and Inter.
1934 Brian Epstein, English music entrepreneur and manager (Beatles), born in Liverpool, England (d. 1967).
1939 Lord Haw-Haw (William Joyce) becomes radio host of Reichsrundfunk Berlin.
1941 Nazis force German Jews, 6 & over to wear Jewish stars.
1941 "Mama" Cass Elliot, American rock vocalist (Mamas & The Papas - "California Draeming"), born in Baltimore, Maryland (d. 1974).
1944 Guy Gibson, British wing commander who led the Dambusters (Victoria Cross), dies in action at 26.
1945 The Nazi propaganda broadcaster William Joyce (Lord Haw-Haw) was sentenced to hang for treason.
1949 Twiggy [Leslie Hornby], English model and actress (Boyfriend, W), born in Neasden, Middlesex, England.
1952 The United States prevented the English born film legend Charlie Chaplin from returning to his Hollywood home until he was investigated by the Immigration Services.
1952 Nile Rodgers, American guitarist and music producer (Chic), born in The Bronx, New York.
1957 16 year-old UK singer Cliff Richard, still known by his real name, Harry Webb, joined the Dick Teague Skiffle Group.
1960 The new traffic wardens issued the first 344 parking tickets in London. Britain's first parking ticket was issued to Dr. Thomas Creighton, who had parked his car outside a London hotel while treating a patient.
1960 Chubby Checker's "The Twist" hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
1969 Creedence Clearwater Revival scored their only UK No.1 single with 'Bad Moon Rising' a US No.2 hit.
1970 The first Glastonbury Festival was held at Michael Eavis's farm in Glastonbury, starring T. Rex.
1975 "Fawlty Towers" starring John Cleese, Prunella Scales and Andrew Sachs premieres on BBC2 in the UK.
1976 New York concert promoter Sid Bernstein offers $230 million for a Beatles reunion; they politely decline.
1981 Simon & Garfunkel reunite for a NYC Central Park concert for an audience estimated at 500,000 members.
1984 Britain & China complete a proposed agreement to transfer Hong Kong to China by 1997.
1985 Born on this day in Swansea, Alun Wyn Jones, Wales and Lions rugby international and captain. Jones made his Test debut for Wales in 2006 against Argentina and has since become a much-respected figure within the game. He is the world's most-capped rugby union player and is one of a small group of players to have been selected to play on four Lions tours and to have won three Grand Slams.
1985 8.1 earthquake in Mexico City kills an estimated 10,000 and leaves 250,000 homeless.
1988 British swimmer Adrian Moorehouse wins 100m breaststroke gold medal in 1:02.04 at the Seoul Olympics.
1994 "ER" premieres on NBC, created by Michael Crichton, starring George Clooney, Anthony Edwards and Noah Wyle.
1998 Robbie Williams scored his first solo UK No.1 single with 'Millennium'.
2014 Alex Salmond stood down as Scotland's First Minister and Scottish National Party leader after Scotland voted 'No' to becoming an independent country.
2015 Jackie Collins, British-American romance novelist (The Stud; The Bitch; Lucky), dies of breast cancer at 77.
2017 US President Donald Trump addresses the United Nations vowing to “totally destroy North Korea” if it threatens the US.
2020 Lee Kerslake, British drummer (Uriah Heep; Ozzy Osbourne) dies of prostate cancer at 73.
2021 The death of Jimmy Greaves (James Peter Greaves), English professional footballer. the highest goalscorer in the history of English top-flight football (357 goals). He also scored more hat-tricks (six) for England than any other player.
2021 The death of John Challis (Boycie in Only Fools and Horses), peacefully in his sleep, after a long battle with cancer.

 

[Muteswan]

20th September
622 Islamic Prophet Muhammed/Abu Bakr arrives in Jathrib (Medina).
1258 Salisbury Cathedral inaugurated. The cathedral has the tallest church spire in the United Kingdom at 123m/404 ft.
1486 Arthur, Prince of Wales, English crown prince, son of King Henry VII of England, 1st husband of Catherine of Aragon, born in Winchester, England (d. 1502).
1519 Spanish expedition led by Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan sets off on the 1st successful circumnavigation of the globe (Magellan killed on route).
1814 "Star Spangled Banner" published as a song, lyrics by Francis Scott Key, tune by John Stafford Smith.
1854 Battle of the Alma: first major battle of Crimean War. British and French alliance defeat the Russians.
1860 First British royalty to visit US, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII).
1863 Jacob Grimm, German philologist, folklorist and editor of "Grimm's Fairy Tales", dies at 78.
1904 Orville & Wilbur Wright fly a circle in their Flyer II.
1906 The Cunard Line's RMS Mauretania was launched at the Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson shipyard in Newcastle upon Tyne. At the time, she was the largest and fastest ship in the world.
1917 The first RSPCA animal clinic was opened, in Liverpool.
1927 Rachel Roberts, Welsh actress (Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, Foul Play, Doctor's Wife), born in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales (d. 1980).
1927 John Dankworth, English jazz musician and composer, born in Woodford, Essex, England (d. 2010).
1930 Edward Elgar's Fifth Pomp and Circumstance March was performed for the first time.
1934 Sophia Loren [Sofia Villani Scicolone], Italian actress (La Ciociara; Desire Under the Elms; Black Orchid), born in Rome, Italy.
1948 George R. R. Martin, American fantasy and sci-fi author (Game of Thrones) born in Bayonne, New Jersey.
1954 Los Stravinsky's "In Memoriam Dylan Thomas," premieres in Angeles.
1957 Jean Sibelius, Finnish composer (Valse Triste, Finlandia), dies at 91.
1957 Buddy Holly released the single 'Peggy Sue' with 'Everyday' as the B-side.
1967 The liner Queen Elizabeth II (QE2) was launched at Clydebank, Scotland by ...... Queen Elizabeth II.
1969 Ryder Cup Golf, Royal Birkdale GC: US, Great Britain tie, 16-16; great sporting gesture, America's Jack Nicklaus concedes missable 3-foot putt to Tony Jacklin at the 18th hole for the draw.
1970 Jim Morrison (Doors)found guilty of "open profanity and indecent exposure" after allegedly exposing himself at a concert in Miami in 1969.
1976 AC/DC released their third studio album 'Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap'.
1978 Police launched a massive manhunt for the killers of 13 year paperboy Carl Bridgewater. He had been shot in the head at close range at an isolated farmhouse near Stourbridge in Staffordshire.
1980 "Blizzard of Ozz", the debut solo album by English rock musician Ozzy Osbourne, is released in the United Kingdom.
1988 American diver Greg Louganis wins the 3m springboard gold medal at the Seoul Olympics after famously hitting his head on the board the previous day.
1990 Both East and West Germany ratify reunification.
2000 The British MI6 Secret Intelligence Service building is attacked by a Russian-built Mark 22 anti-tank missile.
2004 Brian Clough, English footballer and football manager, dies of cancer at 69.
2013 Grand Theft Auto becomes the fastest entertainment product to reach $1 Billion in sales.
2018 EU leaders, including Donald Tusk and Emmanuel Macron, criticize Theresa May's Brexit plan at a summit in Salzburg, Austria
2019 Batman Day - 80th anniversary of the first Batman comic.
2019 Researchers for SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) propose that aliens may have bugged earths co-orbitals (nearby orbiting rocks) in "The Astronomical Journal".

 

[Muteswan]

21st September
46 BC Julius Caesar celebrates first of four triumphal processions in Rome - over Gaul, Egypt, Pontus and Africa with leader of the Gauls Vercingetorix led in chains.
1192 English King Richard I the Lion hearted, captured by Leopold V, Duke of Austria.
1327 Deposed King Edward II of England was murdered, with a red hot poker in Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire by order of his wife, to ensure the succession of his son Edward III.
1451 Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa orders Jews of Holland to wear a badge. Sound familiar?
1677 Jan and Nicolaas van der Heyden patent the fire hose.
1756 John Loudon McAdam, the engineer who invented and gave his name to macadamised (tarmac) roads, was born in Ayr, Scotland.
1776 5 days after British take New York, a quarter of the city burns down.
1792 French Revolution: The National Convention passes a proclamation announcing the formal abolition of the French monarchy.
1843 David Emlyn Evans, Welsh composer, born in Pen’ralltwen, Newcastle Emlyn, Carmarthen, Wales (d. 1913).
1866 H. G. Wells, English sci-fi author (War of the Worlds, Kipps), born in Bromley, Kent (d. 1946).
1874 Gustav Holst, English composer (Planets), born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England (d. 1934).
1915 Stonehenge was sold at auction to Mr C H Chubb for £6,600 as a present for his wife. Mr Chubb presented it to the nation three years later as his wife didn't think it suited her.
1921 A storage silo at a BASF fertiliser producing plant explodes in Oppau, Germany, 500—600 killed.
1934 Leonard Cohen, Canadian poet and singer-songwriter ("Hallelujah"; Death of Ladies Man), born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 2016)
1935 James "Jimmy" Armfield, British former-footballer, manager and pundit (BBC Radio Five Live), born in Denton, Lancashire, England (d. 2018).
1936 Spanish fascist junta names Francisco Franco to Generalissimo and Supreme Commander.
1937 J. R. R. Tolkien's 'The Hobbit' is published by George Allen and Unwin in London.
1947 Stephen King, American sci-fi and horror author (Carrie; The Shining; Kujo; Misery), born in Portland, Maine.
1947 Don Felder, American rock guitarist and songwriter (The Eagles, 1974-2001 - "Hotel California"), born in Gainesville, Florida.
1949 Chinese Communist leaders proclaim the People's Republic of China.
1955 In his last fight, undefeated world heavyweight boxing champion Rocky Marciano KOs light heavyweight Archie Moore in the 9th round at Yankee Stadium, NYC.
1956 Born on this day in Cardiff, David Giles, former Wales football international.
1961 Maiden flight of the CH-47 Chinook transportation helicopter.
1962 Bamber Gascoigne's University Challenge was screened for the first time.
1963 Curtly Ambrose, Antiguan cricket fast bowler (West Indies 98 Tests, 405 wickets @ 20.99; 176 ODIs), born in Swetes, Antigua and Barbuda.
1964 Malta becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
1965 BP found oil in the North Sea.
1966 Jimmy Hendrix changes spelling of his name to "Jimi".
1968 Jimi Hendrix Experience released their version of the Bob Dylan song 'All Along the Watchtower'.
1968 Deep Purple made No.4 on the US singles chart with their debut single 'Hush'.
1971 The first edition of the new BBC TV music show 'The Old Grey Whistle Test' was aired. Presented by Richard Williams.
1972 Liam Gallagher, British singer and songwriter (Oasis - "Wonderwall"; Beady Eye), born in Burnage, Manchester, England.
1974 Carl Douglas was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Kung Fu Fighting.'
1978 The Provisional Irish Republican Army explodes bombs at the RAF airfield near Eglinton, County Londonderry; the terminal building, two aircraft hangars and four planes are destroyed.
1979 Chris Gayle, Jamaican West Indies cricketer (1999-) and fastest century maker in history, born in Kingston, Jamaica.
1979 Two RAF Hawker Siddeley Harrier jump-jets from RAF Wittering collide over Wisbech in Cambridgeshire. Both pilots eject safely, but three people killed and several injured when one of the aircraft destroys 3 dwellings.
1985 With the help Of heavy MTV exposure 'Money For Nothing' gave Dire Straits their first US No.1 single.
1987 Jaco Pastorius, American jazz-fusion musician and bass guitarist (Weather Report; Joni Mitchell; Word of Mouth), dies from injuries sustained in a bar fight at 35. In 2006, Pastorius was voted "The Greatest Bass Player Who Has Ever Lived" by readers in Bass Guitar magazine.
1998 Florence Griffith Joyner, American sprinter (3 x Olympic gold 1988), dies of an epileptic seizure at 38.
2016 Three genetic studies published in "Nature" conclude all non-Africans descended from one migration out of Africa 50-80,000 years ago.
2016 Genomic study finding Australian Aboriginal oldest known civilisation on earth published in "Nature".

 

[Muteswan]

22nd September
1290 Bilbo Baggins, Fictional main character of J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 novel The Hobbit (in Shire Reckoning) born today.
1529 Cardinal Thomas Wolsey stripped of office as Lord Chancellor of England.
1692 Last people hanged for witchcraft (8) in the US, 19 hanged overall, with six other deaths during Salem witch trials.
1735 Robert Walpole becomes the first British "Prime Minister" (actually First Lord of the Treasury) to live at 10 Downing Street.
1791 Michael Faraday, English scientist, discovered electromagnetic induction, invented 1st electric motor, born in Newington Butts, England (d. 1867). The Unit of capacitance - Farad - was named after him.
1792 French First Republic formed by the National Convention, stripping the French king of his powers.
1862 US President Abraham Lincoln says he will free slaves in all states on Jan 1.
1869 Richard Wagner's opera "Das Rheingold" (the 1st piece of his "Ring" cycle) premieres in Munich, Germany.
1896 Queen Victoria surpasses her grandfather King George III as the (then) longest reigning monarch in British history.
1906 In New Zealand Domestic workers call for a 68-hour working week.
1934 The worst pit disaster in Britain for 21 years killed more than 260 miners in an explosion and fire at the Gresford Mine in Wales.
1937 Date celebrated as the first International Hobbit Day and the birthdays of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins.
1949 David Coverdale, British rock singer (Whitesnake;, Deep Purple), born in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, England.
1955 On BBC radio Grace Archer is killed in a barn fire on Brookfield Farm - the BBC denies this was to spoil the launch of rival network ITV.
1955 Commercial television begins in the UK with the launch of ITV, soon airs the 1st advert on UK TV, for Gibbs SR toothpaste.
1957 Western "Maverick" premieres on ABC television starring James Garner.
1958 Joan Jett [Larkin], American singer (Blackhearts-I Love Rock 'n Roll), born in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania.
1958 Andrea Bocelli, Italian tenor (The Prayer), born in Lajatico, Italy.
1964 "Man from U.N.C.L.E." premieres starring Robert Vaughn and David McCallum on NBC-TV: open channel D.
1964 Herman's Hermits were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with the Carole King & Gerry Goffin song 'I'm Into Something Good', the group's only UK No.1.
1965 India and Pakistan cease-fire goes into effect, ending the Indo-Pakistani War.
1966 Born today in Bridgend, Ruth Jones. Star of Gavin and Stacey and Stella.
1976 TV dama "Charlie's Angels" starring Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith debuts.
1980 Iraq invades Iran in an attempt to control the Shatt al-Arab waterway.
1985 French Prime Minister Laurent Fabius appears on TV to confess "Agents of the DGSE sank this boat [Rainbow Warrior]. They acted on orders.”
1986 Surgeons at Harefield Hospital performed a heart & lung transplant operation on the world's youngest patient - a10 week old baby.
1989 An IRA bomb attack on the Royal Marines School of Music killed 11 people, (10 of them young soldiers) and injured twelve of the bandsmen.
1989 Irving Berlin [Israel Isidore Baline], American composer and lyricist considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history ("God Bless America"; "White Christmas"), dies at 101.
1989 "Baywatch" starring David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson debuts on NBC.
1994 "Friends" TV sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman debuts on NBC.
1999 "The West Wing" created by Alan Sorkin and starring Martin Sheen, Rob Lowe and Richard Schiff, debuts on NBC.
2007 Marcel Marceau, French mime artist (Bip the Clown), dies at 84.
2015 Volkswagen admits that 11 million cars have been wrongly programmed to appear to emit lesser emissions than they are.
2018 Charles "Chas" Hodges, English musician (Chas & Dave), dies at 74.
2019 US President Donald Trump admits he spoke to Ukrainian President about Joe Biden's son, after news a US intelligence officer made an official complaint about the call.
2020 PM Boris Johnson announces that the UK has reached a 'perilous turning point' in the pandemic as he announces new restrictions.

 

[Muteswan]

23rd September
63BC Augustus Caesar [Gaius Octavius], First Roman Emperor (27 BC-14 AD), born in Rome, Roman Republic (d. 14 AD).
1215 Kublai Khan, Mongol Emperor (1260-94) and founder of the Yuan dynasty in China (1271-94), born in Mongolia (d. 1294).
1641 The Merchant Royal, a 17th century English merchant ship was lost at sea off Land's End. On board were at least 100,000 pounds of gold (nearly one billion pounds in today's money), 400 bars of Mexican silver and nearly 500,000 pieces of eight and other coins, making it one of the most valuable wrecks of all times. The wreck remains undiscovered.
1817 Spain signed a treaty with Britain to end slave trade.
1821 Fall of Tripolitsa, Greek forces massacre 30,000 Turks during Greek War of Independence.
1887 Alfieri Maserati, Italian auto racer and engineer (established Maserati Racing), born in Voghera, Italy (d. 1932).
1889 Nintendo Koppai (Later Nintendo Company, Limited) founded by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce and market the playing card game Hanafuda.
1913 Roland Garros is 1st to fly over Mediterranean Sea.
1926 John Coltrane, jazz saxophonist and composer (Blue Train), born in Hamlet, North Carolina (d. 1967).
1930 Ray Charles [Robinson], American singer and pianist who pioneered soul music ("Georgia On My Mind"; "Mess Around"; "Hit The Road, Jack") born in Albany, Georgia (d. 2004).
1939 Henry Calthorpe Blofeld, “Blowers” English cricketer, writer and commentator born in Hoveton Home Farm, Hoveton, Norfolk, England. My dear old thing.
1939 Sigmund Freud, Austrian neurologist and creator of psychoanalysis, dies at 83.
1940 The George Cross and the George Medal for civilian acts of courage were instituted.
1941 The first gas murder experiments are conducted at Auschwitz. concentration camp.
1945 First Cavalcade of Jazz outdoor concert held at Wrigley Field, Los Angeles with Count Basie, Valaida Snow and others.
1946 Aubrey "Po" Powell, British co-founder of album cover design company "Hipgnosis" (Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Paul McCartney, Yes), born in Sussex, England.
1949 Bruce Springsteen, American singer, songwriter and rock musician, known as "The Boss" (Born to Run;, Born in the USA), born in Long Branch, New Jersey.
1949 US President Harry Truman announces evidence of USSR's 1st nuclear device detonation.
1952 1st closed circuit pay-TV telecast of a sports event.
1952 Undefeated Rocky Marciano KOs defending champion Jersey Joe Walcott in the 13th round at Municipal Stadium, Philadelphia for the world heavyweight boxing title.
1955 Quizmaster Michael Miles first invited contestants to 'Open the box' in the long running show Take Your Pick.
1955 All white jury finds Roy Brant and John William Milam not guilty of the brutal murder of black teenager Emmett Till in Sumner, Mississippi, in landmark case that would help inspire civil rights movement in the US.
1957 "That'll Be the Day" by Buddy Holly and the Crickets reaches #1 in the US.
1961 The Shadows debut album 'Shadows' started a four week run at No.1 on the UK charts.
1962 ABC's 1st colour TV series - The Jetsons by Hanna-Barbera first broadcast.
1964 Born today in Neath, Clayton Blackmore, Welsh footballer.
1965 The Walker Brothers were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with the Burt Bacharach song, 'Make It Easy On Yourself'.
1969 Northern Star and Illinois Univ newspaper start rumours that Paul McCartney is dead.
1969 "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" directed by George Roy Hill and starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford premieres.
1974 BBC Ceefax begins 1st teletext service.
1974 Robbie McIntosh founder member of the Average White Band died of a heroin overdose at a Hollywood party, (after he inhaled a white powder thought to be cocaine but was actually pure heroin).
1987 An Australian court lifted the ban on the publication of Peter Wright's autobiography, Spycatcher.
1994 "The Shawshank Redemption", directed by Frank Darabont and starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, is released.
1996 London police raided several suspected IRA hideouts across the city, seizing around 10 tons of homemade explosives and killing one suspected IRA member.
2012 Iran blocks the use of Google as a search engine.
2012 Scientists discover four genetically distinct types of breast cancer.
2017 Women are allowed in King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh for the first time during Saudi Arabia's 87th anniversary celebrations.
2019 178 year old British travel company Thomas Cook goes into liquidation, stranding 600,000 travellers worldwide, prompting largest postwar repatriation effort by UK government.
2019 US police officer fired after arresting two six-year-olds at a school on charges of misdemeanour battery in Florida.
2020 Kentucky grand jury indicts only one of three officers for wanton engagement for shooting unarmed Breonna Taylor in Louisville.
2020 President Donald Trump refuses to commit to a peaceful transfer of power after the US November election at a White House press conference.

 

[Muteswan]

24th September
1493 Christopher Columbus embarks on his second expedition to the New World, setting sail with a fleet of 17 ships.
1564 The birth, in Gillingham, of William Adams, the English navigator who travelled to Japan and is believed to be the first Englishman ever to reach the country. Adams was the inspiration for the character of John Blackthorne in James Clavell's best selling novel Shōgun.
1657 1st autopsy and coroner's jury verdict is recorded in Maryland.
1725 Arthur Guinness, Irish brewer and founder of the Guinness brewery, born in Celbridge, County Kildare, Ireland (d. 1803).
1776 The oldest of the British classic horse races, the St Leger, was run for the first time at Doncaster Racecourse.
1853 Liverpools' Northern Daily Times became England's first provincial daily newspaper.
1896 F. Scott Fitzgerald, American author (Great Gatsby, Zelda), born in St. Paul, Minnesota (d. 1940).
1902 Ayatollah Khomeini [Ruhollah Khomeini], Supreme leader of Iran (1979-89), religious figure and political leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution, born in Khomeyn, Persia (d. 1989).
1920 Peter Carl Fabergé, Russian goldsmith and jeweler (famous for Fabergé eggs), dies at 74.
1930 Noël Coward's play "Private Lives" premieres in London.
1931 Anthony Newley, British actor and singer-songwriter (Doctor Dolittle; Goldfinger theme; Willy Wonka score), born in London, England (d. 1999).
1932 Terry Davies MBE, Welsh rugby union full back (21 Tests Wales, 2 British & Irish Lions; Swansea, Llanelli), born in Llwynhendy, Wales (d. 2021).
1936 James "Jim" Henson, American puppeteer, artist, screenwriter and filmmaker, best known as the creator of 'the Muppets" (Sesame Street, The Muppet Show), born in Greenville, Mississippi (d. 1990).
1940 Luftwaffe bombs Spitfire factory in Southampton.
1941 Linda McCartney [Eastman], American photographer and musician (Wings) and wife of Paul McCartney, born in New York City (d. 1998).
1942 The birth of Gerry Marsden of Gerry and the Pacemakers. In 1963 he reached the UK No.1 with his record 'You'll Never Walk Alone', now the anthem of Liverpool Football Club.
1945 Hans Geiger, German physicist (co-inventor of the Geiger counter), dies at 62.
1946 Pat Pocock, Welsh cricketer (intermittent England off-spinner 1968-85), born in Bangor, Wales.
1948 The Honda Motor Company is founded in Hamamatsu-city, Japan.
1950 Operation Magic Carpet concludes after having transported 45,000 Yemenite Jews to Israel.
1952 American fast food restaurant chain "KFC" [Kentucky Fried Chicken] opens its first franchise in Salt Lake City, Utah.
1957 BBC Television for schools began.
1957 "Jailhouse Rock" single released by Elvis Presley.
1960 USS Enterprise, 1st nuclear power aircraft carrier, launched.
1967 The two 'Queens' of the Cunard Line, the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth, passed each other in the Atlantic for the last time.
1971 Over 100 Russian diplomats were expelled from Britain for spying, following revelations made by a Soviet defector.
1975 Rod Stewart was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Sailing'.
1976 "Oh! Calcutta!" revival opens at Edison Theater NYC for 5,959 performances, Broadway’s longest-running musical revue.
1988 Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson breaks his own 100m world record with a time of 9.79 at the Seoul Olympics; disqualified 3 days later for use of drug stanozolol; Carl Lewis awarded gold and world record 9.92.
1991 Rock band Nirvana release their second studio album "Nevermind".
2006 Ryder Cup Golf, K Club, Ireland: Europe, captained by Ian Woosnam wins convincingly 18½-9½ for 3rd consecutive victory.
2015 Stampede of people during the Hajj kills 717 people during symbolic stoning of the devil at Mina, near Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
2017 NFL players kneel, lock arms or stay in their dressing room during the anthem in protests against comments made by President Donald Trump.
2019 UK Supreme Court rules the suspension of UK parliament for 5 weeks by Boris Johnson's Conservative government was unlawful.
2020 David Attenborough breaks Jennifer Aniston's record as the fastest person to reach 1 million followers on Instagram.

 

[Muteswan]

25th September
1066 Battle of Stamford Bridge: English army under King Harold II defeat invading Norwegians led by King Harald Hardrada and Harold's brother Tostig, who were both killed.
1237 Treaty of York signed between kings Henry III of England and Alexander II of Scotland which establishes a boundary between the two countries (mostly unchanged in modern times).
1687 Sir Isaac Newton published his theories on gravitation.
1764 Fletcher Christian, English sailor who led the mutiny on the HMS Bounty, born in Eaglesfield, Cumberland, England.
1818 The first blood transfusion using human blood took place at Guy's Hospital in London.
1789 US Congress proposes the Bill of Rights.
1843 Melville Reuben Bissell, American inventor of the carpet sweeper, born in Hartwick, New York (d. 1889).
1844 Canada defeats USA by 23 runs in the first cricket international match at the grounds of the St George's Cricket Club in Manhattan, NYC.
1878 British physician Dr. Charles Drysdale warns against the use of tobacco in a letter to The Times newspaper in one of the earliest public health announcements on the dangers of smoking.
1915 Battle of Loos commenced, lasted until 14th October. Chlorine gas deployed by the British was blown back into their own trenches: 59,000 British & 26,000 German casualties.
1926 Henry Ford announces an 8 hour, 5-day work week for workers at the Ford Motor Company.
1929 Ronnie Barker, English comedian (The Two Ronnies, Porridge), born in Bedford, England (d. 2005).
1932 Terry Medwin, Welsh footballer (Tottenham Hotspur), born in Swansea, Glamorgan, Wales.
1944 Michael Douglas, American actor (Coma, Wall St, Jewel of the Nile), born in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
1946 Bishan Bedi, Indian cricketer (mighty Indian slow left-armer 1966-79), born in Amritsar, Punjab, British India.
1949 Born on this day in Neath, Leighton Phillips, former Wales football international, described as a 'granite' hard defender. During his career, he made over 450 appearances in the Football League for Cardiff City, Aston Villa, Swansea City, Charlton Athletic and Exeter City. He also won 58 caps for Wales.
1951 Mark Hamill, American actor (Luke Skywalker-Star Wars), born in Oakland, California.
1952 Christopher Reeve, American actor (Superman, Somewhere in Time), born in New York City, New York (d. 2004).
1956 A Transatlantic telephone service was inaugurated. It consisted of 4,500 miles of cable, laid in waters up to 2.5 miles deep between Gallanach Bay, near Oban and Clarenville, Newfoundland and initially carried 36 telephone channels.
1959 Hammer horror film "The Mummy" starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing is first released in the UK.
1968 Welsh singer Mary Hopkin was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Those Were The Days'.
1968 Will Smith, American actor (Men in Black, Independence Day; Hitch; Fresh Prince of Bel Air), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1969 Catherine Zeta-Jones, Welsh actress (Chicago, The Terminal, The Legend of Zorro), born in Swansea, Wales.
1970 The first episode of The Partridge Family was shown on US TV, featuring Shirley Jones, David Cassidy, Susan Dey and Danny Bonaduce.
1974 Coco the Clown [Nikolai Poliakoff], Russian-born British clown, dies at 73.
1974 Scientists first report that freon gases from aerosol sprays are destroying the ozone layer.
1975 Pink Floyd's concept album "Wish You Were Here" reaches No. 1 in the US, goes on to sell 13 million copies.
1980 John Bonham, English rock drummer (Led Zeppelin), dies from asphyxiation after heavy alcohol intake at 32.
1990 Drummer Dave Grohl auditioned for Nirvana and was instantly given the job.
2012 Andy Williams, American pop singer ("Moon River"), dies from bladder cancer at 84.
2016 Arnold Palmer, American golfer (7 major titles; US Masters 1958, 60, 62, 64), dies of heart failure at 87.
2018 Comedian Bill Cosby sentenced to 3-10 years in jail for 2004 sexual assault, first celebrity to be jailed in the #MeToo era.
2020 Singapore announces it will be the first country in the world to use facial verification as part of its national identity scheme.

 

[Muteswan]

26th September
1181 Saint Francis of Assisi, Italian founder of the Franciscan Order, born in Assisi, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1226).
1580 The Devonshire born seaman Francis Drake returned to Plymouth, in the Golden Hind, becoming the first British navigator to circumnavigate the earth. Drake plundered a few Spanish ships en-route to keep morale high!
1665 Height of the Great Plague of London as 7,165 people die throughout the previous week.
1687 Acropolis in Athens attacked by Venetian army trying to eject Turks, damaging the Parthenon.
1861 The first British Open Golf Championship began at Prestwick, Ayrshire.
1887 The birth of Sir Barnes Wallis, scientist, engineer and inventor of the bouncing bomb used by the RAF in the 'Dambusters' raid to attack the dams of the Ruhr Valley during World War II.
1897 Pope Paul VI [Giovanni Montini], 262nd Roman Catholic pope (1963-78), born in Concesio, Italy (d. 1978).
1898 George Gershwin [Jacob Gershvin], American composer (Rhapsody in Blue; "Embraceable You"; Summertime"), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1937).
1902 Levi Strauss, German-born American clothing designer who founded the 1st company to manufacture blue jeans (Levi Strauss & Co.), dies at 73.
1934 The liner Queen Mary was launched at Clydebank, Scotland, by ........ Queen Mary.
1938 Concerned about the prospect of war with Germany (which turned out to be a year away) British civilians were issued with gas masks.
1939 Ricky Tomlinson, English actor and comedian (Mike Bassett: England Manager), born in Blackpool, Lancashire, England.
1940 Luftwaffe bombs Spitfire factory in Woolston, Southampton for second time, 30 killed.
1943 Ian Chappell, Australian cricket batsman, captain, broadcaster (75 Tests; 5,345 @ 42.42), born in Adelaide, South Australia.
1945 Bryan Ferry, British singer-songwriter (Roxy Music - "Love Is The Drug"; "Avalon"; "Dance Away"), born in Washington, County Durham, England.
1946 1st edition of Tintin (Kuifje), publishes until June 1993. Hergé’s Adventures of Tintin.
1948 Olivia Newton-John, British-Australian Grammy Award-winning pop singer ("Hopelessly Devoted to You"; "Physical"), and actress (Grease) born in Cambridge, England.
1949 Groundbreaking ceremony for the Hollywood sign in Hollywood, Los Angeles; old Hollywoodland sign torn down, reconstruction of a replacement begins with just Hollywood.
1953 Sugar rationing in Britain came to an end.
1955 Frozen Birdseye fish fingers first went on sale in Britain.
1957 Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim and Jerome Robbins' musical "West Side Story" premieres at the Winter Garden Theater in NYC.
1962 TV comedy series "Beverly Hillbillies" premieres on CBS.
1964 Roy Orbison started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Oh Pretty Woman'.
1967 Pink Floyd played the first of three nights at the Fillmore in San Francisco, the groups first ever live dates in the US.
1968 1st broadcast of "Hawaii Five-O" on CBS-TV.
1968 "Oliver!" directed by Carol Reed and starring Mark Lester and Ron Moody premieres in London.
1969 The Beatles release "Abbey Road" album, their final recordings as a quartet.
1973 Concorde made its first non-stop crossing of the Atlantic in record-breaking time, cutting the previous record in half, and flying at an average speed of 954 mph.
1981 Serena Williams, American tennis player (23 Grand Slam titles), born in Saginaw, Michigan.
1981 Bruce Dickinson joined UK rock band Iron Maiden, (Dickinson had been the vocalist with Samson).
1982 Rob Burrow, English rugby league halfback (England 15 Tests, GB 5 Tests; Super League C'ships 2004, 07-09, 11-12, 15, 17; Leeds Rhinos), born in Pontefract, England.
1982 "Knight Rider", starring David Hasselhoff, debuts on NBC.
1984 Britain agreed to transfer full sovereignty of Hong Kong to China in 1997, ending 150 years of British rule.
1986 Bobby (Patrick Duffy) returns to TV show "Dallas", his death is attributed to his wife Pam's bad dream (erases all of last season).
1988 Canada's Ben Johnson stripped of his 100-m gold failing drug test.
1989 Jonny Bairstow, English cricket wicket-keeper (only English wicket-keeper to twice claim 9 dismissals in a Test match; Yorkshire CCC), born in Bradford, England.
1995 AC/DC released Ballbreaker their 12th international studio album.
1999 Ryder Cup Golf, The Country Club, Brookline: US wins 14½-13½ after trailing 10-6 going into the singles; win first 6 matches to set up victory; poor American crowd & team behaviour heavily criticised.
2003 Robert Palmer, English singer-songwriter ("Addicted To Love; The Power Station), dies of a heart attack at 54.
2006 Today, Facebook was opened to the general public. Users had to be aged 13 years or older and have a valid email address. Although the minimum age requirement does now vary in accordance with local laws. It was first launched to a limited membership of Harvard students on 4th February 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and four of his fellow students. Its name derives from the U.S. university students directory called a face book. Facebook is now the most popular social network in the world, with the number of monthly active users estimated as being 1.65 billion. The figure in the UK is 31 million (51% female - 49% male), with 60% of the total population having a Facebook account. The facebook Welsh language interface was launched in 2008.
2008 Paul Newman, American actor (Hud, Hombre, Hustler), racing car driver and charity food company founder (Newman's Own), dies of lung cancer at 83.
2010 TV Period drama "Downton Abbey" premieres in the UK created by Julian Fellowes, starring Hugh Bonnevillle and an ensemble cast.
2011 The wreck of SS Gairsoppa, a UK cargo ship sunk by a German U-boat in 1941, was found in the Atlantic, around 300 miles off the coast of Ireland by US exploration firm Odyssey Marine. The wreck contained 200 tonnes of silver worth about £150m making it the largest haul of precious metal ever discovered at sea.
2013 The funeral service was held for 5 year old April Jones, in her hometown of Machynlleth, mid Wales. She was murdered by 47-year-old Mark Bridger almost a year previously, sparking the biggest missing person search in UK police history. Her body was never found.
2017 Saudi Arabia announces it is overturning its ban on women driving - last country in the world to do so.
2017 The video game Fortnite: Battle Royale is released, eventually becoming one of the most popular games worldwide.
2019 Abortion is decriminalized in New South Wales, the last remaining Australian state to do so.
2020 108 pilot whales survive, while 350 die in Australia's largest mass stranding at Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania.

 

[Muteswan]

27th September
1066 William the Conqueror's troops set sail from Normandy for conquest of England.
1290 Earthquake in the Gulf of Chihli (Bohai Sea) near China, reportedly kills 100,000 people.
1672 A new British company, the 'Royal Africa Company' was given a monopoly of the African slave trade to America, with discounts for those who purchased entire shiploads.
1772 Samuel Adams, American revolutionary (Boston Massacre-Tea Party) and politician (Lt Gov-Mass, 1789-94), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1803).
1779 John Adams negotiates Revolutionary War peace terms with Great Britain.
1822 French scholar Jean-François Champollion announces he has deciphered Egyptian hieroglyphics using the Rosetta Stone.
1825 George Stephenson's "Locomotion No. 1" becomes the 1st steam locomotive to carry passengers on a public rail line, the Stockton and Darlington Railway in England.
1888 The first use of the name, 'Jack the Ripper' in an anonymous letter to the Central News Agency. He went on to kill five women, and it's believed he may have been responsible for the deaths of four more.
1905 The physics journal Annalen der Physik publishes Albert Einstein's paper "Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content?", introducing the equation E=mc².
1908 Henry Ford's first Ford Model T automobile leaves the Piquette Plant in Detroit, Michigan.
1912 W. C. Handy publishes "Memphis Blues", considered the 1st blues song.
1916 1st Native American Day celebrated, honoring American Indians.
1919 Adelina [Adela JM] Patti, Italian soprano (Lucio), dies at 76.
1937 Balinese Tiger declared extinct.
1938 Jewish lawyers forbidden to practise in Germany.
1938 The 83,000 ton liner 'Queen Elizabeth' was launched at John Brown's Yard on Clydebank in Scotland by the Queen Mother.
1943 Born on this day in Glynneath, Maxwell 'Max' Boyce, a singer and entertainer who rose to fame during the mid-1970s with an act that combined musical comedy with his passion for rugby union and his origins in the mining communities of South Wales.
1947 Meat Loaf [Marvin Lee Aday], American rock musician and singer-songwriter (Bat Out of Hell), born in Dallas, Texas.
1953 Diane Abbott, British politician (L) 1st black woman elected to UK parliament, born in London.
1954 School integration begins in Washington, D.C. & Baltimore Md public schools.
1960 Europe's 1st "moving pavement" (travelator), opens at Bank station on the London Underground.
1964 Findings of the Warren Commission into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy released, finds Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone.
1967 The Queen Mary arrived in Southampton at the end of its last transatlantic voyage.
1968 France denies UK entry into common market.
1968 The musical Hair, (which took advantage of the end of British stage censorship by including a scene cast in the nude), had its first London performance.
1973 “The Way We Were” single released by Barbra Streisand.
1979 Gracie Fields, English music hall/vaudeville performer and actress (Queen of Hearts), dies at 81.
1979 The BBC's Question Time aired for the first time, chaired by Robin Day, who stayed with the programme for ten years.
1982 Filming begins on "Never Say Never Again" with Sean Connery playing James Bond for the final time.
1993 British crime series "Cracker" created by Jimmy McGovern starring Robbie Coltrane debuts on ITV in the UK.
1996 In Afghanistan, the Taliban capture the capital city Kabul after driving out President Burhanuddin Rabbani and executing former leader Mohammad Najibullah.
1998 The Manic Street Preachers scored their first UK No.1 album with their fifth album 'This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours'.
2017 Hugh Hefner, American magazine publisher and businessman (Playboy), dies of natural causes at 91.
2018 Half of all orca could die through pollution involving polychlorinated biphenyls in the ocean, according to study published in "Science".
2020 Details of President Donald Trump's tax returns released by the New York Times showing he paid $750 in income tax (2016 & 2017) revealing "chronic losses and years of tax avoidance".
2020 Houston officials confirm water supply around Lake Jackson, Texas, contaminated with brain-eating amoeba after death of six-year-old boy.

 

[Muteswan]

28th September
551BC Confucius, Chinese philosopher and founder of Confucianism, born in Zou, Lu state, China (d. ~479 BC).
1066 Claiming his right to the English throne, William, Duke of Normandy (or William the Bastard, as he was often called at the time, due to his illegitimate status ) landed at Pevensey in East Sussex to begin his invasion of England.
1745 At the Drury Lane Theatre, London, God Save the King, the English national anthem, was sung for the first time. The score used was prepared by Thomas Augustine Arne (1710-1778) leader of the orchestra and composer of Rule Britannia.
1785 Napoléon Bonaparte, aged 16, graduates from the elite École Militaire in Paris (42nd in a class of 51).
1836 Thomas Crapper, English plumber and inventor (ballcock), born in Thorne, Yorkshire (d. 1910).
1884 Michael Marks, a Polish immigrant, and Yorkshireman Tom Spencer opened their Penny Bazaar in Leeds, setting the foundations for the Marks and Spencer chain.
1895 Louis Pasteur, French bacteriologist (invented pasteurization), dies at 72.
1901 Ed Sullivan, American newspaper columnist, and television host (The Ed Sullivan Show), born in NYC, New York (d. 1974).
1918 World War I: The start of the Fifth Battle of Ypres. The British sustained almost 5,000 casualties but advanced the front line by up to 18 miles and captured approximately 10,000 German soldiers, 300 guns and 600 machine guns.
1923 Radio Times 1st published.
1928 UK passes the Dangerous Drugs Act outlawing cannabis.
1928 Scottish born pharmacologist Alexander Fleming accidentally discovered what later became known as penicillin when he found that a mould had developed on an accidentally contaminated staphylococcus culture plate. His 'bacteria killer' discovery changed the world of modern medicine and has saved millions of people around the world.
1934 Brigitte Bardot, French actress, model, animal activist and sex kitten (And God Created Women), born in Paris, France.
1935 Swansea RFC defeated the New Zealand All Blacks 11-3, thus becoming the first ever club side to beat them.
1938 Ben E. King [Benjamin Earl Nelson], American soul singer ("Stand by Me"), born in Henderson, North Carolina (d. 2015).
1946 Born today, Helen Shapiro, UK Singer, (1961 UK No.1 single 'Walking Back To Happiness').
1946 Born today in Ludhiana, Punjab, British India, Majid Khan, cricketer (great Pakistani batsman 1964-82) and Glamorgan (1968-76).
1947 Peter Hope-Evans, British singer and harmonicaist (Medicine Head), born in Brecon, Powys, Wales.
1953 Edwin Hubble, American astronomer, first to announce existence of other galaxies, dies at 63.
1956 William Boeing, American aviation pioneer who founded The Boeing Company, dies at 74.
1967 Moon Unit Zappa, American actress and rock vocalist (Frank Zappa - "Valley Girl"), born in New York City.
1971 UK passes the Misuse of Drugs Act banning the medicinal use of cannabis.
1974 Bad Company went to No.1 on the US album chart with their self-titled debut album.
1976 "Songs in the Key of Life" 18th studio album by Stevie Wonder is released.
1980 The Police were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Don't Stand So Close To Me'.
1981 “Physical” single released by Olivia Newton-John.
1984 1st floodlit ODI outside of Australia (India v Aust, New Delhi).
1984 A high court judge ruled that the miners' strike was unlawful because a union ballot was never held.
1987 "Star Trek: The Next Generation," starring Patrick Stewart debuts on syndicated TV.
1988 Javed Miandad scores his 19th Test Cricket century (v Aus, Faisalabad).
1988 Despite totally dominating his sport for 14 years, Ukrainian pole vaulter Sergey Bubka wins his only Olympic gold medal with a vault of 5.90m at the Seoul Games.
1991 American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer Miles Davis died of a stroke and pneumonia. His 1959 album 'Kind of Blue', is a major influence on jazz music. Davis is considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century.
1992 UK morning TV show "The Big Breakfast" presented by Chris Evans, Gaby Roslin and Paula Yates, produced by Bob Geldof premieres.
1995 Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat sign accord to transfer West Bank to the PLO.
1996 At Ascot, Frankie Dettori became the first jockey to win all seven races at a meeting. The odds on this happening were 25,095 to 1. Bookmakers lost over £18 million pounds as a result.
2008 SpaceX launches the first ever private spacecraft, the Falcon 1 into orbit.
2013 Baroness Thatcher's ashes were laid to rest in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea in London. Lady Thatcher died, aged 87, on 8th April. A simple headstone bore the inscription Margaret Thatcher 1925 – 2013. She was Britain's first woman prime minister and the longest-serving prime minister of the twentieth century.
2015 DNA controllers for the age women go into menopause announced in "Nature Genetics" by research team from Exeter and Cambridge universities.
2015 NASA scientists announce the discovery of flowing water on Mars.
2018 Cristiano Ronaldo accused of rape in 2009 in US lawsuit filed in Nevada.
2019 Elon Musk unveils SpaceX spacecraft Starship, designed to travel to Mars and the solar system and land back on earth.
2020 COVID-19 recorded global death toll passes 1 million with over 33 million known cases (Johns Hopkins).

 

[Muteswan]

29th September
1267 The Treaty of Montgomery, which was signed today, marked an important milestone in the history of medieval Wales. For the first time, the king of England (Henry III) recognised a Welsh ruler (Llywelyn ap Gruffydd) as Prince of Wales, having the right to receive homage from the other Welsh princes and lords.
1650 Henry Robinson opens 1st marriage bureau (England).
1755 Robert Lord Clive, (Clive of India), founder of the British empire in India, was born.
1758 Horatio Nelson, British admiral and hero of Trafalgar, born in Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk (d. 1805).
1793 Tennis is 1st mentioned in an English sporting magazine.
1829 The Metropolitan Police of London, later also known as the Met. was inaugurated and was London's first regular police force.
1863 Opera "The Pearl Fishers" (Les Pêcheurs de Perles) by Bizet is first produced at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris.
1913 Rudolf Diesel, German engineer (invented the diesel engine), disappears aboard the ship Dresden in the English Channel at 55.
1913 Trevor Howard, English actor in over 70 films (Brief Encounter, Superman, The Third Man), born in Kent, England (d. 1988).
1916 American oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller becomes the world's first billionaire.
1934 Lance Gibbs, West Indian cricketer (prolific West Indian off-spinner, 309 wickets), born in Georgetown, British Guiana.
1935 Jerry Lee Lewis, American rock and roll piano player and singer ("Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On"; "Great Balls Of Fire"), born in Ferriday, Louisiana.
1939 Born on this day in Cardiff, Rhodri Morgan, former leader of Welsh Labour, who as First Secretary for Wales and subsequently First Minister, was the leader of the Welsh Assembly Government from 2000 to 2009.
1941 Nazi massacre at Babi Yar ravine (near Kiev) Ukraine begins, 33,771 mostly Jews murdered.
1941 Frederick "Fred" West, British contractor and serial killer (12 charges of murder), born in Herefordshire, England (d. 1995).
1942 Ian McShane, British actor (Roots; Bare Essence), born in Blackburn England.
1947 Dizzy Gillespie presented his 1st Carnegie Hall concert in NY.
1948 "Hamlet" directed by and starring Laurence Olivier opens at Park Avenue Cinema.
1950 Telephone Answering Machine created by Bell Laboratories.
1954 The first remake of "A Star Is Born", starring Judy Garland & James Mason premieres at the Pantages Theatre, Los Angeles.
1956 Sebastian Coe, British 1500m runner (Olympic gold 1980, 84), born in London, England.
1957 Buddy Holly & Crickets released 2nd single "Oh Boy!"/"Not Fade Away".
1960 Ricky Valance was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Tell Laura I Love Her', making him the first Welsh singer to top the charts, and a One-hit Wonder.
1961 Born on this day in Barry, Julia Gillard. On June 24th, 2010 and September 14th, 2010 (there are two swearing-in sessions so as to follow the later Federal Election) Julia Gillard became the first female Prime Minister of Australia.
1963 Rolling Stones 1st tour (opening act for Bo Diddley & Everly Bros).
1976 Jerry Lee Lewis, attempting to shoot soda bottles hits his bass player Norman Owens twice in the chest.
1979 "Ain't That A Shame" by Cheap Trick peaks at #35.
1979 "Message In A Bottle" by Police peaks at #1 in UK.
1981 Bill Shankly, Scottish football manager (Liverpool, 1959-74) dies of a heart attack at 68.
1982 1st broadcast of comedy "Cheers" on NBC-TV starring Ted Danson and Shelley Long.
1983 "A Chorus Line" with 3,389 performances becomes the then longest-running Broadway show.
1996 Nintendo 64 video game system debuts in USA (3 months after Japan).
2007 Calder Hall, the world's first commercial nuclear power station, was demolished in a controlled explosion.
2010 Tony Curtis [Bernard Schwartz], American actor (Some Like It Hot), dies at 85.
2020 Scientists confirm the existence of three new underground lakes on Mars using radar on Esa's Mars Express spacecraft.
2020 First debate between US Presidential candidates Donald Trump and Joe Biden held, widely criticized as chaotic and ill-tempered.

 

[Muteswan]

30th September
1630 John Billington, one of the original pilgrims who sailed to the New World on the Mayflower, became the first man executed in the English colonies. He was hanged for having shot another man during a quarrel.
1659 Robinson Crusoe is shipwrecked (according to Daniel Defoe).
1659 Peter Stuyvesant of New Netherlands forbids tennis playing during religious services.
1791 Mozart's opera "Magic Flute", with German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder, premieres at Schikaneder's Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna, Austria.
1808 Covent Garden Theatre Royal destroyed by fire in London.
1841 Samuel Slocum patents the stapler.
1846 Anesthetic ether used for 1st time by American dentist Dr William Morton who extracts a tooth.
1878 Evan James (also known by the bardic name Ieuan ap Iago) died today. He was a weaver and poet from Pontypridd, originally from Caerphilly, Wales, who wrote the lyrics of Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau ("Land of my Fathers"), the national anthem of Wales.
1888 "Jack the Ripper" murders 2 more women, Liz Stride & Kate Eddowes, in Whitechapel, London.
1917 (Bernard) "Buddy" Rich, American jazz drummer and band leader (Buddy Rich Band - "Away We Go"), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1987).
1929 1st manned rocket plane flight (by auto maker Fritz von Opel).
1935 George Gershwin's opera "Porgy and Bess" premieres in Boston.
1935 Born today, Johnny Mathis, US singer, 1976 UK No.1 single 'When A Child Is Born'.
1936 Pinewood Film Studios opened near Iver, in Buckinghamshire, to provide Britain with a film studio to compete with America's Hollywood Studios in California.
1939 Britain first evacuates citizens in anticipation of war.
1941 Approximately 33,771 Jews are shot to death or buried alive at Babi Yar ravine (near Kiev) Ukraine by Nazi troops over two days.
1942 SS exterminates 3,500 Jews in Zelov Lodz Poland in 6 week period.
1945 The Bourne End rail crash, in Hertfordshire killed 43 when an overnight sleeping-car express train from Scotland to London Euston derailed due to driver's error when he took a turn at nearly 60 mph when the maximum speed was 15 mph.
1946 Twenty-two Nazi leaders, including Joachim von Ribbentrop and Hermann Goering, are found guilty of war crimes and sentenced to death or prison at the Nuremberg war trials.
1947 Marc Bolan (born Mark Feld) British rock vocalist and guitarist (T-Rex - "Bang A Gong (Get It On)"; "Jeepster"), born in London (d. 1977).
1955 James Dean, American actor and cultural icon (Giant, Rebel Without a Cause), and 1st actor to be posthumously nominated for a Best Actor Academy Award, dies in a car crash at age 24.
1960 "The Flintstones" the first animated sitcom created by Hanna-Barbera premieres on ABC in the US.
1967 The BBC Light Programme, Third Programme and Home Service were replaced with BBC Radio 2, 3 and 4 Respectively. BBC Radio 1 was also launched, with Tony Blackburn, a former Radio Caroline DJ, presenting the first show.
1968 1st Boeing 747 rolls out.
1972 David Cassidy was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'How Can I Be Sure.'
1978 John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John had their second UK No.1 from the film 'Grease' with 'Summer Nights.'
1984 CBS' premiere of "Murder She Wrote", starring Angela Landsbury.
1989 West German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher grants escaping East Germans free passage to the West in speech from West German embassy balcony in Prague.
1991 Jerry Springer's tabloid talk show "The Jerry Springer Show" debuts on TV.
1999 Japan's worst nuclear accident at a uranium reprocessing facility in Tōkai-mura, northeast of Tokyo.
2012 Ryder Cup, Medinah CC: Europe retains Cup 14½-13½; win 8 and tie 1 of the 12 singles matches after trailing 10-6.
2014 In the first official study of money spent on 'illegal' activities it was found that Britons spend more on drugs and prostitutes than on beer and wine. The Office of National Statistics (ONS) said that spending on illegal drugs and prostitution was worth an estimated £12.3bn to the UK economy in 2013.
2018 Geoffrey Hayes, British TV presenter and actor (Rainbow, Z-Cars), dies at 76.
2020 California becomes the 1st US state to pass a law allowing for reparations for black residents and descendants of slaves.