One in ten fatal accidents in sixteenth-century England involved animals
Quote of the Day
"You have no idea how hard it is to live out a great romance.
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~ Wallis Simpson
On This Day
1579Thomas Gresham, merchant, financier, and founder of the Royal Exchange, died suddenly, apparently of apoplexy. He bequeathed his estate, after the death of his wife, to the Corporation of London and the Mercers' Company to set up a college to provide free lectures to the public; Gresham College thus became London's first institution of higher education.
1916The hospital ship Britannic, sister-ship of Titanic, hit a mine and sank, killing 30.
1918Ten days after the Armistice, the German navy surrendered to the British in the Firth of Forth.
1920The assassinations of British intelligence officers ordered by Michael Collins in the Irish War of Independence led to thirty-one dead (from both sides) in what became known as 'Bloody Sunday'.
197421 people were killed and 182 injured when bombs exploded in two Birmingham pubs. The IRA was probably responsible, but the real culprits have never been found. The Birmingham Six, originally convicted of the bombings, were released because of dodgy police practices.
1981The proceedings of the House of Commons were televised live for the first time.
