Today in history

20 th July 1982

                       Hyde/regents park terror attack:
                                                         Hyde Park and Regent's Park bombings: The Provisional IRA detonates two bombs in Hyde Park and Regent's Park in central London, killing eight soldiers, three bandmenbers, wounding forty-seven people, and leading to the deaths of seven horses.

                        On This Day: IRA bombs in London kill 11 people, seven horses in 1982
Members of the Provisional IRA detonated bombs in London's Hyde Park and Regent Park on July 20, 1982, killing eleven people and injuring dozens more.


At 10:43 am, a nail bomb exploded in the boot of a car parked on South Carriage Drive in Hyde Park as soldiers of the Household Cavalry, Queen Elizabeth II's official bodyguard regiment, were passing during the Changing of the Guard.

Three soldiers of the Blues and Royals were killed immediately, and another died from his wounds three days later. Several other soldiers and a number of civilians were injured.

                    Additionally, seven of the regiment's horses were also killed or had to be euthanized because of their injuries.

Just over two hours later, at 12:55 pm, a bomb exploded underneath a bandstand in Regent's Park, also in London, where 30 military bandsmen of the Royal Green Jackets were performing to a crowd of 120 people.

Six of the bandsmen were killed at the scene and another died of his injuries on August 1. The rest of the band members, as well as eight civilians, were also injured.

At least 51 people were injured between the two bombings.

                        Claiming responsibility for the attacks, an IRA statement released in Dublin and Belfast said: "Now it is our turn to properly invoke Article 51 of the United Nations statute and properly quote all Thatcher's fine phrases on the right to self-determination of a people.

"The Irish people have sovereign and national rights which no task or occupational force can put down."

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher said in the Hosue of Commons: "These callous and cowardly crimes have been committed by evil, brutal men who know nothing of democracy.

"We shall not rest until they are brought to justice."

In Ireland, the attacks were condemned by Taoiseach Charles Haughey who said: ''Those responsible for these inhuman crimes do irreparable damage to the good name of Ireland and the cause of Irish unity."

              Reporting on the bombings the following day, the New York Times noted: "It was the most costly I.R.A. violence since the killing of Lord Mountbatten, 3 passengers on his boat and 18 soldiers in August 1979."

                Queen Elizabeth II later said that the IRA bombing in Hyde Park was “the most ghastly” of her life.

Brigadier Andrew Parker-Bowles, the former guardsman and ex-husband of the Duchess of Cornwall, was leading the Queen’s Calvary that day and described the mount in Rober Hardman’s book, "Queen of the World."

He told Hardman: “One of the barriers opened and someone said, ‘They've blown up the Guard.’ So we ran down to where the smoke was rising.

“The first horse I saw was Sefton. He had a bloody great hole in him but he managed to pull through.”

Afterward, Parker Bowles had the opportunity to speak to the Queen.

“She said to me it was ‘The most ghastly day of my life.’”

The explosion killed Roy Bright, Dennis Daly, Simon Tipper, and Jeffrey Young. Other members of the Royal Household Cavalry were also injured.

The prime suspect in the bombing, John Downey, avoided prosecution due to an error made by British police, who sent a “letter of assurance” to Downey in 2007 stating he was not wanted for the attack despite there being an outstanding warrant against him.

21 st July 1969

The moon:
Apollo program: At 02:56 UTC, astronaut Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to walk on the Moon, followed 19 minutes later by Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin.

Neil Armstrong and Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon 55 years ago today.


History was made on this day more than half a century ago when two American astronauts walked on the moon.

A mission many doubted was possible became reality for Neil Armstrong – the first man to walk on the moon – and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, who joined him 19 minutes later.

Here are some facts about what happened 55 years ago Monday:

World watched history unfold
Apollo 11 became the first manned spacecraft to land on the moon.

During the widely televised event, the world watched and waited as the lunar module Eagle separated from the command module and began its descent.

Then came the words from Armstrong: “Tranquility base here, the Eagle has landed.”

About six and a half hours later, at 10:56 p.m. ET on July 20, 1969, Armstrong became the first person to set foot on the moon.

Armstrong’s famous words
“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” the astronaut said as he took his first step on the moon’s surface.

Armstrong’s success did not come easily.
He took two trips into space. He made his first journey in 1966 as commander of the Gemini 8 mission, which nearly ended in disaster. He kept his cool and brought the spacecraft home safely after a thruster rocket malfunctioned and caused it to spin wildly out of control.

Three years later, at age 38, he became the first person to walk on the moon. Armstrong died in 2012 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

A 4-day journey for a 3-man crew
In July 1969, Armstrong, the mission commander, and fellow astronauts Buzz Aldrin – the lunar module pilot – and Michael Collins – the command module pilot – blasted off in Apollo 11 on a nearly 250,000-mile journey to the moon. It took them four days to reach their destination.

Armstrong was on the moon’s surface for two hours and 32 minutes and Aldrin, who followed him, spent about 15 minutes less than that.

The two astronauts set up an American flag, scooped up moon rocks and set up scientific experiments before returning to the spacecraft. They also spoke to President Richard Nixon via radio from the Oval Office.

All three astronauts returned home to a hero’s welcome, and none ever returned to space.

A challenge from President Kennedy
Eight years before the Apollo 11 mission, in May 1961, President John F. Kennedy had presented a bold vision before a joint session of Congress when he pledged to send a man to the moon by the end of the decade.

Some called his dream lunacy. Others viewed it as just another strategic move in the Cold War chess match between the United States and the Soviet Union. But Kennedy was determined.

“No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish,” Kennedy said.

22 nd July 1706

(Acts of union) Formation of Great Britain:
The Acts of Union 1707 are agreed upon by commissioners from the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, which, when passed (in1707) by each country's Parliament, leads to the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain.

Acts of Union.

The Acts of Union in 1707, also referred to as the Union of the Parliaments, had a significant impact on the governmental and political structure of both England and Scotland. The two acts served to join the two countries into a single kingdom with a single Parliament. Passage of the Acts created the nation of Great Britain from the previous separate states of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland. While England and Scotland were merging into a single country, additional impacts from the Acts were felt across the globe, including in the American colonies.

Acts of Union
The Parliament of England passed the Union with Scotland Act in 1706 and the Parliament of Scotland passed the Union with England Act in 1707. The two Acts implemented the terms of the Treaty of Union agreed upon in July 1706. This treaty established terms for joining the two nations under a single entity. While three previous efforts had been made to merge the two nations, both political establishments did not align on the terms and benefits until the early 18th century.

Prior to the Acts, England and Scotland shared the same monarch but had separate legislatures. On May 1, 1707, the two Acts took effect when the two legislatures merged into the Parliament of Great Britain, based in London. With this merger, the two previously independent nations became a single nation known as Great Britain. With the treaty, England’s border security improved and Scotland was positioned to reap financial benefits.

Articles of the Acts
The Treaty of Union consisted of 25 articles addressing various aspects of merging the two nations. Of the articles, 15 pertained to economic concerns while the other 10 addressed items such as the inclusion of Scottish representatives in the House of Lords and the acceptance of specific religious faiths. Under the articles, the Church of Scotland remained the recognized and official church in Scotland and a previous ban on a Roman Catholic taking the throne was reinforced.

Additional components of the Treaty and subsequent Acts of Union revolved around the union of monetary and customs systems and reinforced the validity of existing Scottish law. While many of the articles focused on financial components of the relationship, the articles affirming Scottish law and religion had an even greater impact on the success of the Acts. Originally, the Church of Scotland opposed the treaty, but the articles affirming the Presbyterian establishment addressed the overt hostility. While lower levels of the clergy continued to oppose the treaty, the higher authorities agreed to the terms.

23 rd July 1943

The Rayleigh bath chair murder:
The Rayleigh bath chair murder occurred in Rayleigh, Essex, England.


The victim was Archibald Brown, aged 47. He and his wife Doris Lucy Brown lived in London Hill, Rayleigh, Essex and had two sons, Eric and Collin. Due to a motorcycle accident Archibald Brown lost the use of his legs at the age of 24 and thereafter required the use of a bath chair and was cared for by three nurses.

Incident
At 1:45 pm on Friday 23 July 1943 nurse Doris Irene Mitchell went to the air-raid shelter where Brown's bath chair was kept. She found that the door was locked from the inside and upon returning with Mrs Brown they met Eric Brown, then aged 19, coming out. Eric was irritated and evasive. Both women took the wheeled chair to the house and helped Archibald to get in. Brown was dressed in pyjamas and a dressing gown and was covered with a plaid travelling rug. Mitchell took Archibald Brown out of the house. After walking for about a mile, Brown had shifted his weight apparently while feeling for a cigarette in his pocket. Mitchell, having stopped to light the cigarette returned to the back of the chair and pushed it forward. Within half a dozen paces there was a violent explosion. Mitchell sustained leg injuries and as far as she could see Brown and his bath chair had completely disappeared. The police found portions of the body at the side of the road and in nearby trees and gardens.

Investigation
Enemy action was soon ruled out as the cause of the explosion. Experts found the cause to be a British Hawkins grenade – a type of anti-tank mine that is detonated when an acid-filled glass ampoule is broken. The device had been placed under the bath chair's cushion. A formal murder investigation was begun. Doris Brown was interviewed at length at Rayleigh police station. It emerged that although Archibald Brown had been disabled and unable to walk, his will power was undiminished: he harshly ruled his wife and elder son. His wife was not allowed to visit her mother in nearby Rochford and Archibald Brown would constantly ring a bell to get his wife's attention, even if he perceived that a single flower was out of place in a vase. Eric Brown was constantly beaten and humiliated. Doris Brown stated that her husband had increasingly appeared to take a dislike to her. Eric, too, had noticed the deterioration in Archibald's behaviour, but he had taken a liking to his new nurse and their walks together.

Arrest and trial
The blame fell on Eric Brown. He had previously attended lectures on the same mine used in the murder, and, having joined the British Army some years previously, had access to a weapons store in Spilsby. Eventually Eric Brown gave a confession in which he blamed his actions on Archibald Brown's abusive attitude to both him and his mother. On 21 September 1943 he was committed to trial at the Essex Assizes. The trial started on 4 November; Eric Brown was tried at the Shire Hall, Chelmsford and declared insane. He was released in 1975

24 th July 1567

                        Abdication of Mary, Queen of Scots:
                                                                          Mary, Queen of Scots, is forced to abdicate and be replaced by her one-year-old son James VI.

                         Profile: The abdication of Mary, Queen of Scots.

                             WHAT’S THE STORY?

IN an event that paved the way for modern British history, Mary, Queen of Scots, abdicated her throne 457 years ago today.

It meant that her one-year-old son immediately became King James VI, and, of course, he would later become King James I of England and Ireland.

Had Mary not abdicated and had her supporters triumphed in the civil war fought over possession of the Scottish throne, the Union of the Crowns might never have happened. Yet July 24, 1567, is rarely celebrated, not even by the most ardent Unionists, because it is a very murky episode in Scottish history.

           WHAT LED UP TO THE ABDICATION?

MARY had been taken to France as young child with the Four Marys, her ladies-in-waiting. She was raised in the French court and betrothed to the Dauphin, who became King Francis II in 1559 but died shortly after ascending the French throne with Mary as his Queen Consort.

She returned home to claim the Scottish throne in August 1561 and, as a Roman Catholic, faced the wrath of John Knox and the Protestant Reformers. This redoubled after she married Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, only for him to be assassinated in February, 1567.

Mary’s violent lover, James Hepburn, the 4th Earl of Bothwell, forced marriage upon her within weeks of her becoming a widow and the Protestant Lords of the Confederacy rebelled against their monarch.

At Carberry near Musselburgh on July 15, a short battle ended in defeat for the royal forces. Mary surrendered rather than risk a full battle, and Bothwell fled into exile. Mary was taken to imprisonment in Loch Leven Castle on an island in Loch Leven in present-day Perth and Kinross.

                       WHAT HAPPENED THERE?

DESPONDENT and psychologically beaten, Mary’s troubles were compounded when, she miscarried twins, the progeny of Bothwell.

It was then, with their Queen at her lowest ebb, that the Confederate Lords pounced.

We know exactly what happened because Mary’s private secretary, Claude Nau de la Boisseliere, wrote of that fateful day in his memoirs.

In the castle, which belonged to Sir William Douglas – later the Earl of Morton – the Confederacy leaders Lords Melville, Lindsay and Ruthven and their lawyers came into the queen’s chambers where she lay in pain in her bed.

Lindsay told her the Lords demanded her resignation of the Scottish crown, and when Mary refused, Lindsay told her quite simply that they would cut her throat – “however unwilling they might be” as Nau de la Boisseliere wrote.

Mary, calculating that she could repudiate a signature obtained under duress, eventually signed the documents. The very much under-appreciated Gerda Stevens summed up the queen’s mood in her fine poem, The Abdication of Mary, Queen of Scots:


Tak ma croon, an dinna fash –
aa yon wis ower fur me lang syne.
Ye needna glaum at ma silk goon
wi yer coorse nieve – I’m nae threit;
I’ll sign yer muckle scroll, dae whit I maun,

                                WHAT HAPPENED AFTERWARDS?

JAMES VI was crowned five days later, and Mary was kept at Loch Leven where she managed to turn some of her jailers into her allies. Sir William Douglas’s brother George and illegitimate teenage son William helped her escape on May 2, 1568, and many of her followers flocked to her side, but her army of 6000 was far from the numbers she previously commanded and there is no doubt Mary’s abdication had weakened their resolve – many of her nobles had already pledged their allegiance to James.

Defeat at Langside, then exile and death in England at the hands of her cousin Elizabeth, followed for Mary, who remained a devout Catholic to the end – the real reason why the English aristocracy did not want her on their throne.

Had she not abdicated Mary would doubtless have been murdered. But would James have survived the civil war that would undoubtedly have followed?
past carin noo.

25 th July 1978


     Test tube baby:
                           Birth of Louise Joy Brown, the first human to have been born after conception by in vitro fertilisation, or IVF.

On July 25, 1978, Louise Joy Brown, the world’s first baby to be conceived via in-vitro fertilization (IVF) is born at Oldham and District General Hospital in Manchester, England, to parents Lesley and Peter Brown. The healthy baby was delivered shortly before midnight by caesarean section and weighed in at five pounds, 12 ounces.

Before giving birth to Louise, Lesley Brown had suffered years of infertility due to blocked fallopian tubes. In November 1977, she underwent the then-experimental IVF procedure. A mature egg was removed from one of her ovaries and combined in a laboratory dish with her husband’s sperm to form an embryo. The embryo then was implanted into her uterus a few days later. Her IVF doctors, British gynecologist Patrick Steptoe and scientist Robert Edwards, had begun their pioneering collaboration a decade earlier. Once the media learned of the pregnancy, the Browns faced intense public scrutiny. Louise’s birth made headlines around the world and raised various legal and ethical questions.

The Browns had a second daughter, Natalie, several years later, also through IVF. In May 1999, Natalie became the first IVF baby to give birth to a child of her own. The child’s conception was natural, easing some concerns that female IVF babies would be unable to get pregnant naturally. In December 2006, Louise Brown, the original “test tube baby,” gave birth to a boy, Cameron John Mullinder, who also was conceived naturally.

Today, IVF is considered a mainstream medical treatment for infertility. Hundreds of thousands of children around the world have been conceived through the procedure, in some cases with donor eggs and sperm.

26 th July 1803

                         First public railway:

                         The Surrey Iron Railway, arguably the world's first public railway, opens in south London, United Kingdom.

                    This was the first public railway independent of a canal to be built by Act of Parliament (1801).


Opened in 1803 for some nine miles along the side of the River Wandle from Wandsworth Wharf, on the River Thames, towards Mitcham and Croydon and with a branch from Mitcham to Hackbridge, the SIR was formed of a double track of iron plateway rails operated by horses. There was just enough water in the River Wandle for development of this early industrial zone for either powering the watermills to drive the various processes or for transport to and from the mills but not for both functions. As there was no other suitable power source at the time, a plateway was developed to provide the transport.

It was essentially a turnpike with the users providing horses and wagons (with wheels at a suitable distance apart) and paying a toll to use the line. It may have been little different from many other waggonways of its time except that it was the first line open to whoever wished to transport their own goods and not limited to use by a single owner.

The competitive low tolls (see below) meant that the SIR hardly ever paid a dividend but a similar plateway, the Croydon, Mertsham & Godstone line onwards from Croydon for about ten miles around Merstham towards Godstone proved more financially successful. This latter line was well engineered to provide a steady gradient allowing a horse to pull 10 – 20 tons at 3 – 4mph along a then new route into the North Downs and without the requirement for any major works except for the embankment and bridge across the Chipstead valley (see picture below).

From the 1820’s, iron, and later steel, rails could be rolled capable of bearing faster and more powerful steam locomotives so rendering such horse-drawn trains on plateways obsolescent. Plans for further extension towards Reigate and Portsmouth and the carriage of passengers had to be abandoned.

Closed in 1846, parts of the SIR route were used in 1855 by the Wimbledon and Croydon Railway and much of that alignment is used to-day by Croydon Tramlink. Stretches of the CM&G line were required for the Brighton main-line south of Coulsdon in 1839 and cuttings at Hooley disappeared under the M23 late in the 20th century. Some of the line north of Merstham still lies underground and in 1967 part was excavated confirming a gauge of 4ft 2in between the flanges of the plateway (so proving that the reconstructions at Purley and Merstham are to the wrong gauge).

27 th July 1054
Battle of Dunsinane ( Macbeth)

Siward, Earl of Northumbria, invades Scotland and defeats Macbeth, King of Scotland, somewhere north of the Firth of Forth. This is known as the Battle of Dunsinane.

Background
In 1040, the Scottish nobleman Macbeth assassinated King Duncan I of Scotland and usurped the throne for himself. At around the same time, the ambitious Danish nobleman Siward assassinated Earl Eadwulf III of Bamburgh on King Harthacnut of England's orders, and he became the new Earl of Northumbria. Both Macbeth and Siward were ambitious men, and, in 1043, Siward's rival Cospatric (the last surviving son of Earl Uhtred the Bold) fled to Scotland after Siward put down an Anglian uprising against his rule. Earl Siward ultimately made peace with Cospatric when he annexed Cumberland, and he placed Cospatric in charge of the area and paid off old grievances. These gains offset the Scottish annexation of the old kingdom of Cumbria and blunted the resentment of the House of Bamburgh.

In 1045, reacting to Scottish raids, Earl Siward led his first army over the River Tweed, paralleling his later 1054 invasion; however, this first invasion failed. He decided to create his own king of Scotland, namely Duncan's brother Maldred; hehad the support of a part of Scots led by Crinan, the father of Duncan and Maldred. Crinan rose in revolt against Macbeth within Scotland, only to be slain in battle by Macbeth. Siward subsequently led an army into Scotland and forced Macbeth to flee to Moray, but he was unable to stay above the Tweed, and he raised Maldred to the throne and retreated. However, Macbeth killed Maldred soon after, and Siward waited some eight years before he invaded again. Scottish border raids on the North continued after 1046, and, while the years around 1050 were quiet due to Macbeth's pilgrimage to Rome, the peace did not outlast the pilgrimage, as Macbeth received the Normans who had been expelled from England in 1052 and took them into his own service. By 1053, Macbeth and his Norman mercenaries were once again raiding the north. That same year, Siward went to Scotland and made an agreement with Macbeth, but Macbeth soon broke the agreement and resumed his raids.

Campaign
Siward launched his famous invasion of Scotland in 1054, hoping to lift the 23-year-old Prince Malcolm to the throne and depose Macbeth. The Earl collected an army from the North which was reinforced by a group of King Edward the Confessor's huscarls and by a contingent from Cumberland led by Dolfin Thorfinnsson. On 27 July 1054, the two armies met at Dunsinane Hill on the Day of the Seven Sleepers. Allegedly, the English chopped down the trees of Birnham Wood and used them as camouflage while marching on Macbeth's castle at Dunsinane Hill, allowing for them to launch a surprise attack. Many Scots and all of Macbeth's Norman mercenaries were killed; 1,500 English and 3,000 Scots were slain in the battle. Siward lost a number of his own and the King's huscarls. While Macbeth escaped to Moray and survived for three more years, Siward's victory had been complete enough for Malcolm to become King. Siward returned to England with treasure and glory, and he died a year later.

July28 th 1996

Kennewick man:
The remains of a prehistoric man are discovered near Kennewick, Washington. Such remains will be known as the Kennewick man.

Statement on the repatriation of The Ancient One
On Friday, February 17, 2017, the remains of The Ancient One, otherwise known as Kennewick Man, were returned to the tribes who claim him as their ancestor.

The Burke Museum provided secure and respectful curation of The Ancient One from 1998–2017, under contract to the US Army Corps of Engineers, the government agency that controlled the remains until they were repatriated. The return of the Ancient One to the tribes is the right decision and was long overdue. It is consistent with the Burke’s commitment to both the legal and the ethical principles of NAGPRA—federal law that allows tribes to reclaim human remains and cultural items from museums and other institutions. The Burke Museum values our long-standing relationships with the tribes, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, and looks forward to continued partnership in accordance with our mission as the Washington State Museum of Natural History and Culture.

A view across a large river to see trees on the other side
Photo: “Columbia River, Kennewick, Washington” by Ken Lund is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.
Who is “The Ancient One,” also known as “Kennewick Man”?
On July 28, 1996, two men at Columbia Park in Kennewick, Washington, accidentally found part of a human skull on the bottom of the Columbia River, about ten feet from shore. Later searches revealed a nearly complete, ancient skeleton, now known as “The Ancient One” or “Kennewick Man.”

Public interest, debate, and controversy began when independent archaeologist Dr. James Chatters, working on contract with the Benton County coroner, thought that the bones might not be Native American. He described them as “Caucasoid” and sent a piece of bone to a laboratory to be dated. The results indicated an age older than 9,000 years, making The Ancient One among the oldest and most complete skeletons found in North America. Subsequent research on the bones indicated that the skeleton is between 8,400–8,690 years old.

Shortly after the remains were discovered, a group of scholars sued the federal government—representing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which manages the land where the remains were found—to prevent the remains from being returned to the tribes under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).

NAGPRA, passed in 1990, provides legal protections for Native American human remains, including their return to tribal communities if the tribes can prove they are related to the remains. The scientists argued that the remains were not proven to be related to present-day tribes, therefore they should not be subject to NAGPRA, and should be available to the scientific community for study. Several Washington and Oregon tribes joined the Federal Government in defending the suit.

As of April 19, 2004, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an earlier decision by U.S. District Court Judge Jelderks that the remains could not be defined as “Native American” under the NAGPRA law. Therefore, The Ancient One remained under the control of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and scientific study by the plaintiffs was allowed to take place.

Why were the remains at the Burke Museum?
During the dispute, the court designated that the Burke Museum, the Washington State Museum of Natural History and Culture, was the most suitable neutral place for the safekeeping of The Ancient One. The Burke was contracted by the Northwestern Division, United States Army Corps of Engineers to provide curatorial services for the remains, which included providing a secure environment for the remains and associated records.

What studies were conducted using the remains?
After the 2004 ruling, the plaintiffs and their colleagues made three visits to the Burke Museum to carry out scientific research on the remains. Representatives of some of the tribes involved in the case also visited the remains to conduct ceremonies, and remained committed to having The Ancient One repatriated.

In September 2014, Dr. Douglas Owsley, Smithsonian physical anthropologist and one of the plaintiffs in the case, shared his morphology based findings that indicated that the skeleton was not of Native American affinity, and may have been more closely related to circumpacific groups such as the Ainu and Polynesians.

In June 2015, University of Copenhagen geneticist Dr. Eske Willerslev and colleagues released findings in the scientific journal “Nature”after sequencing the genome of Kennewick Man. The team compared DNA extracted from a hand bone to worldwide genomic data, including the Ainu and Polynesians. They found that The Ancient One is more closely related to modern Native Americans than any other living population.

What prompted the return of remains to the tribes?
After DNA findings confirmed The Ancient One was Native American, the tribes who claim him as their ancestor could begin the process of reclaiming his remains under NAGPRA.

Simultaneously, U.S. Senator Patty Murray and Congressman Denny Heck sponsored legislation (S. 1979 and H.R. 4131) to expedite his return to the tribes. Language from these bills was added to the Water Infrastructure Improvements Act for the Nation (WIIN), which was signed by President Obama on Friday, December 16, 2016.

The WIIN Act superseded the NAGPRA process and prompted The Army Corps of Engineers to transfer control of the remains to the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP), on the condition that DAHP return the remains to the claimant tribes.

What happened to the remains?
The remains were reburied in a private ceremony and location, according to the traditions of the tribes.

Was the Burke involved in the study of the remains?
While the remains were cared for by the Burke Museum, the Museum was not involved in research conducted on the remains.

Were the remains on display?
The Ancient One was never displayed. The remains were kept in a private, secure location at the Burke Museum.

29 th July 1981

                         A worldwide television audience of around 750 million people watch the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul's Cathedral in London.

                  Prince Charles and Princess Diana's wedding day 43 years on: the dress, the service slip-ups and what it was like to be in the crowd
The couple married at St Paul's Cathedral on 29 July 1981.

                       Today marks the 43rd anniversary of Prince Charles and Princess Diana's wedding, and while their marriage didn't last, the day was described at the time as a "fairytale" and actually included a lot of personal touches from the couple.

"It was the wedding of the century," Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty Magazine, tells HELLO! "Charles's sister Anne had got married in 1973, eight years earlier and that was a big deal because she was the first of the Queen's children to get married but it was nothing compared to how it was when Charles and Diana got married. It really was a big, big deal in 1981."

Joe was one of the 600,000 people who lined the streets to catch a glimpse of the royal bride and groom on a hot summer's day on 29 July 1981.

               While there have been a number of royal weddings in recent years that have garnered global media attention, including that of Prince William and Kate Middleton, and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Joe says that Charles and Diana's nuptials was "bigger in many ways".

"People had been camping along the route for several days beforehand," he says. "There was a rehearsal at St Paul's and on the eve of the wedding, there was a big fireworks display in Hyde Park and there were tens of thousands of people at that. So, it was a huge thing, which so many people wanted to take a personal part in and to be there."

Details about Diana's dress was one of the most closely guarded secrets in the run-up to her wedding day. Currently on display at Kensington Palace, the ivory silk taffeta and antique lace gown with its record-breaking 25-foot train and 10,000 mother of pearl sequins and pearl embellishments, is one of the most iconic in royal history. It was created by British fashion designers, David and Elizabeth Emanuel, who had previously made pieces for the bride.

            A nervous-looking Diana made her way up the altar of St Paul's Cathedral, arm-in-arm with her father, John, the 8th Earl Spencer before an invited congregation of 3,500 guests and an estimated global TV audience of 750 million.

Bridesmaids included Princess Margaret's 17-year-old daughter, Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones (now Chatto) while Prince Andrew and Prince Edward acted as Charles' supporters.

Joe recalls: "I was in the thick of the atmosphere, you could hear the service as it was relayed to the public outside St Paul's and people were reacting to it as they exchanged vows."

Both Diana and Charles famously made mistakes in their wedding vows with the bride accidentally reciting her groom's name wrong, inadvertently calling him Philip Charles Arthur George, instead of Charles Philip Arthur George.

     And according to the BBC, Prince Charles also slightly muddled his vows too, referring to "thy goods" rather than "my worldly goods".

The minor slipups didn't distract from their day, as the newlyweds walked down the aisle and emerged from the Cathedral to the roar of the crowds that had gathered outside.

                 Joe recalls that the Prince "went to a great deal of trouble to get the music right for his wedding" with Charles and Diana both selecting their favourite hymns for the service. Among the Prince's choices were Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance No. 4 and New Zealand soprano Kiri Te Kanawa's performance of 'Let The Bright Seraphim' from Handel's Samson. Meanwhile, Diana selected her favourite hymn from her school days 'I Vow to Thee, My Country.'

After the service, Charles and Diana travelled in the open-topped state landau to Buckingham Palace and emerged on the balcony a few moments later to share a kiss.

                  The newlyweds then enjoyed a wedding breakfast with their closest family and friends, tucking into brill in lobster sauce and Princess of Wales chicken (chicken stuffed with fine lamb mousse) and traditional strawberries with cream.

The royal couple also had an incredible 27 wedding cakes for their big day — however, the official cake, which stood over five-feet tall, was made by David Avery, the head baker of the Naval Armed Forces. The cake featured personal touches including Charles' coat of arms in addition to Diana's family crest and their first name initials. The impressive dessert was topped off with roses, lilies of the valley and orchids.

A slice of the Prince and Princess of Wales's wedding cake went up for sale and was expected to fetch between £300 and £500 when it went under the hammer on 11 August 2021 along with an order of service, ceremonial details and a royal wedding breakfast programme.

                 The couple received hundreds of gifts from the British public and Commonwealth countries, as well as royals from around the world. And in a move that we haven't seen at recent royal weddings, Joe recalls the gifts being displayed at St James's Palace after the wedding with proceeds from ticket sales going to charity.

Gifts included an engraved Steuben glass bowl and a handmade porcelain centrepiece by Boehm from US President Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy, who was one of the high-profile guests at the royal wedding.

While the current generation of young royals has partied into the early hours at their wedding receptions, Charles and Diana were then whisked away to Waterloo Station to catch the train to Romsey in Hampshire to begin their honeymoon.

I remember it well. Didn't turn out well in the long run. At least it gave us William

30 th July 2006

                   Top of the pops, the end:
                                                        The world's longest running music show Top of the Pops is broadcast for the last time on BBC Two. The show had aired for 42 years.

               The worlds longest running music show Top of the Pops broadcast for the last time on BBC Two. The show has aired for 42 years.
On July 30, 2006, a momentous occasion took place in the world of music. The iconic music show, “Top of the Pops,” broadcast for the last time on BBC Two after an impressive 42-year run. This event marked the end of an era and left many music enthusiasts feeling nostalgic for the show’s rich history and memorable performances.

“Top of the Pops” first premiered on New Year’s Day in 1964 and quickly became a staple in British households. The show featured live performances from popular artists of the time, as well as the latest chart-topping hits. It became a must-watch for music lovers of all ages, showcasing the talents of both emerging and established musicians.


Over the course of its run, “Top of the Pops” saw numerous changes in format and presenters. It evolved to reflect the changing music landscape and adapt to the preferences of its audience. The show played a pivotal role in launching the careers of many artists, giving them a platform to reach a wider audience and gain recognition.

One of the key factors that contributed to the success of “Top of the Pops” was its ability to captivate viewers with its live performances. Fans eagerly awaited each week’s episode to see their favorite musicians perform their latest hits in an exhilarating and energetic atmosphere. The show’s stage became a showcase for some of the most memorable performances in music history.

However, despite its enduring popularity, “Top of the Pops” faced its fair share of controversies and challenges. In an ever-evolving music landscape, the show struggled to keep up with the changing tastes and preferences of its audience. Online platforms and digital downloads began to dominate the music industry, making it increasingly difficult for the show to maintain its relevance and appeal.


With declining viewership and changes in the way people consumed music, the decision was made to end the show in 2006. While it marked the end of an era, it also provided an opportunity for reflection on the impact “Top of the Pops” had on the music industry and popular culture.

As the world’s longest running music show, “Top of the Pops” undoubtedly left an indelible mark on the music landscape. It provided a platform for artists to showcase their talents and reach a vast audience. It became a cultural phenomenon and a symbol of musical excellence.

The show’s final broadcast on July 30, 2006, was a bittersweet moment for fans. It served as a reminder of the show’s rich history and its ability to bring people together through the power of music. Although the show ended, its legacy continues to live on in the hearts of those who grew up tuning in each week.


The last broadcast of “Top of the Pops” on BBC Two on July 30, 2006, marked the end of an era in the world of music. The show’s 42-year run was a testament to its enduring popularity and influence. It provided a stage for countless artists and created unforgettable moments for music enthusiasts around the world. Although the show may no longer be on the air, its impact will forever be engrained in the history of music and popular culture.

                     

31 st July 1970

Black tot day:
Black Tot Day: The last day of the officially sanctioned rum ration in the Royal Navy.

The Rum Ration – The End of the Tot



Known as ‘Black Tot Day’, the 31st July 1970 marked the end of the daily rum issue in the Royal Navy, ending hundreds of years of tradition. As we remember this day 54 years on, it is worth taking the opportunity to share a few memories of this event from those who were involved in one way or another.

The Navy was embracing modernity, and ships in the Fleet were becoming highly technological items in the Defence inventory. Advancements in missile and computer technology were necessary to continue countering the threat posed by the Eastern Bloc of Soviet nations, and the Royal Navy had recently taken over the nations’ strategic nuclear deterrence. My thanks to Chris Donnithorne for providing this recollection of the day from his career in the service;

On the day in question, I was the duty officer in Resolution [our first Polaris boat] undergoing her first refit in Rosyth Dockyard. It had long been considered inappropriate for the key people involved in the nuclear refuelling to have a tot before their shift. It therefore fell to me to issue them with their tot shortly after 0200 on the following day.
I am also extremely grateful to NRS Councillor Lawrie Phillips for sharing the excerpts from his book ‘The Royal Navy Day to Day’, which provides some context of the reasons for discontinuing the rum ration. This includes a quote written by a former captain of Ark Royal, recalling entering an electrical compartment to be greeted by the strong smell of rum from an artificer poking a screwdriver in to piece of equipment labelled ‘DANGER – 3000 volts’. There is also another extract which bears a resemblance to the above personal memory from Chris Donnithorne regarding the final issue of rum;

The Tot may have ended on 31 July but the guided missile destroyer Fife, Captain W.D.S. Scott RN, probably enjoyed the last one. The ship, on a round-the-world deployment, issued her final Tot on passage eastwards from Kobe to Hawaii. She crossed the International Date Line before entering Pearl Harbour where the clock went back 24 hours to 31 July. Another spirits issue was then authorised and much appreciated.

Lt Cdr Phillips was a very new member of the RN Public Relations team in the MOD at the time, and wrote the following press release dated 17 December 1969 announcing that the rum ration would be discontinued on 1st August 1970;

1 st August 1834

Abolition of slavery:
Slavery is abolished in the British Empire as the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 comes into force, although it remains legal in the possessions of the East India Company until the passage of the Indian Slavery Act, 1843.


On 1 August 1834, the Abolition of Slavery Act, which made the purchase or owning of slaves illegal in parts of the British Empire, took effect in Britain.
This did not mean that all of the enslaved African men, women and children were free after it was introduced, however.

Many were kept for further years as ‘apprentices’ or were forced to fight in the Army, Navy and Royal Marines. But what was the slave trade like before the act, and did its introduction into law really end slavery in the UK?

Looking back
The transatlantic slave trade was a legal business that started in the 1500s and worked for around 400 years in a triangle shape between Europe, Africa and America. Millions of men, women and children were taken from Africa and sailed across the ocean. Those who survived the dangerous and long journey, which took six to eight weeks, were then forced into slavery for many different purposes and services, such as picking cotton or cutting sugar cane.

The African people who were forced into this slavery were treated terribly and violently. They fought for their own freedom by rebelling, escaping and campaigning. For example, Olaudah Equiano is one of many prominent figures associated with the abolition of the slave trade. He was born in Nigeria, enslaved at 11 years old and after years of slavery eventually settled in England. He published memoirs of his first-hand experiences of the slave trade, and at age 11, Olaudah Equiano recalls witnessing kidnappers trying to get into his neighbour's yard and, eventually, being kidnapped himself:

One day, as I was watching at the top of a tree in our yard, I saw one of those people come into the yard of our next neighbour but one, to kidnap, there being many stout young people in it. Immediately on this I gave the alarm of the rogue, and he was surrounded by the stoutest of them, who entangled him with cords, so that he could not escape till some of the grown people came and secured him. But alas! ere long, it was my fate to be thus attacked.
These memoirs helped to sway public opinion that slavery needed to be abolished. Many British people joined the fight for abolition, too.

An earlier act called the abolition of the Slave Trade Act was passed in Britain on 25 March 1807, which was an act that prohibited participating in the slave trade, but not slavery itself.
However, ships that had lawfully been cleared to leave British ports before 1 May 1807 could trade until 1 March 1808. It is estimated that 34 ships left British ports for Africa after 1 May.

Throughout the duration of the transatlantic slave trade it is estimated that around 12 million African people boarded ships to traded.
At least a third of these 12 million had been taken by British traders to the Americas to be enslaved.

The cost
The introduction of the Abolition of Slavery Act 1834 cost the UK government around £20 million in what they called at the time Slave Compensation. This money was paid to the slave owners and masters as they argued they were losing money because they no longer had a slave to work for them. Those who were enslaved and no longer owned by a master did not receive any compensation.

This £20 million was only recently paid off in 2015. The year 2015 is significant for the UK and the abolition of slavery for another reason too, as this is when the UK Modern Slavery Act came into action. This new law was created because although the legal and open business of transatlantic slave trade had been abolished, it was recognised that slavery still exists today and more was needed to be done to eradicate it.

The present
Modern slavery, like slavery seen in the transatlantic trade, is the holding of someone through physical and psychological means to force them to perform a service for benefit. The service can be for a range of reasons, including picking cotton and cutting sugar cane as seen hundreds of years ago. Both historic and present slavery cause significant physical and psychological harms to those men, women and children enslaved and exploited.

Just like in the 18th and 19th centuries, there are abolitionists today. All over the world, survivors, organisations, law enforcement, academics and members of the public are rallying together to abolish slavery, again. Abolitionist efforts today may look a bit different with the advancements in technology and growth of social media, but the message from them is the same: slavery must end

2 nd August 1973

                      Summerlands disaster:
                                                        A flash fire kills 50 people at the Summerland amusement centre at Douglas, Isle of Man.

The Summerland disaster occurred when a fire spread through the Summerland leisure centre in Douglas on the Isle of Man on the night of 2 August 1973. 50 people were killed and 80 seriously injured. The scale of the fire has been compared to those seen during the Blitz.


Background
Summerland was opened on 25 May 1971. It was a climate-controlled building covering 3.5 acres (1.4 ha) on Douglas's waterfront, consisting of 50,000 sq ft (4,600 m2) of floor area constructed at a cost of £2 million. The building's exterior and the interior were designed by two different architects—they did not coordinate their planning with each other and thereby created a venue with significant fire risks that were to become apparent only later.

Summerland was designed to accommodate up to 10,000 tourists and consisted of a dance hall, five floors of holiday games, a rollerskating rink, restaurants and public bars. It was an example of Modernist architecture incorporating advanced controlled internal climate, built with novel construction techniques using new plastic materials. The street frontage and part of the roof was clad in Oroglas, a transparent acrylic glass sheeting.

Fire
The fire started at around 7:30 p.m. on 2 August 1973 when approximately 3,000 people were inside and was caused by three boys who were smoking in a small disused kiosk on the centre's miniature golf course, and who told police it was likely started by a carelessly discarded match or stub. The burning kiosk collapsed against the exterior of the building. This part of the building was clad in a material called Galbestos: profiled steel sheeting with asbestos felt on both sides coated with bitumen, with no fire-resistant qualities. The fire spread to the wall's interior soundproofing material, which was highly combustible, causing an intense fire that ignited the flammable acrylic sheeting that covered the rest of the building. The fire quickly spread across the sheeting on the leisure centre walls and roof and through vents which were not properly fireproofed. The acrylic material melted, allowing more oxygen to enter and dropping burning molten material, both starting other fires and injuring those trying to escape. The building's open-plan design included many unblocked internal spaces that acted as chimneys, adding to the conflagration.

There was no attempt to evacuate the 3,000 people present until the visible evidence of the flames prompted a panic-stricken mass rush for the exits. The fire was contained in an internal space within the walls until it penetrated the interior, destroying the wiring of the fire alarm system in the process. One survivor (who was a child at the time) remembered her father noticing smoke coming from the ventilation shaft and had started to attempt to evacuate when the whole area erupted in flames. The survivor and her mother were separated from her father and sister and stuck in the venue before being rescued through a window by firemen.

Because of the locked fire doors, many people headed to the main entrance, which caused a crush.

The fire services were not called for over 20 minutes, and even then the call did not originate from Summerland. Instead, the first call came from a passing taxi driver, while another came from the captain of a ship 2 miles (3.2 km) offshore who radioed HM Coastguard and said, "It looks as if the whole of the Isle of Man is on fire". The Coastguard immediately called the fire brigade. The first responding fire crews realised additional resources would be required, and almost every resource available to the Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service was mobilised to the incident (93 of its 106 firefighters and all 16 of its engines).

23 rd August 1946

Worlds first theme park:
Santa Claus Land, the world's first themed amusement park, opens in Santa Claus, Indiana, United States.

A Brief History
On August 3, 1946, post-war Americans were ready for a good time and were able to find it at the country’s first “theme-park” type of amusement park at Santa Claus Land in southern Indiana.

Digging Deeper
Surprisingly, today, the park, which is now known as Holiday World, is not only dedicated to Christmas, as it was originally, but also to the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving and Halloween! The name change occurred in 1984 to better reflect the park’s diversity. Holiday World is constantly being upgraded and just keeps getting better and better. If you like dogs, the Fourth of July section even has a sub-section called “Holidog’s Fun Town,” a dog-themed kiddie section. Of course, each section (including “Holidog”) has its own mascot.


With approximately 1 million visitor a year and boasting 51 rides and live entertainment, the 120-acre park also has a water park known as “Splashin’ Safari” where the 2 longest water roller coasters in the world (both over 1,700 feet long) and “Zoombabwe,” the longest enclosed water slide in the world, can be found.

Furthermore, the park’s premier coaster, “The Raven,” is one of the top-ranked wooden roller coasters in the world and has previously been rated #1 in the world for 4 years. Another wooden coaster, “The Legend,” has been ranked as high as 4th in the world.

In 2004, the park won the prestigious Applause Award, becoming the smallest amusement park to ever win the bi-annual award.

In addition to winning awards for its rides, it has also won awards for its cleanliness. In fact it won the Cleanest Park Award fifteen times in a row from 2000-2014, an incredible streak! It has also won the Friendliest Park Award from 1998 through 2008 and then again in 2010 and 2011.

4 th August 1704

Gibralter:
War of the Spanish Succession: Gibraltar is captured by an English and Dutch fleet, commanded by Admiral Sir George Rooke and allied with Archduke Charles.

The History of Gibraltar.

The six square kilometres of the Rock of Gibraltar are steeped in history, from the very beginning around 100,000 years ago when primitive humans and Neanderthals fished the shoreline and inhabited the limestone caves, to visiting Phoenician and later Roman seafarers. It was the Moors of Tarek ibn Ziyad however that first settled the Rock in 711AD, and since then, this much-prized site and its people have witnessed many sieges and battles over the centuries.

The position of Gibraltar guarding the entrance to the Mediterranean is unrivalled, and has for many years been fought over by Spain, France and Britain, all claiming possession.

Gibraltar was captured by the British Fleet in 1704 during the war of the Spanish Succession. On 4th August 1704, an Anglo-Dutch fleet under the command of Admiral George Rooke took Gibraltar from the Spanish. From dawn on that day and for the next five hours, some 15,000 canons were fired from the fleet into the city. The invaders, led by the English majority, landed the same morning and not surprisingly encountered little opposition.

Under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 Gibraltar was ceded to Britain. This treaty stated “the town, castle and fortifications were to be held and enjoyed for ever without any exception or impediment whatsoever.” This treaty was renewed again in 1763 by the Treaty of Paris, and in 1783 by the Treaty of Versailles.

But of course that hasn’t stopped other countries trying to seize Gibraltar over the centuries. As Spain waited for an opportunity to retake the Rock, sieges became a common occurrence for Gibraltar.

In 1726, war was about to break out as Spanish forces were massed round the Rock. Unfortunately the defences were not in good repair and the garrison only numbered 1,500 men. After a siege and heavy bombardment by the Spanish (during which their guns blew-up and the gun-barrels began to droop), a truce was declared in 1727.

In 1779, what became known as the Great Siege began and the numerous tunnels that are a feature of the Rock are a legacy from this time. This siege lasted from 1779-1783 and reached its climax in 1782. The Spanish planned an attack from the sea and land, preceded by a heavy bombardment. The Spanish ships were carefully prepared with wet sand and wet cork between the timbers and a sprinkler system to put out fires caused by red-hot shot. However this did not work and by the end of the attack on 13th September, the Bay was ‘lit-up’ by burning ships.

During this long siege the Gibraltarians suffered greatly through lack of food. General Eliott was the Governor at this time; he had arrived at the Rock in 1776 and showed himself to be a great leader and planner. As an example to his men he lived on 4 ounces of rice a day when the siege was at its height.

Official Government of GibraltarIt was during this siege that a Lieutenant Koehler solved the problem of how to fire the cannons from a steep angle of depression, from high up on the Rock down onto the besieging forces. Lieutenant Shrapnel, another of the garrison at that time, developed the ammunition that still bears his name.

The numerous tunnels that are still in use today were the responsibility of a Sergeant-Major Ince, and these tunnels made it possible for the guns to bear down onto the Mediterranean shore. Sergeant-Major Ince may have made better tunnels than he realised as they were used for the same purpose, gun emplacements, in the Second World War, and were invaluable to the Allied Forces.

The British had between 5,500 and 7,000 men and only 96 guns during the Great Siege, and the Spanish and French forces numbered 40,000 men and 246 guns. As the British didn’t surrender, hostilities finally ceased in February 1783…. a great triumph for General Eliott!

Gibraltar has always been part of British history. Admiral Lord Nelson and the Fleet visited Gibraltar in May 1805, and after the nearby Battle of Trafalgar in October of that year, Nelson’s body, embalmed in a cask of wine, was brought ashore at Rosia Bay to be returned to England for burial. In the Trafalgar Cemetery there are several members of Nelson’s crew buried there and many members of the Garrison, as at this time there was also an epidemic of Yellow Fever resulting in 1,000 deaths.

Gibraltar’s unique position proved invaluable during World War II. Most of the civilian population were evacuated, except for 4,000 who fought with great courage to defend the freedom of the Rock. There is an old superstition that if the Apes leave the Rock; the British will go as well. Sir Winston Churchill made sure during World War II that the number of Apes was kept up. He even had some Apes, so it is rumoured, brought out from Africa to maintain their numbers.

In 1968 a Referendum was taken on whether the people of Gibraltar wanted to remain with Britain or with Spain. 12,762 voted to stay with Britain and ONLY 44 voted for Spanish sovereignty.

In the more recent referendum of November 2002, the people of Gibraltar again showed their desire to remain British by an overwhelming margin.

The Chief Minister of Gibraltar at the time, Peter Caruana eloquently summed up the feeling of the its people when he commented “There is more chance of hell freezing over than the people of Gibraltar accepting Spanish sovereignty in any shape or form.”

5 th August 2010

Chilean miners disaster:
The Copiapó mining accident occurs, trapping 33 Chilean miners approximately 2,300 ft (700 m) below the ground for 69 days.

The Incredible Story Of Chilean Miners Rescued From The 'Deep Down Dark'.

The disaster began on a day shift around lunchtime at a mine in Chile's Atacama Desert: Miners working deep inside a mountain, excavating for copper, gold and other minerals, started feeling vibrations. Suddenly, there was a massive explosion and the passageways of the mine filled up with a gritty dust cloud.

When the dust settled, the men discovered the source of the explosion: "A single block of [stone] as tall as a forty-five-story building, had broken off from the rest of the mountain and had fallen through the layers of the mine ... causing a chain reaction as the mountain above it began collapsing too."

Thirty-three miners were sealed inside the mountain by this "megablock" of stone, some 770,000 tons of it, "twice the weight of the Empire State building." Staring at that flat, smooth wall, Luis Urzua, the crew's supervisor, thought: "It was like the stone they put over Jesus's tomb."

If the beginning of this horror tale seems the stuff of legend or nightmare, the conclusion is reasurringly familiar, because some 1 billion of us viewers around the world watched it unfold on live TV.

On Oct. 13, 2010, all 33 of those Chilean miners trapped for 69 days inside the San Jose Mine were raised to the surface of the earth — resurrected — through a newly drilled escape tunnel into which a capsule was slowly lowered and raised by a giant crane. It was a feat of engineering and a triumph of faith. Neither the miners buried under half a mile of rock nor their families above ground in a makeshift tent city called Campo Esperanza — "Camp Hope" — ever completely succumbed to despair, despite the fact that for 17 days, before a drill finally broke through to "The Refuge," the room where the men were gathered, no one knew whether they were alive.



Hector Tobar, a former journalist for the Los Angeles Times, spent three years and hundreds of hours interviewing all 33 miners for Deep Down Dark.

Tobar had exclusive access to the miners, and while that kind of snug situation inevitably places some constraints on a storyteller, Tobar complicates the purely uplifting version of the men's ordeal, describing occasional resentments and petty thievery. Nonetheless, the most inspiring aspect of the miners' behavior was their almost immediate decision to act in solidarity. On the first day of their entombment, supervisor Urzua took off his distinctive white helmet and announced to his workers, "We are all equal now. ... There are no bosses and employees.

Some of the miners regarded Urzua's act as an abdication of responsibility; others saw it as a crucial factor that inspired their collective behavior and survival. The men organized themselves into work shifts, participated in daily prayer sessions, and rationed their emergency food supply into one meal a day of two cookies and a spoonful of tuna fish, augmented by water drained from industrial waste containers. Above ground, the mostly female crowd of the miners' families acted collectively too: banging pots and pans to get attention and shouting, "We want information," in police officers' faces.

You're made of sterner stuff than I am if, as a reader, you can keep from tearing up at that glorious moment on Day 17 when engineers on the surface draw up that rescue drill and discover a note tied to the bit that reads: "WE ARE WELL IN THE REFUGE [SIGNED] THE 33."

6 th August 1945.

World War II: Hiroshima:
Japan is devastated when the atomic bomb "Little Boy" is dropped by the United States B-29 Enola Gay. Around 70,000 people are killed instantly, and some tens of thousands die in subsequent years from burns and radiation poisoning.

The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

World War II marked the first—and only—wartime use of atomic weapons.

On August 6, 1945, at approximately 8:15 a.m. locally, the B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped the atomic bomb “Little Boy” on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. On the ground, the city was alive with morning activity when the bomb detonated in a blinding explosion. As many as 70,000 people were killed instantly. Those who survived the initial blast were hit with a powerful shockwave that leveled nearly every structure within a mile of the impact. It was followed by intense heat that created a firestorm that engulfed the city and claimed even more lives.

Later that day, President Harry Truman informed the American people of the U.S. military’s use of this new form of weaponry and threatened future bombings if Japan did not surrender unconditionally as outlined in the July 26, 1945, Potsdam Declaration. After Japan failed to act, the United States dropped a second atomic bomb, “Fat Man,” over the city of Nagasaki on the morning of August 9. Another 35-40,000 people perished. Soviet forces also invaded Japanese-occupied Manchuria in China that day, further crippling the Japanese military.

Finally, on August 15, the Emperor of Japan issued an Imperial Rescript proclaiming his acceptance of the provisions of the Potsdam Declaration. World War II ended when Japan formally surrendered on September 2, 1945.

“A single plane . . . can now wipe out a city”

Luis Alvarez was a physicist who worked on the Manhattan Project, which developed the atomic weapons dropped over Japan. He served as a scientific observer on the Hiroshima mission and drafted this letter (pictured below) to his son describing the bombing during the return flight. In this typed copy of the letter, Alvarez wrote: “What regrets I have about being a party to killing and maiming thousands of Japanese civilians this morning are tempered with the hope that this terrible weapon we have created may bring the countries of the world together to prevent further wars.”

The exact death toll of Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings is impossible to know. At least 100,000 deaths directly resulted from the attacks. A minimum of another 100,000 people also died from illnesses caused by radiation exposure in the weeks, months, and decades that followed.



Historians continue to debate the United States’ decision to use nuclear weapons to end World War II. Supporters argue that the bombs were necessary to save American lives and bring a swift end to the war. Opponents contend that the bombs were unnecessary to defeat a severely weakened Japan. In 1945, however, the American people overwhelmingly supported the decision to bring an end to the deadliest war in history.

7 th August 1974
        The artistic crime of the century:
                                        Philippe Petit performs a high wire act between the twin towers of the World Trade Center 1,368 feet (417 m) in the air.

                              When a French Daredevil Walked a Tightrope Between the Twin Towers
On August 7, 1974, New York awoke to find aerialist Philippe Petit walking on a wire between the 110-story World Trade Center towers.

                       A little more than an hour after dawn broke over Manhattan, an elfin man stood precariously on the edge of the south tower of the World Trade Center. Dressed in a black V-neck sweater, black pants and thin black slippers, 24-year-old Philippe Petit stepped off the 110-story building and tiptoed onto the sky.

With his hands clutching a large balancing pole and toes gripping a taut steel cable, the daring French aerialist began a death-defying 140-foot walk to the building’s northern twin with no harness, no safety net. The only thing underneath Petit was certain death as he walked between the two tallest skyscrapers in the world.

A quarter-mile below on the streets of lower Manhattan, New Yorkers craned their necks skyward toward the heavens and strained to see the black speck silhouetted against the gray morning sky. To the anxious crowd, the daredevil appeared to be walking on air. Petit could hear the blare of sirens and the murmur of the ant-like figures below his feet grow as news of his stunt spread.
                  For Petit, each step fulfilled a dream first hatched in the waiting room of a Parisian dentist more than six years before.

Barely 18 years old in the winter of 1968, Petit had already decided to move beyond his street-juggling act to become a “high wire artist supreme.” As he scanned a French newspaper while waiting in the dank dentist’s office, the teenager’s eyes lit up at an illustration showing an outline of the Eiffel Tower superimposed on the architectural models of the proposed Twin Towers for what the newspaper erroneously called the “Trade World Center” of New York.
                      Taking a pencil from behind his ear, Petit drew a wire between the roofs of the matching skyscrapers that were to be the tallest in the world. Ignoring his painful cavities, Petit tore the illustration from the newspaper, bolted from the office and filed it inside a large red box stored underneath his bed that was labeled “Projects.”

              Finally, on August 6, 1974, Petit was ready to implement his covert operation to pull off the illicit walk. That afternoon, Petit and a handful of accomplices loaded their supplies into a van and drove to the World Trade Center. Disguised as construction workers and carrying fake identification cards from the faux Fisher Industrial Fence Co., Petit and two cohorts passed through security and transported hundreds of pounds of cable up the freight elevator.

Another pair of accomplices dressed as office workers and entered the north tower with a blueprint tube with a crossbow inside. Roving security guards caused both teams to hide for hours upon end, but after dark they reached the roofs of the towers. The team on the north tower shot an arrow carrying a cord across the abyss to the south tower and then passed heavier lines and eventually a steel cable.
                             As Petit Performed, Police Waited to Arrest Him
By 7 a.m., the work to tighten the cable had been completed and Petit stepped out high above Gotham. A few minutes into the walk, policemen arrived on the rooftop but Petit only laughed and smiled. He knew they were powerless to do anything until the walk ended—one way or another.

The policemen could only lean against the girders and watch with everyone else as the lithe acrobat made eight trips across the wire, even kneeling down at times without losing his balance. Finally, after 45 minutes, Petit returned to solid ground.
                    The policemen immediately handcuffed the aerialist and read him his Miranda rights. After undergoing a psychiatric examination at a local hospital, Petit was booked for disorderly conduct and criminal trespassing. Under details of the complaint, an officer wrote only: “Man on Wire.” That afternoon, Manhattan’s district attorney dropped all charges in return for a free aerial performance in Central Park.

“My punishment is the most beautiful punishment I could have received,” the daredevil told reporters. When asked why he attempted the walk, he said, “If I see three oranges, I have to juggle. And if I see two towers, I have to walk.”
Petit instantly became a folk hero. Upon his release, spectators cheered and policemen asked him for autographs. Time magazine called the high-wire act the “artistic crime of the century.” Even the owners of the World Trade Center forgave Petit and gave him a lifetime pass to the observation deck.

8 th August 1969

Abbey Road:
At a zebra crossing in London, photographer Iain Macmillan takes the iconic photo that becomes the cover image of the Beatles' album Abbey Road.

The Beatles' Abbey Road at 55: How was the iconic album cover made?

2024 marks 55 years since one of the most iconic albums (and its famous cover) was made: Abbey Road by The Beatles.

On the face of it, it's rather simple. The Fab Four walking in unison along a zebra crossing near to the then-EMI Studios in Abbey Road.

However, like with everything connected to The Beatles, it quickly became a hugely inspirational and memorable shot. But who took it and who came up with the idea?

Who designed the Abbey Road cover?
The cover was designed by Apple Records creative director Kosh. It became the only UK Beatles album cover to include no artist name or album title. This was Kosh's idea, despite EMI claiming it would not sell without the information.

He later said that "we didn't need to write the band's name on the cover ... They were the most famous band in the world".

Who came up with the idea and who took the photo?
The front cover was based on ideas drawn by Paul McCartney, and was taken on August 8, 1969, outside EMI Studios in Abbey Road.

At 11.35am, photographer Iain Macmillan was tasked with taking the perfect photo in just 10 minutes. To do this, he stood on a step-ladder, while a policeman held up traffic behind the camera.

Macmillan took six photographs in total, which McCartney later studied with a magnifying glass before picking his ideal shots that would be used for the album.

Read more: The Story of... 'Yesterday' by The Beatles

What appears on the cover?
The final shot chosen by McCartney sees the group walking across the street in single file from left to right, with John Lennon leading, followed by Ringo Starr, McCartney, and George Harrison.

McCartney is barefoot and slightly out of step with the other members. Aside from Harrison, the group are wearing suits designed by Tommy Nutter.

Also in the photo, parked next to the zebra crossing, is a white Volkswagen Beetle, which belonged to one of the people living in a nearby block of flats. When the album was released, the number plate (LMW 281F) was stolen many times from the car. In 1986, the car was sold at auction for £2,530.

In 2004, it was claimed that retired American salesman Paul Cole (who later died in 2008) was the man standing on the pavement to the right of the picture.

What is the 'Paul is Dead' theory?
Soon after the album's release, the cover became the basis of the 'Paul is dead', which claimed that the cover depicted the Beatles walking out of a cemetery in a funeral procession.

The procession was led by Lennon, seen in white as some kind of religious figure. Starr is dressed in black and is the undertaker. McCartney, who is out of step with the others, is a barefoot corpse. Harrison, seen in denim, is the gravedigger.

Is the crossing still there?
The crossing remains a popular place for Beatles fans around the world. A webcam has operated at the site since 2011.

In 2010, the crossing was given grade II listed status for its "cultural and historical importance".

A great album and an iconic picture.
It was the last album The Beatles recorded, but not the last album they released, that was ‘Let it be’.
Work on the ‘Let it be’ album was temporarily shelved after a bit of a falling out, and was released in May 1970 as their final album.

Early dart tomorrow foa Blackpool weekend , heres weekends history, back Monday tea time ish.

9 th August 1902

Edward V11 coronation:
Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark are crowned King and Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

Coronation of Edward VII and Alexandra

The coronation of Edward VII and his wife, Alexandra, as king and queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions took place at Westminster Abbey, London, on 9 August 1902. Originally scheduled for 26 June of that year, the ceremony had been postponed at very short notice, because the King had been taken ill with an abdominal abscess that required immediate surgery. In contrast to the coronation of Queen Victoria, Edward's mother and predecessor, some 64 years earlier, Edward and Alexandra's coronation had been carefully planned as a spectacle reflecting the influence and culture of the British Empire, then at the height of its power, but also as a meaningful religious occasion.

10 th August 991

Battle of Maldon.
Battle of Maldon: The English, led by Byrhtnoth, Ealdorman of Essex, are defeated by a band of inland-raiding Vikings near Maldon, Essex.


Battle of Maldon
The Battle of Maldon took place on English soil on the 10th August 991 A. D. approximately two miles south-east of Maldon, in Essex, during the reign of Æthelred the Unready.

Attacked by Vikings from Norway Sweden and Denmark since the 700’s, Saxon England would respond to Viking raids. By this point in English history the main difference between Saxons and Vikings was that the Saxon English were Chritianised and the Vikings still believers in the Northern European Gods. Otherwise Saxons and Vikings would look, sound, dress, and fight in a similar way.

One day in August 991, a Viking fleet of approximately ninety long-ships, carrying between two and four thousand men, sailed into the estuary of the Blackwater river (Pante). Facing them on the shore was Byrhtnōþ, the second nobleman of the realm, with an army drawn from the common households of the region.

Earl Byrhtnōþ and his Thegns bravely led the Saxons against the Viking invasion led by King Olaf of Norway. In the poem, edited by S. A. Swaffington, author of Offa: Rise of the Englisc Warrior, a messenger addresses the Saxons, promising to sail away if they paid him with gold and armour (dangeld).

Byrhtnōþ replied, ‘We will pay you with spear-tips and sword blades.’

11 th August 1315


The great famine of 1315-17 :

The Great Famine of Europe becomes so dire that even the king of England has difficulties buying bread for himself and his entourage.

Great Famine

Europe in 1328
In the spring of 1315, unusually heavy rain began in much of Europe. Throughout the spring and the summer, it continued to rain, and the temperature remained cool. Under such conditions, grain could not ripen, leading to widespread crop failures. Grains were brought indoors in urns and pots to keep dry. The straw and hay for the animals could not be cured, so there was no fodder for the livestock. The soil became extremely moist from the heavy rain, making it impossible to plow the fields ready for planting. In England, lowlands in Yorkshire and Nottingham were flooded, while stew ponds on the River Foss in Yorkshire were washed away.

The price of food began to rise. Prices in England doubled between spring and midsummer. Salt, the only way to cure and preserve meat, was difficult to obtain because brine could not be effectively evaporated in wet weather. As a result, its price increased from 30 to 40 shillings. In Lorraine, wheat prices rose by 320%, making bread unaffordable to peasants. Stores of grain for long-term emergencies were limited to royalty, lords, nobles, wealthy merchants, and the Church. Because of the general increased population pressures, even lower-than-average harvests meant some people would go hungry; there was little margin for failure. People began to harvest wild edible roots, grasses, nuts, and bark in the forests.

A number of documented incidents show the extent of the famine. Edward II of England stopped at St Albans on 10 August 1315 and had difficulty finding bread for himself and his entourage; it was a rare occasion in which the king of England was unable to eat. In Bristol, the city's chronicles reported that in 1315 there was: 'a great Famine of Dearth with such mortality that the living could scarce suffice to bury the dead, horse flesh and dogs flesh was accounted good meat, and some eat their own children. The thieves that were in Prison did pluck and tear in pieces, such as were newly put into prison and devoured them half alive.'

The French, under Louis X, tried to invade Flanders, but in low-lying areas of the Netherlands, the fields were soaked and the army became bogged down and were forced to retreat, burning their provisions where they abandoned them, unable to carry them away.

In spring 1316, it continued to rain on a European population deprived of energy and reserves to sustain itself. All segments of society from nobles to peasants were affected but especially the peasants, who represented 95% of the population and who had no reserve food supplies. To provide some measure of relief, the future was mortgaged by slaughtering the draft animals, eating the seed grain, abandoning children to fend for themselves (see "Hansel and Gretel") and, among old people, voluntary starvation so that the younger generation could continue to work the fields. The chroniclers of the time noted many incidents of cannibalism. It was reported that during the famine, people would open the graves of the newly dead and claim them as food. Though "one can never tell if such talk was not simply a matter of rumor-mongering", as Lynn H. Nelson comments.

The height of the famine was in 1317, as the wet weather continued. In that summer, the weather returned to normal patterns. By then, people were so weakened by diseases such as pneumonia, bronchitis, and tuberculosis, and so much of the seed stock had been eaten, that it was not until 1325 that the food supply returned to relatively normal levels and the population began to increase. Historians debate the toll, but it is estimated that 10–25% of the population of many cities and towns died. Though the Black Death (1347–1351) would kill more people, it often swept through an area in a matter of months, whereas the Great Famine lingered for years, prolonging the suffering of the populace.

Jean-Pierre Leguay noted the Great Famine "produced wholesale slaughter in a world that was already overcrowded, especially in the towns, which were natural outlets for rural overpopulation." Estimates of death rates vary by place, but some examples include a loss of 10–15% in the south of England. Northern France lost about 10% of its population.