Today in History

31st August

1422 King Henry V of England died of dysentery whilst in France.

1957 Malaya celebrated independence. The handover of power from Britain took place at midnight.

1959 British prime minister Harold Macmillan and American president Dwight Eisenhower gave an historic live television broadcast from Downing Street.

1962 Mountaineers Chris Bonington and Ian Clough become first Britons to conquer the north face of the Eiger

1997 Diana, Princess of Wales, died after a car crash in Paris.
 

Medi y 1af
September 1st1532 Lady Anne Boleyn was made Marquess of Pembroke by her fiancé, King Henry VIII. Less than 4 years later Henry had her investigated for high treason. She was found guilty of adultery and incest and was executed on 19th May 1536.



1865 Joseph Lister performed the first antiseptic surgery.



1886 The Severn Tunnel, (railway tunnel) between England and Wales, was opened for goods traffic.
I’ve been through it countless times.




1939 At dawn on 1st September, Germany made a massive invasion of Poland and bombed Warsaw at 6am, beginning World War II in Europe. The service to 2,000 televisions also ceased in Britain. There would be no more TV for seven years.
 

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1939 Operation Pied Piper was launched - Britain’s largest civilian evacuation in history. With war looming, over 1.5 million people, mostly children, were moved from cities to the relative safety of the countryside. The evacuation began just days before Britain declared war on Germany and would continue throughout the Blitz and beyond.

Though the operation saved countless lives, it came at a cost. Families were torn apart, children faced an unfamiliar world, and many evacuees later spoke of loneliness, fear and the long shadow the experience cast on their lives.

On a personal note, my grandparents took in two evacuees, a brother and sister from London. Thankfully, they were treated with kindness and both families became good friends although living at opposite ends of England and always kept in touch. I was about 16 months old when I was first taken down to London to see them. They also visited here a few times over the years. The last time I saw the eldest (and remaining) evacuee was when my eldest son was a baby. Sadly, evacuee died not long after that. I have very fond memories of all of them.

I don't usually post photographs in this history section but I hope this once is okay.

Me....aged 16 months, with mother of evacuees.

evacuees2c.jpg


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.

1985 After 73 years the wreck of the liner 'Titanic' was found, by Dr. Robert Ballard.
 
2nd September 1922
One of Australia's best known writers - Henry Lawson - died

He became one of Australia’s best-known fiction writers of the colonial period. Most of his works dwelt on the Australian bush, accurately depicting the difficult conditions of life on dry, dusty outback stations and in bush towns.
Lawson gained a loyal following when the Bulletin started to publish his stories and poems in 1888.
However, he never really recovered from his childhood hardships and rejection from his peers, and in his later years became an alcoholic. He died at home alone.
He was given a state funeral which was attended by the Prime Minister, William Morris Hughes,
 
2il o Fedi
2nd September1666 The Great Fire of London began in a baker's shop in Pudding Lane, and rapidly spread throughout the city, destroying most of London's buildings and houses. Although 13,000 buildings were destroyed in the four-day blaze only six people died.


1685 The beheading of Lady Alice Lisle, the last woman to have been executed by a judicial sentence of beheading in England. She was tried by Judge Jeffreys at the opening of the Bloody Assizes at Winchester and was executed for harbouring fugitives after the defeat of the Monmouth Rebellion at the Battle of Sedgemoor.





1752 The Julian calendar was used in Britain and the Colonies 'officially' for the last time, almost two centuries after most of Western Europe had adopted the Gregorian calendar. As in the rest of Europe, the following day in Britain became 14th September.








1969 The first episode of the popular British comedy series “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” airs on television.




1980 John Arlott, cricket commentator, retired at Lord's after 35 years of broadcasting for the BBC.
 
Sept 2nd:
1789
Congress established U.S. Treasury
1931
singer, Bing Crosby makes his radio debut on CBS radio network with '15 Minutes with Bing Crosby' program. The show ended on Oct 31,1931
1945
V-J Day formal surrender of Japan was signed aboard USS Missouri which ended WWII
1963
CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite is expanded from 15 min to 30 min
1987
Phillips introduces Compact Disc Video{CDV} discs which cost $10
2015
According to a Yale Study that was published in 'Nature',the earth has over 3 trillion trees
 
On This Day In History, September 3rd

1995 – Internet giant eBay is 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 is 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 September 3rd 🎂

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 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
 
3ydd o Fedi 3rd September

1535 An outbreak of sweating sickness started


Contagious disease of humans that struck England and Europe between 1485 and 1551
Sweating sickness, also known as the sweats, English sweating sickness, English sweat or sudor anglicus in Latin, was a mysterious and contagious disease that struck England and later continental Europe in a series of epidemics beginning in 1485. Other major outbreaks of the English sweating sickness occurred in 1508, 1517, and 1528, with the last outbreak in 1551, after which the disease apparently vanished. The onset of symptoms was sudden and death often occurred within hours

1783 Britain finally recognised the United States of America by signing the Treaty of Paris which officially ended the American War of Independence.




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.



1969 – The Rolling Stones release “Angie,” which would go on to become one of their biggest ballads.



1971 – John Lennon leaves the UK for New York, never to return.
 
3rd September

1189 Following the death of his father Henry II, Richard the Lionheart was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey.

1650 English Parliamentarian forces led by Oliver Cromwell defeated an army loyal to King Charles II of England at the Battle of Dunbar.

1939 Britain and France declared war on Germany. At 1115 BST the Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, announced the British deadline for the withdrawal of German troops from Poland had expired.

1943 British troops landed on the Italian mainland four years to the day after war was declared on Germany.

1954 The National Trust purchased Fair Isle in northern Scotland, famous for its bird sanctuary and knitted sweaters.
 
On This Day In History, August 4th

1984 – The Republic of Upper Volta is Renamed Burkina Faso

1983 – The Military Stages a Coup in Upper Volta
A military coup in Upper Volta installed Thomas Sankara, a captain in the Upper Volta Army as its president. A year later, he changed the name of Upper Volta to Burkina Faso.

1944 – Anne Frank is captured
One of the most well-known figures of the 20th century and a victim of the Holocaust, 14-year old Frank and her family were captured and arrested by the Germans from their hiding place in Amsterdam.

1914 – Britain declares war on Germany
Seen by many as the decision that began the first World War, Britain declared war on Germany after Germany refused to accept its ultimatum of getting out of Belgium.

1892 – Abby and Andrew Borden are murdered
The bloody murders of the two Fall River, Massachusetts residents in their own home gained media and public attention in the United States because their daughter Lizzie Borden was accused of the crime.
 
Births on August 4th 🎂

1961 – Barack Obama
American politician, 44th President of the United States, Nobel Prize laureate

1955 – Alberto Gonzales
American politician, 80th United States Attorney General

1912 – Raoul Wallenberg
Swedish diplomat

1901 – Louis Armstrong
American trumpeter, singer

1900 – Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother

Deaths on August 4th 🪦

2007 – Raul Hilberg
Austrian/American political scientist, historian

1922 – Enver Pasha
Ottoman military officer

1875 – Hans Christian Andersen
Danish author, poet

1792 – John Burgoyne
English general

1598 – William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley
English statesman
 
September 4th
925 Æthelstan was crowned king of the Anglo Saxons by the Archbishop of Canterbury at Kingston upon Thames, perhaps due to its symbolic location on the border between Wessex and Mercia. The reign of Æthelstan has been overshadowed by the achievements of his grandfather, Alfred the Great, but modern historians endorse the view of earlier chroniclers who said that "No one more just or more learned ever governed the kingdom."

1588 The death of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, a favourite and possible lover of Queen Elizabeth I. When his wife Amy died after falling down the stairs, it was widely rumoured that Dudley had murdered her in order to marry Elizabeth. The Queen rejected him, even proposing that he wed Mary, Queen of Scots. His church - (the largest of its age,, in Denbigh ,was never completed, due to a lack of finance and it has been an empty shell since work ceased in 1584.




1609 English navigator Henry Hudson, working for the Dutch East India Company, arrived at the island of Manhattan, before sailing up the river that now bears his name.


1888 – Printing and imaging company Kodak, also known as Eastman Kodak Company, was founded by inventor George Eastman
On the same day, Eastman received the patent for the roll-film camera. The cameras which were preloaded with rolls that were good for up to 100 photographs changed the world of photography by making it easier for amateurs to take it up as a hobby.




1976 – Swedish pop group ABBA started a six-week run at number one on the UK Singles chart with ‘Dancing Queen’. The song was a worldwide hit and it topped the charts in thirteen other countries, including the US and USSR



1998 Google was founded.May have played a part in this post.
 
1888
George Eastman patents 1st roll film camera and registers the brand as Kodak'
1920
Man0' War throughbred horse wins the 1 5/8 mile Lawrence Realization Stakes at Belmont Park, NY by 100 lengths,the largest margin in thoroughbred race horse history,time of 2:40.8
1957
Arkansas Gov, Orval Fairbanks orders the National Guard to prevent 9 black students from entering Little Rock High School
1972
U.S. swimmer, Mark Spitz becomes the 1st athlete to win 7 Gold medals at the Munich Olympic Summer Games
1998
2 Stanford Univ students Larry Page, Sergey Brin formally incorporate Google
2002
Kelly Clarkson becomes the 1st winner in TV singing competition show' American Idol'. She has sold over 28mill albums, 54 singles worldwide.Her best selling album is' Breakaway'
2020
Acc to a Pew Research study, 52% of 18-29 yr olds live with their parents due to the pandemic
In 2023-2024 between 47-52% of this group lived with their parents driven by the pandemic, cost of living,student loan debt
 
On This Day In History, August 5th

What Happened on August 5?
2009 – General Abdel Aziz sworn in as President of Mauritania
General Abdel Aziz, who came to power in a coup in 2008, was sworn in as the President of Mauritania after elections in 2009.

1963 – Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty is Signed
Also known as the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the document was signed by the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States in Moscow. The treaty, which came as a response to the heightening tensions due to the frequent testing of nuclear weapons by the these 3 countries during the Cold War, banned the testing of nuclear weapons anywhere on land, over water or in space. Underground testing was still allowed under the treaty, until it was also banned in 1996 after the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty came into force.

1962 – Nelson Mandela is Arrested
The South African anti-apartheid activist and adherent of nonviolence was arrested by the government at Rivonia, a suburb of Johannesburg. After a year-long trial, Mandela was imprisoned at the infamous Robben Island prison where we spent the next 18 years. He was released from prison in 1990 after spending 28 years as a political prisoner. In the early 1990s, after intense international and domestic pressure, in part from the efforts of Mandela, the South African government started taking steps to end apartheid – a government policy of racial segregation and discrimination. As a result, Mandela was elected the country’s first black president in 1994.

1960 – Burkina Faso gains its Independence
The landlocked West African country, known as Upper Vota until 1984, became a French protectorate in the late 19th century. In 1958, the Republic of Upper Volta was created as a self-governing French colony. After independence, Maurice Yaméogo became the first president of the country, whose name was changed to Burkina Faso in 1984.

1940 – Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic is established
The Soviet Union added Latvia to the union as the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic.
 
Births on August 5th 🎂

1979 – David Healy
Irish footballer

1968 – Marine Le Pen
French politician

1930 – Neil Armstrong
American pilot, engineer, astronaut, and the first person to walk on the moon

1906 – John Huston
American director

1850 – Guy de Maupassant
French writer

Deaths on August 5 🪦

1991 – Paul Brown
American football coach, executive

1984 – Richard Burton
Welsh actor

1964 – Art Ross
Canadian ice hockey player

1962 – Marilyn Monroe
American model, actress, singer

1895 – Friedrich Engels
German philosopher
 
September 5th1174 Canterbury Cathedral was destroyed by fire.
1646 Following Cromwell's victory in the English civil war, the office of the Archbishop of Canterbury was abolished.

1666 The end of the Great Fire of London, that had started on 2nd September at the bakery of Thomas Farriner on Pudding Lane. 10,000 buildings including St. Paul's Cathedral had been destroyed, but only 6 people are known to have died.


1800 Following a blockade by Admiral Horatio Nelson, French troops surrendered the Mediterranean island of Malta to Britain.



1887 A fire at the Theatre Royal in Exeter killed 186.



1698 – Tsar Peter I of Russia Imposes a Tax on BeardsIn 1698, Tsar Peter I of Russia, known as Peter the Great, introduced a tax on beards as part of his sweeping efforts to modernize and Westernize Russian society. Influenced by his travels to Western Europe, Peter sought to transform Russian customs to align more closely with European norms.The beard tax was a symbolic measure aimed at reducing the traditional influence of the Russian Orthodox Church and promoting a more secular, modern state. Men, except for clergy and peasants, were required to shave their beards or pay a fine. This reform was part of Peter’s broader campaign to overhaul Russian culture, military, and government.


• 1972 ~ Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway won a gold record for their duet, Where is the Love. The song got to number five on the pop music charts and was one of two songs that earned gold for the duo. The other was The Closer I Get To You in 1978.
 

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