Today in history

CATHERINE HOWARD
A YOUNG WOMAN WHOSE MARRIAGE TO HENRY VIII WOULD END IN TRAGEDY

On the morning of 13 February 1542, Catherine Howard was beheaded. Her maid, Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford, followed her to the block. It’s believed Catherine may have been as young as 17 when she died.

Catherine Howard is buried in the Chapel of St Peter Ad Vincula at the Tower of London.


CATHERINE’S GHOST
It’s said that when Catherine was arrested at Hampton Court Palace, she broke free from the guards and ran to the doors of the Chapel Royal, where she believed Henry was at prayer. She screamed to the King for mercy, to no avail. Memorial to Catherine Howard, featuring her name and coat of arms in the Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula at the Tower of London.

https://www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace/history-and-stories/catherine-howard/#gs.pirw07

14th feb

St. Valentine beheaded

On February 14, around the year 270 A.D., Valentine, a holy priest in Rome in the days of Emperor Claudius II, is said to have been executed.

Under the rule of Claudius the Cruel, Rome was involved in many unpopular and bloody campaigns. The emperor had to maintain a strong army, but was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. Claudius believed that Roman men were unwilling to join the army because of their strong attachment to their wives and families.

To get rid of the problem, Claudius banned all marriages and engagements in Rome. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret.

When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Valentine was arrested and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. The sentence was carried out on February 14, on or about the year 270.

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/st-valentine-beheaded#:~:text=Valentine%20was%20a%20martyr%20in%20the%20Roman%20province%20of%20Africa.&text=In%20496%20A.D.%2C%20Pope%20Gelasius,simple%20gifts%20such%20as%20flowers.

15th Feb

1952: King George VI is laid to rest
King George VI has been buried at St George's Chapel on his Windsor Castle estate.
The King passed away in his sleep at the age of 56 on 6 February after 16 years on the throne, following the abdication of his brother Edward Windsor (King Edward VIII) in 1936.

Crowds began to gather in London in the early hours of this morning for the solemn procession through the capital's streets - closed to traffic from 0800 GMT.

And for the first time thousands more people were able to witness the event on television.

Shortly after 0900 GMT the funeral party - including the new Queen Elizabeth - arrived at Westminster Hall, where over 300,000 people paid homage to the King's body as it lay in state for three days.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/15/newsid_2542000/2542721.stm#:~:text=BBC%20ON%20THIS%20DAY%20%7C%2015,VI%20is%20laid%20to%20rest&text=King%20George%20VI%20has%20been,King%20Edward%20VIII)%20in%201936

China Airlines Flight 2265

On 16 February 1986 a Boeing 737-200 operating China Airlines Flight 2265 went missing after executing a go-around after touching down at Penghu Airport, Taiwan. It was discovered several weeks later on the seabed 19km north of the island. All 6 passengers and 7 crew members were confirmed dead.

The aircraft took off from Taipei on 16 February 1986 at 18:09 local time on a scheduled domestic flight to Penghu Airport, Magong. When the aircraft touched down at 19:05 the crew felt a violent vibration at the front of the aircraft.[citation needed] The pilots executed a go-around. After the aircraft departed the vicinity of the airport it crashed into the Pacific Ocean off the coast near the city of Magong. All 13 occupants were killed on impact. Searchers did not find the wreckage of the aircraft until 10 March; it was located in 190 feet of water, 12 miles north of the island.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Airlines_Flight_2265

17 Feb

Myles Standish (c. 1584 – October 3, 1656) was an English military officer. He was hired as military adviser for Plymouth Colony in present-day Massachusetts, United States by the Pilgrims. Standish accompanied the Pilgrims on the ship Mayflower and played a leading role in the administration and defence of Plymouth Colony from its foundation in 1620. On February 17, 1621, the Plymouth Colony militia elected him as its first commander and continued to re-elect him to that position for the remainder of his life. Standish served at various times as an agent of Plymouth Colony on a return trip to England, as assistant governor of the colony, and as its treasurer.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myles_Standish

20th Feb

1472 – Orkney and Shetland are pawned by Norway to Scotland in lieu of a dowry for Margaret of Denmark.
The impoverished Christian I, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, pawned the Orkney Isles to James III of Scotland in lieu of a royal dowry for 50,000 florins. The Shetlands were pawned for a further 8,000 florins.

Feb 21st

Cloning of Dolly
On this day in 1997, a team of British scientists working under the direction of Ian Wilmut at the Roslin Institute near Edinburgh announced the birth of Dolly the sheep, the first clone of an adult mammal.

Feb 23rd 1963: Shocking wardens could be legal
A man who electrified his car to ward off traffic wardens may be able to evade the law.
Peter Hicks, 40, a farmer from Sussex, is waiting to find out whether he will be prosecuted for rigging up an electric device on his Land Rover.

Yesterday a police officer heard a strange ticking noise emanating from the vehicle parked in Marylebone and received a nasty shock when he touched it.

A sergeant also jumped when he came to see what shocked the constable and sparks flew when an inspector turned up to give his opinion on the situation.


Until somebody tells me what law I'm breaking I shall keep up my private war.

Peter Hicks, farmer

Mr Hicks, who sells his produce in London's Covent Garden market, had attached a mechanism normally used to electrify fences to his car as part of a private war against traffic wardens.

It gives out a shock of about 2,000 volts but Mr Hicks insisted the amperage is low, rendering the device "harmless, apart from a bit of a flash and a nasty jog".

Police disarmed the car and had a long chat with Mr Hicks but he has yet to find out what action they will take against him, if any.

"Until somebody tells me what law I'm breaking I shall keep up my private war. I have plenty more of these lovely machines," he told the press later.

Mr Hicks already pays £30 a week in fines for parking his 50 lorries and his Land Rover was getting tickets almost every day.

Four weeks ago he electrified his car initially as an anti-theft device.

He has not had a parking ticket since he made sure all his lorries were electrified by being parked bumper to bumper behind his Land Rover.

"I've watched quite a few wardens cop it, trying to put a ticket on my truck. They gave up in disgust - and shock!" he said.

Farmer explains his `shocking' actions

Shelton Hospital fire
26th Feb 1968

A fire was reported in the women's wing soon after midnight on 26 February 1968.^[1] By the time that appliances from the Shrewsbury Fire Brigade had arrived, the fire had taken hold over two floors of the wing.^[1] A spokesman for the fire brigade reported that 70 firemen had been involved, and the fire was under control by 02:00, two rooms had been severely damaged.^[1] Twenty patients died in the fire, and another died in hospital. A total of 140 patients were evacuated from the wing.^[1] A further 14 women were injured.

Olof Palme, the internationally prominent prime minister of Sweden (1969–76, 1982–86) whose strong pacifist beliefs included opposition to the Vietnam War, was assassinated this day in Stockholm in 1986.

He became Sweden’s best-known international politician.

'Ukulele king' Formby dies. 6th March 1961
One of Britain's most popular entertainers, George Formby, has died after suffering a heart attack.
Lancashire-born Formby, 56, was one of the UK's best-paid stars during his heyday in the 1930s and 1940s.

His nationwide fame was unusual in the era before ownership of television sets was widespread.

For six successive years during the 1940s he headed a popularity poll compiled by British cinema-goers who flocked to see him in films such as "Spare a Copper" and "George in Civvy Street".

His stage persona was that of a good-natured imbecile but he was a shrewd professional who amassed a fortune, earning up to £35,000 per film.

But Formby turned down many more lucrative offers, including one from Hollywood, so he could entertain British and American troops during the Second World War.

His contribution to the war effort earned him an OBE in 1946.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/6/newsid_2777000/2777445.stm

https://georgeformby.co.uk/news/statue/report1.htm

2014 Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370

The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 on 8 March 2014, with 239 people on board, remains one of the most enduring and fascinating mysteries in aviation history. The aircraft disappeared over the South China Sea, some 38 minutes after takeoff. Investigators were able to track pings with a satellite to a general crashing site in the Indian Ocean.

The search for the plane became the most costly in the history of aviation and one of the most complex. It would continue for three years but turned up no sign of the plane, although some debris from the aircraft washed ashore from the Indian Ocean during 2015 and 2016.

https://www.onthisday.com/photos/mh370-disappears

18th March 1979

An explosion of firedamp occurred in the Plodder Seam at the colliery when ten men died and one was seriously injured. The official report on the disaster was made by Mr. L.D. Rhydderch, H.M. Chief Inspector of Mines and Quarries.

At the time of the accident, the Golborne Colliery was one of twenty-two producing coal in the Western area of the National Coal Board and was in Golborne within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, mid-way between Warrington and Wigan. The colliery employed 870 men, 766 of which worked underground and 104 on the surface and produced 9000 tonnes of saleable coal per week from four seams. These were the Crombuke, the Ince Six Feet, the Higher Florida and the Plodder seams.

https://www.nmrs.org.uk/mines-map/accidents-disasters/lancashire/golbourne-colliery-explosion-golbourne-1979/

20th March 1969

Ono and Lennon got married on March 20, 1969, in a 10-minute ceremony in Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory on Spain's south coast. The duo wanted to get married in France, at first, but were unsuccessful. These events were documented in Lennon's "The Ballad of John and Yoko," where he wrote:

"Finally made the plane into Paris / Honeymooning down by the Seine / Peter Brown called to say / You can make it OK / You can get married in Gibraltar near Spain."

https://www.thethings.com/yoko-ono-john-lennon-things-you-didnt-know-about-their-relationship/

22nd March 1963

The Beatles' Please Please Me album was rush-released by Parlophone on 22nd March, 1963 to capitalise on the enormous success of the title track which had been the group's second single and their first no. 1 in the majority of UK charts. Ten of the album's fourteen tracks were recorded in just one day

https://www.thebeatles.com/please-please-me#:~:text=The%20Beatles%27%20Please%20Please%20Me%20album%20was%20rush-released,in%20just%20one%20day%20-%2011th%20February%2C%201963.

28th March 1979

1979: Early election as Callaghan defeated
Prime Minister James Callaghan has lost a parliamentary vote of confidence by a minority of one - forcing him to call an early general election.
The vote of "no confidence" was brought by opposition leader Margaret Thatcher and the government's downfall was announced at 2219 BST.

The House of Commons carried the Conservative motion by 311 votes to 310 making Mr Callaghan the first Prime Minister since Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 to be forced into an election by the chamber.

A vital vote was lost through the absence of Sir Alfred Broughton, Labour MP for Batley, who was too ill to attend.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/28/newsid_2531000/2531007.stm

On March 29, 1974, the first in an extensive collection of terra-cotta warriors was discovered in Xian, China. Local farmers came across pieces of a clay figure, and these shards led to the discovery of an ancient tomb, vast in its size and number of artifacts. The tomb was ordered to be built by Qin Shi Huangdi, the first emperor of China. The portion containing his remains are still unexcavated.

In the part of the tomb that has been excavated, thousands of sculptures of horses and warriors in full armor stand in battle formation. The warriors are life-size, with most about two-meters (six-feet) tall. The sculptures weigh up to 272 kilograms (600 pounds) each. Each warrior has unique characteristics—facial features, hairstyle, clothing, and pose.

In recent years, museums outside China have hosted exhibitions featuring a small number of the terra-cotta warriors. The warriors in Xian remain in their original positions facing east, the direction from which the emperor’s enemies had come.

https://www.nationalgeographic.org/thisday/mar29/terra-cotta-warriors-found/

30th march 2002

Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was the last Empress of India from her husband's accession as King-Emperor in 1936 until the British Raj was dissolved in August 1947. After her husband died, she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother,[2] to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Elizabeth_The_Queen_Mother

31st March 1990

The poll tax riots were a series of riots in British towns and cities during protests against the Community Charge (commonly known as the "poll tax"), introduced by the Conservative government of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The largest protest occurred in central London on Saturday 31 March 1990, shortly before the tax was due to come into force in England and Wales.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poll_tax_riots

1st April 1972

Local Government Act 1972 - The New Local Government Areas - England - Metropolitan Counties




https://www.primidi.com/local_government_act_1972

2nd April 1977

Red Rum gallops into racing history by winning the Grand National for a record third time.

Red Rum, (foaled 1965), steeplechase horse who won the Grand National at Aintree, England, an unprecedented three times, in 1973, 1974, and 1977.

Bought as a crippled seven-year-old, he was reconditioned by his trainer Ginger McCain, who ran him on the sand and in the sea. In 1973, ridden by Brian Fletcher, Red Rum won his first Grand National by spurting ahead in the last 100 yards of the course to pass Crisp, who had held the lead during most of the race, and beating him by 3/4 of a length in the record time of 9:01.9. The next year, with 11-to-1 odds against repeating his victory, Red Rum outdistanced his nearest rival, L’Escargot, by 7 lengths. He was the only horse to win two times in a row since Reynoldstown won in 1935 and 1936. Only three weeks later, ridden by Fletcher, he entered and won the Scottish Grand National at Ayr, beating Proud Tarquin by 4 lengths after taking the lead with three barriers yet to go and pulling ahead in the stretch. For the next two years he placed second in the English Grand National, coming in behind L’Escargot in 1975 and behind Rag Trade in 1976. Then in 1977 the 12-year-old gelding came back to achieve a stunning third victory in the historic race. Ridden by Tommy Stack and carrying 162 pounds, Red Rum won by an astonishing 25 lengths. His owner, Noel Le Mare, won $193,800 by his horse’s three triumphs. Red Rum was retired from racing in 1978. He died in 1995.

15th April 1912

Titanic
The Titanic was a luxury British steamship that sank in the early hours of April 15, 1912 after striking an iceberg, leading to the deaths of more than 1,500 passengers and crew.

The RMS Titanic, a luxury steamship, sank in the early hours of April 15, 1912, off the coast of Newfoundland in the North Atlantic after sideswiping an iceberg during its maiden voyage. Of the 2,240 passengers and crew on board, more than 1,500 lost their lives in the disaster. Titanic has inspired countless books, articles and films (including the 1997 “Titanic” movie starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio), and the ships story has entered the public consciousness as a cautionary tale about the perils of human hubris.

https://www.history.com/topics/early-20th-century-us/titanic#section_5

!6th April

1964: 'Great Train Robbers' get 300 years
Some of the longest sentences in British criminal history have been imposed on men involved in the so-called "Great Train Robbery".
Sentences totalling 307 years were passed on 12 men who stole £2.6m in used bank notes after holding up the night mail train travelling from Glasgow to London last August.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/16/newsid_2488000/2488041.stm

First bob a job week 18th April 1949

Beginning in 1949, for one week a year in April, all Scout groups across Britain ‘hired out’ their Scouts and Cubs for “Bob-a-Job week”, issuing them with job cards and instructions to go round to local homes, knock on strangers’ doors and ask for any small jobs the householder needed doing – such as mowing their lawn, washing their car, clearing leaves or helping the elderly with their shopping – in exchange for a ‘bob’ (the colloquial term for a shilling).

Some households certainly exploited the service. In theory, a Scout earned a bob for doing one small, reasonable task such as clearing leaves or sorting bookshelves.

But there were instances of Scouts being presented with an entire silver tea set for cleaning, or being instructed to lug around cwt bags of coal.

“Bob-a-Job week” earned the Scout movement a fine reputation from the general public, who were pleased at having an ‘odd-job-man’ on call while being able to help the movement at the same time.

In 1970, the name “Scout Job Week” was introduced instead as a result of decimalisation, and the going rate gradually snuck up to 50p or a pound.

Scout Job Week was discontinued in 1992 due to health and safety restrictions and fears of predatory paedophiles, and it became increasingly impossible for the scouts to organise fundraising activities that involved young people acting on their own in the community without the support or supervision of a responsible adult.

“Scout Community Week” was introduced in 2012, but instead of solitary Cubs and Scouts going door-to-door, this fundraising activity involves organised groups of Scouts taking part in planned community work in exchange for a donation to the group.


https://nostalgiacentral.com/decades/events/bob-a-job-week/