Today in History

April 23rd


1016: King Aethelred II Dies
King Aethelred II dies in London, England, around the age of 50. The king of England from 978 to 1013 then again from 1014 until he died in 1016, Aethelred was dubbed Aethelred “The Unready” because of his perceived mismanagement of the Danish invasion of England. His nickname roughly means “bad counsel,” a nod to Aethelred’s name meaning “good counsel.”



On April 23, 1215, King John of England signed a crucial document known as the Magna Carta. This document was a charter of rights that limited the power of the king and established certain legal protections for the nobility and, by extension, for English subjects as a whole.



The Battle of Agincourt (1415)

April 23 is also the anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt, one of the most famous victories in English military history. The battle took place during the Hundred Years’ War between England and France, and it is often seen as a triumph of English strategy and discipline over a much larger French force.




On April 23, 1535, Sir Thomas More, the famous English lawyer, scholar, and statesman, was executed. More’s death was a direct consequence of his refusal to acknowledge King Henry VIII as the Supreme Head of the Church of England. This event occurred during a turbulent period in English history, marked by the English Reformation and Henry VIII’s break with the Catholic Church.


The Morriston Orpheus Choir was formed this day 1935.
Formed by Ivor E Sims, it is one of the best-known male voice choirs in the world, receiving standing ovations in the Sydney Opera House and five standing ovations at the Carnegie Hall in New York. The choir has also performed in Germany, France, Canada, Spain, Poland, Taiwan, Abu Dhabi, Oman and Ireland.


1968 The first decimal coins appeared in Britain - the 5p and 10p pieces which replaced the 1 shilling and 2 shilling coins.





1982 The launch of the Sinclair ZX Spectrum computer. The entry level model had 16 kB RAM and an external tape recorder was needed to load the majority of software. It was 'a computer for the masses' and much cheaper than its rivals - the Commodore 64 and the BBC Microcomputer.



1960Paul McCartney and John Lennon perform as "the Nerk Twins" at the Fox and Hounds pub in Reading, England. The pub is owned by McCartney's cousin and her husband. The duo play another set the next day.
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1635
The oldest U. S. public school, Boston Latin School forms. Its still open has students from grades 7-12, became co -ed in 1972
1851
Canada issues its 1st postage stamp,a Three-Pence Beaver
1932
Shakespeare Memorial Theatre opens at Stratford-On- Avon in England
1954
Atlanta Brave baseball player, Hank Aaron hits his 1st or 755 home runs again St. Louis pitcher, Vic Rasohi
1965
4 Tops hit single'I Cant Help Myself{Sugar Pie Honey Bunch} hits # 1 on Billboard Top 100 chart, stays there for 2 weeks. It hit #1 on Billboard's R&B chart stays there for 9 weeks
2005
You tube co founder, Jawed Karum uploads 1st You Tube video' Me At The Zoo' showing him in front of 2 elephants at the San Diego,Calif Zoo.It had 311 million views
 
April 24th
On This Day - 24th April1558Mary Queen of Scots, also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, married the French Dauphin at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris.


1953Winston Churchill was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.


1957English astronomer Patrick Moore presented the first broadcast of The Sky at Night, on BBC television.



1990: The Hubble Space Telescope is launched from the Space Shuttle Discovery. Its orbit outside the distortion of Earth's atmosphere allows it to take extremely high-resolution images with negligible background light. However its first images would indicate a serious problem with its optical system leading to a mission by Shuttle Endeavour in December 1993 to install corrective optics.


1982 27th Eurovision Song Contest: Nicole for Germany wins singing "Ein bißchen Frieden" in Harrogate.


Pepys

Monday 24 April 1665
Up and with Creed in Sir W. Batten’s coach to White Hall. Sir W. Batten and I to the Duke of Albemarle, where very busy. Then I to Creed’s chamber, where I received with much ado my two orders about receiving Povy’s monies and answering his credits, and it is strange how he will preserve his constant humour of delaying all business that comes before him.

Thence he and I to London to my office, and back again to my Lady Sandwich’s to dinner, where my wife by agreement.
 
1888
Eastman Kodak Company is formed in Rochester, NY by George Eastman,been operating for 145 yrs. It now focuses on printing, commerical film
1913
Woolworth Building in NYC opens at a cost of $13.5 million, at the time was the tallest building in the world
1953
British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II
1979
Georgia designates Ray Charles version of song' Georgia On My Mind' written by Hoagy Carmichael&Stuart Gorrell as state song
2005
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger become Pope Benedict XVI, he served for 8 yrs, resigns in 2013 due to health issues. He died on Dec 31,2022 age 95
2018
Suffragist, Millicent Fawcett is 1st woman to have a statue erected in Parliament Square in London
 
April 25th

On 25th April 1284 King Edward II of England was born to King Edward I of England (age 44) and Eleanor of Castile Queen Consort England (age 43) at Caernarfon Castle



The Enclosure Movement was a series of legal processes in the 18th and 19th centuries that led to the consolidation of small farms into larger, more efficient units. April 25, 1785, saw one of the final stages of the Enclosure Acts, which dramatically altered the British countryside.

Before the Enclosure Movement, much of the land was common property. Farmers had shared access to common land for grazing animals and growing crops. However, the Enclosure Acts divided up the land into privately owned plots, leading to a more organized and profitable system of agriculture. While this increased productivity, it also displaced many poor farmers who had relied on the common land.



1792 Guillotine first used in France, executes highwayman Nicolas Pelletier.



On April 25, 1829, the first public transport system in London, using horse-drawn omnibuses, was introduced. This service was a precursor to the London bus network that we are familiar with today. The omnibuses were introduced to alleviate the congestion on the roads and provide an efficient form of transport for the growing population in the capital.




1846 Thornton Affair: Open conflict begins over the disputed border of Texas, triggering the Mexican–American War





1915 The Battle of Gallipoli begins during World War I, marking a significant campaign for Allied forces.



1859 Construction of the Suez Canal begins, creating a vital waterway connecting the Mediterranean and Red Seas.




1953 Francis Crick and James
Watson publish their groundbreaking discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA in Nature.


1945 U.S. and Russian armies meet at Torgau, Germany, signaling the imminent defeat of Nazi Germany.


1955

April 25
John Walker, the British delegate on the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs announces that there is a "definite connection between increased marijuana smoking and that form of entertainment known as Bebop and Rebop."


1968 April 25
A survey by the Confederation of British Industry showed that listening on the job to Radio 1, the major Pop and Rock station of the BBC, made workers less productive.
 
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