It happened today – this day in history – February 5
- It happened today – this day in history – October 22 - 22/10/2021
- It happened today – this day in history – October 21 - 21/10/2021
- It happened today – this day in history – October 20 - 20/10/2021
1597: A group of early Japanese Christians, known as the 26 Martyrs, are crucified in Nagasaki by the new government of Japan for being seen as a threat to Japanese society.
1649: The Prince of Wales is proclaimed King Charles II of Great Britain by the Covenanter Parliament of Scotland.
1782: The British garrison in Menorca surrenders to the French and Spanish fleet as part of the American Revolutionary War.
1788: Birth of Robert Peel, founder of the Conservative Party and founder of the modern police force.
1811: Prince George, Prince of Wales, later George IV, is appointed as Prince-Regent after his father King George III is recognized as insane due to mental illness.
1865: Battle of Hatcher’s Run, Virginia, in the American Civil War.
1870: The first motion picture is shown to a theatre audience in Philadelphia.
1887: Guiseppe Verdi’s opera “Otello” premieres at La Scala in Italy.
1900: The US and the UK sign a treaty for the Panama Canal. On the same day, British troops under Gen Buller occupy Vaal Krantz, Natal.
1914: Birth of author William S Burroughs.
1918: Separation of church and state begins in the USSR.
1919: The film studio United Artists is founded by Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and D W Griffith.
1922: Reader’s Digest magazine is first published.
1924: The Royal Greenwich Observatory begin broadcasting the hourly time signals known as the Greenwich Time Signal or the “BBC pips”.
1927: Buster Keaton’s film The General premieres in New York.
1931: Malcolm Campbell sets world land speed record speed of 246.08 mph driving his Blue Bird car at Daytona Beach, Florida.
1936: “Modern Times”, directed by, written by and starring Charlie Chaplin is released.
1938: The British Empire Games open in Sydney, Australia.
1940: Glenn Miller and his Orchestra record “Tuxedo Junction”.
1945: US troops under General Douglas MacArthur enter Manilla.
1953: The rationing of confectionery in Britain ends after 10 years.
1957: Five thousand fans are at Southampton as Bill Haley arrives from New York on the liner Queen Elizabeth for his debut UK concert tour.
1962: French President Charles de Gaulle calls for Algeria’s independence.
1967: The Beatles film part of the promo clip for Penny Lane around the Royal Theatre, Stratford, east London.
1968: A trawler from Hull sinks off the coast of Iceland with all hands on board – the third in as many weeks.
1971: Apollo 14 lands on the moon. Alan Shepard and Edward Mitchell walk on the surface for four hours.
1972: In a Fourth Round FA Cup replay Southern League Hereford United defeat First Division Newcastle United 2-1 on a mud-soaked pitch thanks to an 86th minute wonder goal from Ronnie Radford and an extra time winner from Ricky George.
1974: British miners strike in reaction to the three-day week.
1976: Bill Haley and his Comets saxophonist Rudy Pompilli dies of lung cancer aged 52.
1982: Budget airliner Laker Airways collapses owing £270 million to banks and other creditors.
1994: A Serbian mortar bomb explodes in the main market square in Sarajevo killing 68 and wounding 200 people.
1996: Sainbury and Safeway begin stocking the first genetically modified food. The tomato puree had been produced from tomatoes which had the rotting gene removed.
1997: O J Simpson is found liable in the deaths of Ron Goldman and Nicole Simpson in a civil court action.
2004: Twenty-three Chinese people drown when a group of 35 cockle-pickers are trapped by rising tides in Morecambe Bay.
2006: The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Seattle Seahawks, 21-10 to win the Super Bowl in Detroit.
Singles chart:
- Nasty Girl – Notorious B.I.G./Diddy/Nelly
- Run It – Chris Brown ft Juelz Santana
- Boys Will Be Boys – The Ordinary Boys
- Check On It – Boyonce ft Slim Thug
- You Spin Me Round – Dead Or Allive
- Say Say Say (Waiting 4 U) – Hi Tack
- That’s My Goal – Shayne Ward
- When The Sun Goes Down – Arctic Monkeys
- All Time Love – Will Young
- JCB Song – Nizlopi
Album chart:
- Whatever People Say I Am That’s What I’m Not – Arctic Monkeys
- Keys To The World – Richard Ashcroft
- Back To Bedlam – James Blunt
- Keep On – Will Young
- Stars Of CCTV – Hard Fi
- Employment – Kaiser Chiefs
- Veneer – Jose Gonzalez
- From Daniel With Love – Daniel O’Donnell
- The Back Room – Editors
- Breakaway – Kelly Clarkson
2008: The Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, guru to The Beatles and developer of transcendental meditation, dies aged 90.
2012: The New York Giants beat the New England Patriots, 21-17 to win the Super bowl in Indianapolis.
2013: The House of Commons votes in favour of same-sex marriage.
2015: Gary Glitter is convicted of child sex abuse charges in London.
2017: The New England Patriots featuring quarterback Tom Brady defeat the Atlanta Falcons, 34-28 to win the Super Bowl in Houston, Texas.
2019: Pope Francis admits for the first time that clerics have sexually abused nuns.
2020: The US Senate votes to acquit President Donald Trump 52-48 on charges of abuse of power and 53-47 on obstruction of Congress. On the same day, actor Kirk Douglas (Issur Danielovitch) dies aged 103.
BIRTHDAYS: Barrett Strong, songwriter, 80; Michael Mann, director, 78; Al Kooper (Kuperschmidt), musician/producer, 77; Charlotte (Tessa) Rampling, 75; Christopher Guest, director/actor, 73; Barbara Hershey, actress, 73; Tom Wilkinson, actor, 73; Sven-Göran Eriksson, football manager, 73; Russell Grant, astronomer, 70; Jennifer Jason Leigh (Jennifer Leigh Morrow), actress, 59; Laura Linney, actress, 57; Duff (Michael) McKagan, bassist (Guns N’ Roses) 57; José María Olazábal, golfer, 55; Michael Sheen, actor, 52; Ben Ainslie, Olympic yachtsman, 44; Carlos Tevez, footballer, 37; Cristiano Ronaldo (dos Santos Aveiro), footballer, 36; Jeremy Sumpter, actor, 31; Neymar (da Silva Santos Júnior), footballer, 29.
