It happened today – this day in history – April 3
- It happened today – this day in history – October 21 - 21/10/2021
- It happened today – this day in history – October 20 - 20/10/2021
- It happened today – this day in history – October 19 - 19/10/2021
1043: Edward the Confessor is crowned King of England.
1367: Henry IV is born in Bolingbroke Castle, Lincs.
1657: Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell refuses the crown.
1721: Robert Walpole becomes Britain’s 1st Lord of the Treasury – effectively Prime Minister, although that term was never officially used.
1860: The Pony Express began between St Joseph Mo & Sacramento, California.
1882: Outlaw Jesse James is killed by Robert Ford at home in St Joseph, Missouri.
1913: Suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst is sentenced to three years in jail.
1915: Oldham Athletic’s Billy Cook is sent off in the First Division match against Middlesbrough but refuses to leave the pitch so the referee abandons the game. Cook receives a 12-month ban.
1920: Author F Scott Fitzgerald marries novelist Zelda Sayre in New York.
1922: Joseph Stalin is appointed General Secretary of the Russian Communist Party by an ailing Lenin.
1933: First airplane flight over Mt Everest.
1941: Churchill warns Stalin that a German invasion of Russia is imminent.
1945: The Dutch city of Hengelo is freed from Nazi control by the Canadian Army.
1948: President Truman signs the Marshall Plan which authorises $5billion in aid to 16 European countries.
1950: A fire destroys much of the West Stand at Huddersfield Town’s Leeds Road ground.
1951: Film star Doris Day marries producer Martin Melcher in Burbank, California.
1953: Singles chart:
- She Wears Red Feathers – Guy Mitchell
- Broken Wings – Stargazers
- Now – Al Martino
- (How Much Is) That Doggie In The Window – Lita Roza
- Don’t Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes – Perry Como with the Ramblers
- Wonderful Copenhagen – Danny Kaye
- Oh Happy Day – The Johnston Brothers
- Because You’re Mine – Mario Lanza
- Outside Of Heaven – Eddie Fisher
- Little Red Monkey – Frank Chacksfield’s Tunesmiths
1954: Oxford wins the 100th Boat Race in rough conditions on the River Thames.
1957: Samuel Beckett’s “Endgame” premieres in London.
1958: Fidel Castro’s rebels attack Havana.
1960: Elvis Presley records It’s Now Or Never’, Fever and Are You Lonesome Tonight at RCA Studios in Nashville.
1964: The US and Panama agree to resume diplomatic relations.
1967: Working on The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album at EMI Studios in Abbey Road, St John’s Wood, George Harrison records the lead vocal on his song Within You Without You as well as a sitar part, and some acoustic guitar parts.
1970: As part of a new ‘get tough’ policy in Northern Ireland, Ian Freeland of the British Army, warns that those throwing petrol bombs could be shot dead.
1971: John Cook on 28/1 chance Specify wins the Grand National.
1973: The first mobile phone call is made in Manhattan by Motorola employee Martin Cooper to the Bell Labs headquarters in New Jersey.
1975: Bobby Fischer is stripped of the world chess title for refusing to defend it.
1976: Brotherhood of Man win the Eurovision Song Contest in The Hague with Save Your Kisses For Me. On the same day, Rag Trade ridden by John Burke, wins the Grand National at Aintree.
1978: Annie Hall wins best picture at the Academy Awards with writer/director Woody Allen winning Best Director and star Diane Keaton the Oscar for best actress in a leading role.
1979: Kate Bush kicks off her 28-date ‘Tour Of Life’ trek making her concert debut at Liverpool’s Empire Theatre. It would be her only UK-wide trek and her only live shows until 2014.
1981: Race riots break out in Brixton
On TV (Friday)
| THAMES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 09.30 | For Schools | ||
| 12.00 | The Magic Ball | ||
| 12.10 | Once Upon a Time | ||
| 12.30 | The Television Programme | ||
| 13.00 | News at One | ||
| 13.20 | Thames News | ||
| 13.30 | Together | ||
| 14.00 | After Noon Plus | ||
| 14.45 | Friday matinee | ||
| 16.15 | Five Magic Minutes | ||
| 16.20 | The Adventures of Black Beauty | ||
| 16.45 | Survival | ||
| 17.15 | Clapperboard | ||
| 17.45 | News | ||
| 18.00 | Thames News | ||
| 18.30 – 19.00 | Thames Sport | ||
| LONDON WEEKEND | |||
| 19.00 | Family Fortunes | ||
| 19.30 | Vegas | ||
| 20.30 | Holding the Fort Sit com starring Peter Davison, Patricia Hodge and Matthew Kelly | ||
| 21.00 | My Father’s House | ||
| 22.00 | News at Ten | ||
| 22.30 | Benson | ||
| 23.00 | The London Programme | ||
| 23.35 | Have Girls Will Travel | ||
| BBC ONE | |||
| 06.40 | Open University | ||
| 09.05 | For Schools, Colleges | ||
| 12.42 | Regional News | ||
| 12.45 | Midday News | ||
| 13.00 | Pebble Mill at One | ||
| 13.45 | How Do You Do? | ||
| 14.02 | For Schools, Colleges | ||
| 15.25 | Trem | ||
| 15.53 | Regional News | ||
| 15.55 | Play School | ||
| 16.20 | Heyyy, It’s the King | ||
| 16.30 | Jackanory | ||
| 16.45 | Finders Keepers | ||
| 17.10 | Homer and the Wacky Doughnut Machine | ||
| 17.35 | Fred Basset | ||
| 17.40 | Evening News | ||
| 17.55 | Regional news magazines and Nationwide | ||
| 19.00 | A Question of Sport Emlyn Hughes and Gareth Edwards captain two teams of sporting celebrities with David Coleman asking the questions. | ||
| 19.30 | Coming Home | ||
| 20.00 | Barry Manilow Concert from Wembley Arena | ||
| 20.50 | Points of View | ||
| 21.00 | Nine O’Clock News | ||
| 21.25 | Starsky and Hutch Police adventure starring David Soul and Paul Michael Glaser | ||
| 22.15 | London – Issues and Answers | ||
| 22.45 | News Headlines; Weather | ||
| 22.50 | The World Amateur Latin Dance Championships | ||
| 23.30 | The Late Film: The Woman in the Window (1944) Fritz Lang suspense thriller starring Edward G Robinson | ||
| BBC TWO | |||
| 06.40 | Open University | ||
| 07.55 | Closedown | ||
| 11.00 | Play School | ||
| 11.25 | Closedown | ||
| 14.20 | Racing from Aintree | ||
| 16.50 | Open University | ||
| 18.55 | Interval | ||
| 19.00 | Monkey | ||
| 19.40 | Mid-Evening News | ||
| 19.55 | Gardeners’ World | ||
| 20.25 | A More Than Equal Chance? | ||
| 21.00 | Call My Bluff Popular word quiz hosted by Robert Robinson | ||
| 21.30 | Playhouse: Elizabeth Alone A play in three parts by William Trevor | ||
| 22.40 | Cartoon Two | ||
| 22.45 | Newsnight | ||
| 23.30 | Friday Night…. Saturday Morning Barry Norman with late-night conversation and music |
1982: The UN Security Council demands Argentina withdraw from the Falkland Islands.
1987: The late Duchess of Windsor’s jewellery sells for £31m – six times the expected figure.
1990: Jazz singer Sarah Vaughan died from lung cancer.
1993: The Grand National steeplechase is declared void after 30 of the 39 riders fail to notice a false start had been called.
1996: US police arrest “Unabomber” Theodore Kaczynski in Montana.
1999: Liverpool’s Robbie Fowler celebrates scoring against Merseyside rivals Everton by getting down on all fours and sniffing the goal line. The striker had long been the target for unfounded allegations of drug-taking but his simulation of snorting a line of cocaine resulted in a ‘substantial’ club fine followed by the FA punishing him with a four-match ban and a £32,000 fine which was a record at the time. On the same day, composer Lionel Bart dies from cancer aged 69.
2002: Avant-garde electronic musician Frank Tovey of Fad Gadget dies of heart failure aged 45.
2003: Stax records songwriter Homer Banks died aged 61.
2004: Islamic terrorists involved in the March 11 Madrid attacks kill themselves after being trapped by police.
2005: Album chart:
- Definitve Collection – Tony Christie
- The Singles – Basement Jaxx
- Language Sex Violence Other – Stereophonics
- The Massacre – 50 Cent
- Waiting For The Siren’s Call – New Order
- G4 – G4
- Love Angel Music Baby – Gwen Stefani
- Lulabies To Paralyze – Queens Of The Stone Age
- Finally Woken – Jem
- Hot Fuss – The Killers
2006: Martin Gilks, drummer for The Wonder Stuff, dies aged 41, after losing control of his motorbike in London.
2009: Australia formally adopts the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
2010: Matt Smith’s first appearance as Doctor Who.
2013: Ebbsfleet United endure a nightmare journey to Barrow for a Conference match with the kick off delayed to 9.15pm and the final whistle being blown just after 11 o’clock.
2017: A bomb on the St Petersburg metro kills 11 people.
2019: Brunei brings into force new Sharia laws punishing gay sex and adultery with death by stoning, prompting widespread condemnation.
2020: US aircraft carrier captain Brett Crozier cheered off his ship after being fired for demanding more help for his sailors infected with COVID-19.
BIRTHDAYS: Dame Jane Goodall, anthropologist, 87; Jeff Barry, songwriter, 83; Tony Orlando (Michael Cassavitis), singer (Dawn) 77; Richard Thompson, guitarist/songwriter,72; Alec Baldwin, actor, 63; David Hyde Pierce, actor, 62; Eddie Murphy, comedian, 60; Simon Raymonde, bassist (The Cocteau Twins) 59; Nigel Farage, activist, 57; Sebastian Bach, singer (Skid Row) 53; Jamie Hewlett, artist (Gorillaz) 53; Matthew Priest, drummer (Dodgy) 50; Adam Scott, actor/comedian 48; Will Mellor, actor, 45; Matthew Goode, actor, 43; Cobie (Jacoba) Smulders, actress, 39; Ben Foster, goalkeeper, 38; Leona Lewis, singer, 36; Coleen Rooney, 35; Rachel Bloom, actress/writer, 34; Tim Krul, goalkeeper, 33; Gabriel Jesus, footballer, 24; Paris Jackson, model, 23.
