Today in History

[Barry]

On the 16th July,

1377
Richard II was crowned King, aged 10.

1439
Kissing was banned to stop the spread of the Black Death.

1918
The last RussianTsar, Nicholas II, was killed by the Bolsheviiks along with his entire family.

1935
World's first parking meters went into service in Oklahoma City.

1945
The first atomic bomb was detonated in the desert in New Mexico.

1951
American author J.D.Salinger published acclaimed novel 'The Catcher in the Rye'.

1969
Apollo 11 launched from Cape Kennedy, in Florida, on the first manned mission to surface the Moon.

1970
The first state of emergency in Britain since 1926 was declared by prime minister Edward Heath as dock workers went on strike,

2017
Actress Jodie Whittaker became the first female to play the Doctor in Doctor Who.

[Barry]

Only a few for today, July 17:

1453
The Hundred Years War ended as France won the Battle of Castillon.

1902
Willis Carrier invented the modern air conditioner.

1955
Disneyland theme park opened in California.

2014
All 298 people aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 died when it was shot down over Ukraine.


That's all for now.

[Barry]

On 27 July:

1586
Walter Raleigh brought tobacco from Virginia to England.

1694
The Bank of England was founded.

1890
Vincent van Gogh went to the spot where he had painted Wheatfield With Crows and shot himself. He died two days later, aged 37.

1940
Cartoon character Bugs Bunny debuted in A Wild Hare.

2012
London Olympic Games opened.

[Barry]

On the 28th July,

1586
Potatoes arrived in the UK. They were brought from Columbia by Sir Thomas Herriot.

1866
Beatrix Potter, creator of Peter Rabbit, was born in London.

1914
World War I began as Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.

1945
A US bomber hit the Empire State Building killing three crew.

1959
Postcodes were introduced in the UK.

[Pigmy Pony]

On the 28th July,

1586
Potatoes arrived in the UK. They were brought from Columbia by Sir Thomas Herriot.

Much better than what Sir Walter Raleigh reportedly brought in a few days earlier. I curse him, he was such a stupid get.

[Macca]

Much better than what Sir Walter Raleigh reportedly brought in a few days earlier. I curse him, he was such a stupid get.

With them being in Columbia you'd have thought they'd have brought back a couple of kilos of coke. I mean there was no real Customs in those days. Just sail into Plymouth harbour, anchor up, into the nearest tavern and start doing some lines in the bogs.

[Barry]

On 29th July,

238 AD
Gordian III became Rome's youngest emperor at the age of 13.

1588
The Spanish Armada, sent by Philip II to invade England was sighted off Cornwall.

1856
The German composer Robert Schumann who went insane and threw himself in the Rhine in 1854, died in an asylum near Bonn.

1907
Sir Robert Baden-Powell formed the Boy Scouts in England.

1921
Adolf Hitler became Nazi party leader.

[Barry]

On 30th July,

1869
The world's first tanker, The Charles, left the US for Europe with 7,000 barrels of oil.

1945
After delivering the atomic bomb, cruiser USS Indianopolis was sunk by a Japanese submarine. Some 880 crew members were killed - many by sharks, which later inspired the movie Jaws.

1963
'Third Man' Kim Philby turned up in Moscow after escaping arrest for spying.

1966
England beat Germany 4-2 in extra time to win the World Cup.

2006
After 42 years, Top of the Pops was broadcast for the last time.

[Barry]

On 31st July,

1917
In World War I, the Battle of Pashendaele began. Some 500,000 casualties were reported by the time it ended on November 6.

1950
UK's first self - service store, Sainsbury's, opened in Croydon.

2012
US swimmer Michael Phelps became the greatest Olympian, winning his 15th gold medal and 19th medal overall in the 4 x 200m freestyle relay.


That's all for now.

[Barry]

On 5th August,

1305
Scottish reistance leader William Wallace was captured by the English near Glasgow and taken to London for trial and execution.

1891
First American travellers' cheque was cashed.

1957
Comic strip character Andy Capp made his debut.

1962
Marilyn Monroe, 32, was found dead in her Los Angeles home. Her death was ruled a probable suicide from 'acute barbiturate poisoning'.

1974
White House released transcripts of subpoenaed tape recordings showing Richard Nixon had discussed a plan to use the CIA to thwart the FBI's Watergate probe. The revelation lead to Mr Nixon's resignation.

1984
Actor Richard Burton died, age 58.

2012
Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt won the 100m at the London Olympics in 9.63 seconds, breaking the Games record he set in 2008.