Today in History

30th August 2016
The 2017 edition of Guinness World Records said that Ringo Starr's copy of "The White Album" was officially the most expensive LP ever sold at auction.
Guinness confirmed that a December 2015 sale at Julien's Auction House set a new high for album prices when the first-edition copy with the catalogue number 0000001, which was kept in a vault in perfect condition by Starr for more than 35 years, sold for $790,000.
 

30th August

1682 William Penn set sail from Deal, England to his New World colony on a ship called the Welcome. With him were about one hundred prospective colonists, one-third of whom would die after smallpox broke out during the voyage.

1716 The baptism of Lancelot Brown, the English landscape architect more commonly known as 'Capability' Brown. He was born c. 1715-16 and was the head gardener at Stowe from 1742-1750. It is estimated that he was responsible for over 170 gardens surrounding the finest country houses and estates in Britain.

1791 HMS Pandora, the ship sent in 1790 to search for the Bounty and the mutineers who had taken her, sank after having run aground on a reef the previous day.

1901 Hubert Cecil Booth, a British engineer, received a British patent for a vacuum cleaner. It took the form of a large, horse-drawn, petrol-driven unit which was parked outside the building to be cleaned with long hoses being fed through the windows.

2020 Eyam Parish Church held its Annual Plague Commemoration Service on-line (11.00am) on the Eyam Church Facebook page because of the world coronavirus pandemic. The plague came to this Derbyshire village in 1665 and there are many parallels with the 2020 COVID-19 epidemic. Generally the annual service is held at Cucklett Delf, an open space close to the village, as it was during the plague epidemic but, in 2001 because of 'Foot and Mouth' the service was held, ironically, in the church itself as most farmland that year was declared out of bounds.
 

On This Day In History, September 1st

2004 350 people and children were killed in a massacre in Beslan, North Ossetia
Armed Chechen rebels took over 1000 people including school children at a school. The rebels demanded international recognition of an independent Chechnya. The hostage crisis lasted for 3 days and ended after Russian troops stormed the school.

1985 The Wreck of the sunk ship Titanic is found in the North Atlantic Ocean
A French-American expedition group found the wreck, which sunk on 14 April 1912 on her first voyage from Southampton, UK, to New York City, U.S.

1979 Pioneer 11 makes its closest approach to Saturn
The NASA-built space probe was the first probe to encounter Saturn - it flew by the planet at a distance of 13,000 miles (21,000 km). After its flyby, the probe went on a trajectory to go outside the Solar System. All contacts with it were lost a few weeks later.

1952 Life magazine published parts of The Old Man And The Sea
One of American author Ernest Hemingway’s best-known works, the novel tells the story of an old man and his fishing misadventures. Within a few days of the publication of the excerpt, 5 million copies of the magazine had been sold.

1914 Passenger Pigeons become extinct
Martha, the last Passenger Pigeon known to man, died at the Cincinnati Zoo, in Cincinnati, Ohio effectively making Passenger Pigeons extinct.
 
Births On This Day, September 1st 🎂

1975 Natalie Bassingthwaighte
Australian singer-songwriter, actress

1970 Padma Lakshmi
Indian actress

1964 Nabeel Rajab
Bahraini activist

1957 Gloria Estefan
Cuban/American singer-songwriter, actress

1946 Roh Moo-hyun
South Korean politician, 16th President of South Korea

Deaths On This Day, September 1st 🪦

2013 Tommy Morrison
American boxer

1983 Larry McDonald
American politician

1981 Albert Speer
German architect

1947 Frederick Russell Burnham
American soldier, adventurer

1715 Louis XIV of France
 
1st September

1159 The death of Pope Adrian IV, (Nicholas Breakspear), the only English pope.

1939 German forces attack Poland across all frontiers and its planes bomb Polish cities, including the capital, Warsaw - Britain and France prepare to declare war.

1960 Game on for British betting shops The government gave the go-ahead for betting shops to open for business from 1 May the following year.

1973 The rescue of former British Royal Navy officer Roger Mallinson and engineer Roger Chapman after their Vickers Oceanics small (6ft diameter) submersible Pisces III was trapped on the seabed at a depth of 1,575 ft (480 m), 150 miles off Ireland in the Celtic Sea. The rescue, by British, American and Canadian dive teams had taken 76 hours and resulted in the deepest sub rescue in history. It was later determined that there was just 12 minutes of oxygen left aboard.

1997 Diana driver was 'drunk and speeding' The driver of the car in which Princess Diana was fatally injured had criminal levels of alcohol in his blood and may have been travelling at over 100 mph (161 km/h), French investigators revealed. The Prosecutors' Office in Paris said Henri Paul had three times the French legal limit of alcohol in his blood - the equivalent of double the British limit or 10 glasses of wine.
 
2nd September 1935
A Category 5 hurricane strikes Florida Keys on with winds in excess of 185 mph causing extreme damage in the upper region of Florida Keys including the deaths of over 400 including hundreds of World War I vets who were watching a Labor Day baseball game.
It is still considered one of the strongest hurricanes to have struck the United States, and is one of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded worldwide.
 
2 September 1937
A major Typhoon with winds of 149 mph, 240 kph hit the Island of Hong Kong with devastating results including over 11,000 deaths. The city is badly flooded.
A large Italian Cruise Liner was picked up during the typhoon like a stick and tossed on shore.
 
On This Day In History, September 2nd

1960 The First election of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile is held
The parliamentary body of the Central Tibetan Administration was elected and formed by Tibetan exiles in India. The day is celebrated as Democracy Day among Tibetan exiles.

1946 Interim government of India was formed
The interim government and the Constituent Assembly of India were given the task of overseeing India's transition to independence from British rule. The government was headed by Jawaharlal Nehru.

1789 U.S. Department of the Treasury is formed
The department is responsible for managing the government's revenue and spending. Alexander Hamilton was the first Secretary of the Treasury

1752 U.K. adopts the Gregorian Calendar
The calendar, also sometimes known as the Western Calendar, is one of the most widely used calendars today. Prior to the switch, Britain and its territories followed the Julian Calendar. Due to the change, the British lost 11 days when September 2 was followed by September 14.

1666 A fire ravishes the city of London
Also known as the Great Fire of London, the fire broke out in a bakery and raged for 4 days destroying the houses of most inhabitants of the city.
 
Births On This Day, September 2nd 🎂

1982 Joey Barton
English footballer

1966 Salma Hayek
Mexican/American actress, director, producer

1964 Keanu Reeves
Canadian actor

1953 Ahmad Shah Massoud
Afghan commander

1913 Bill Shankly
Scottish footballer, manager

Deaths On This Day, September 2nd 🪦

1973 J. R. R. Tolkien
English philologist, author

1969 Ho Chi Minh
Vietnamese politician, 1st President of Vietnam

1948 Sylvanus Morley
American archaeologist, scholar

1937 Pierre de Coubertin
French historian, educator, founded the International Olympic Committee

1910 Henri Rousseau
French painter
 
On This Day In History, September 3rd

1995 Internet giant eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar
The company owns eBay.com, an online marketplace and auction website.

1971 Qatar independence
The Persian Gulf state gained its independence after 55 years of British rule.

1967 Dagen H in Sweden
On this day, Swedish drivers switched from driving on the left-hand side of the road to the right.

1783 Treaty of Paris was Signed between Great Britain and the United States of America
The treaty ended the American Revolutionary War.

1752 Day skipped in the British Empire
The British Empire skipped 11 days starting September 3 when it adopted the Gregorian calendar.
 
Births On This Day, September 3 🎂

1965 Charlie Sheen
American actor

1929 Whitey Bulger
American mobster

1900 Percy Chapman
English cricketer

1899 Frank Macfarlane Burnet
Australian biologist, Nobel Prize laureate

1875 Ferdinand Porsche
Austrian/German engineer, businessman, founded Porsche

Deaths On This Day, September 3rd 🪦

2005 William Rehnquist
American lawyer, jurist, 16th Chief Justice of the United States

1991 Frank Capra
Italian/American director, producer, screenwriter

1962 E. E. Cummings
American poet

1658 Oliver Cromwell
English general, politician

1634 Edward Coke
English judge, politician

1900 Percy Chapman
English cricketer

1899 Frank Macfarlane Burnet
Australian biologist, Nobel Prize laureate

1875 Ferdinand Porsche
Austrian/German engineer, businessman, founded Porsche
 
3rd September


1189 Following the death of his father Henry II, Richard the Lionheart was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey. He was generally known as Lionheart because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior. He was born in Oxford but spent part of his childhood and most of his adult life in Aquitaine, south west France.

1650 English Parliamentarian forces led by Oliver Cromwell defeated an army loyal to King Charles II of England at the Battle of Dunbar. Cromwell described the victory as 'one of the most signal mercies God hath done for England and His people.' As a result of the destruction of the Scottish army, he was able to march unopposed to Edinburgh and quickly occupied the Scottish capital.

1658 The death, aged 59, of Oliver Cromwell, due to complications relating to a form of malaria and kidney stone disease. It is thought that his death was also quickened by the death of his daughter a month previously. Richard Cromwell (the third son of Oliver Cromwell) became Lord Protector of England on the death of his father, but served just under 9 months, leading to his nickname of 'Tumbledown Dick' by Royalists.

1878 Over 640 died when the crowded paddle steamer Princess Alice collided with the Bywell Castle in the River Thames. It was the greatest loss of life in any Thames shipping disaster.

1954 The National Trust purchased Fair Isle in northern Scotland, famous for its bird sanctuary and knitted sweaters.
 
On This Day In History, September 5th

1977 Voyager 1 probe is launched
NASA launched the Voyager 1 probe from Florida. It is currently the farthest man-made object in Space.

1972 Massacre at the Munich Olympics
A group of Palestinian militants belonging to the Black September terrorist group stormed the apartment Israeli athletes were staying at the Olympic Village in Munich, Germany several days after the XX Olympic Summer Games had begun. They killed 2 athletes and took 9 hostages, demanding the release of release over 230 Arab prisoners being held in Israel. The ensuing violence to release the hostages ended with the death of all 9 hostages and 5 militants. All Olympic events were suspended for a day to mourn and pay respects to the slain members of the Israeli delegation.

1957 On the Road Hits the Bookshelves for the First Time
The iconic book was written by American author Jack Kerouac and was based on his and his friends’ travels across America. The book is considered to be a prime example of the Beat Generation – a group of authors and artists who examined and studied American culture after the Second World War.

1944 Benelux is Formed
The political and economic union consists of 3 countries - Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxemburg. The name comes from joining the first 2 letters, 3 in the case of Luxemburg of the member countries.

1836 Sam Houston is Elected President of Texas
He was made the Head of State of the Republic of Texas after colonists won their revolt against the Mexican government and created an independent and sovereign nation. Houston was responsible for the Texian victory against Mexican forces during the Battle of San Jacinto. Houston was elected president of the Republic of Texas twice and was also the only person to be governor of two different states - Texas and Tennessee.
 
Births On This Day, September 5th 🎂

1986 Colt McCoy
American football player

1946 Freddie Mercury
Tanzanian/English singer-songwriter, producer

1942 Werner Herzog
German director

1847 Jesse James
American criminal, murderer

1638 Louis XIV of France

Deaths On This Day, September 5th 🪦

1997 Mother Teresa
Macedonian/Indian missionary, Nobel Prize laureate

1997 Georg Solti
Hungarian conductor

1982 Douglas Bader
English pilot

1945 Clem Hill
Australian cricketer

1877 Crazy Horse
Native American war leader
 
5th September

1174 Canterbury Cathedral was destroyed by fire.

1975 Two people were killed and 63 injured when a suspected IRA bomb exploded in the lobby of the Hilton hotel in central London. A warning stating a device would detonate at the Park Lane hotel within 10 minutes was received by the Daily Mail newspaper at 1155 BST. The newspaper notified Scotland Yard which immediately sent three officers to investigate, but they were not able to evacuate the building before the bomb exploded at 1218 BST.

1979 Mountbatten buried after final parade. The Queen led the nation in mourning as the body of her husband's uncle, Lord Mountbatten, was buried after a day of pageantry in London. The earl - who was murdered by the IRA during a fishing trip in County Sligo - had planned much of the funeral himself. Members of Britain's armed forces were joined by representatives of Burma, India, the United States, France and Canada in escorting the naval gun carriage carrying his body.

1986 Karachi hijack ended in bloodshed. The 16-hour siege on a Pan Am jet in Pakistan came to a bloody end, with at least 17 people dead.Four gunmen, who boarded the Bombay to New York flight at Karachi Airport disguised as security guards, opened fire on the 390 hostages at 2130 local time (1630 GMT). Some passengers were able to escape the carnage down one of the plane's emergency chutes, but it is thought to have been at least 10 minutes before Pakistani commandos reached the jet.
 
On This Day In History

2007 Israel Conducts Operation Orchard
The military operation was conducted by the Israeli Air Force to destroy a suspected nuclear reactor in the Deir el-Zor region of Syria.

1999 Suai Church Massacre
More than 200 people who had found refuge in a church in Suai, East Timor were killed by pro-Indonesia militia after the results of an independence referendum came out.

1968 Swaziland Gains Independence From the British
The Southern African state became a British protectorate in 1902 after the Anglo-Boer war. King Sobhuza became the head of the nation and reigned even after independence until 1982. He was succeeded by Mswati III, his son, who currently rules the country.

1870 A Woman casts her Vote in the US for the first time
Louisa Ann Swain voted during state elections in the state of Wyoming. Although women weren’t extended the right to vote in the US until 1920, the governor of Wyoming, John A. Campbell, signed a bill that gave women the right to vote on December 13, 1869. This meant that women could vote in local and state elections, but not country-wide elections.

1522 Victoria Becomes the First Ship to Circumnavigate the World
The Spanish ship, which was commanded by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, set sail from Spain on September 20, 1519, to find a better route to Indonesia. The expedition began with 5 ships including Victoria and 260 crew members. Magellan himself died during the voyage, and only Victoria with 18 crew members returned to Seville, Spain, after circumnavigating the world.
 
Births On This Day, September 6th 🎂

1972 Idris Elba
English/American actor

1969 CeCe Peniston
American singer-songwriter, actress

1963 Geert Wilders
Dutch politician

1945 Go, Nagai,
Japanese illustrator, author

1757 Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette

Deaths On This Day, September 6th 🪦

2007 Luciano Pavarotti
Italian tenor

1998 Akira Kurosawa
Japanese director, screenwriter, producer

1990 Len Hutton
English cricketer

1966 Margaret Sanger
American activist

1919 Lord Charles Beresford
Irish Admiral, politician
 

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