|
1
Jan. |
1622 |
The Catholic Church adopted 1 Jan as the beginning of the New
Year (instead of 25 March). |
|
2 Jan. |
1727 |
Birthday
of James Wolfe, British general who played a major part in the fight
for Canada with the French. |
|
3 Jan. |
1924 |
English explorer Howard Carter discovered the
tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings, near Luxor,
Egypt. |
|
4 Jan. |
1967 |
Death of Donald Campbell. His jet-powered speedboat Bluebird somersaulted
on Coniston Water, Cumbria, at a speed of 300-mph whilst attempting to
break his own world record of 276-mph.
|
|
5 Jan. |
1818 |
The first regular trans-Atlantic shipping service begins between
Liverpool and New York. |
|
6 Jan. |
1066 |
Harold Godwin, Earl of Wessex was elected by the Witan to be the
next King of England. |
Viking Warriors
|
|
7 Jan.
|
1558
|
English
forces were ousted from the French port of Calais. The town's
burghers had surrendered to an invading English army in 1346.
|
|
8 Jan.
|
794
|
Danish Vikings attack
Lindisfarne Island off the north-east coast of England and destroy
its famous church.
|
|
9 Jan. |
1806 |
Lord Nelson, naval commander and hero of the Battle of Trafalgar, is
buried at St. Paul's Cathedral in London.
|
|
10 Jan. |
1918 |
The House of
Lords gives its approval to the Representation of the People Bill,
which gives woman over the age of 30 the right to vote.
|
|
11 Jan. |
1569 |
The first state
lottery is held in England, with tickets on sale at the West Door of
St. Paul's Cathedral in London.
|
|
12
Jan.
|
1970
|
The first Boeing 747
Jumbo jet arrives at London's Heathrow Airport after
completing it's maiden transatlantic flight from New York.
|
|
13
Jan.
|
1893
|
The birth of a
new political party in Britain as James Keir Hardie unites
socialists under the banner of the Labour Representation Committee.
|
| 14
Jan.
|
1742
|
Death of Sir Edmund Halley, British
Astronomer Royal who gave his name to a comet.
|
|
| 15
Jan.
|
1559
|
Elizabeth I was crowned Queen of England
at the age of 26. Elizabeth is the daughter of Henry VIII's second
wife, Anne Boleyn.
|
|
16
Jan.
|
1780
|
British forces under
the command of Admiral Rodney defeat the Spanish at Cape St.
Vincent and relieve Gibraltar.
|
|
17
Jan.
|
1912
|
Britain's polar
explorers led by Captain Robert Falcon Scott reach the South Pole -
only to find the Norwegian Roald Amundsen's expedition had beaten
him by a month.
|
|
18
Jan. |
1485 |
After 30 years of
civil war the Royal Houses of Lancaster and York are united by the
marriage of Henry VII to the eldest daughter of Edward IV.
|
|
19
Jan.
|
1915
|
German Zeppelin
airships crossed the eastern coast of England to bombard towns in
East Anglia, more than 20 people were killed.
|
|
20
Jan.
|
1265
|
England's first
Parliament meets at Westminster Hall in London. Representatives from
towns and villages across the country meet for the first time in one
chamber.
|
|
21
Jan.
|
1846
|
The first edition
of the Daily News, edited by Charles Dickens is published in
London.
|
|
22
Jan.
|
1879
|
Zulu warriors
massacre British troops at Isandhlwana in Natal Province, South
Africa.
|
|
23
Jan.
|
1713
|
The signing of the
Treaty of Utrecht redraws the map of Europe. The treaty signals the
end of the long and bloody War of Spanish Succession. As part of the
agreement Gibraltar and Minorca become British.
|
|
24
Jan.
|
1965
|
The "last
lion of British politics", Sir Winston Churchill died at the
age of 90. His body is to lie in state in Westminster Hall, London.
|
|
25
Jan. |
1759
|
Birth of Robert "Rabbie" Burns, Scottish poet. Burns Suppers celebrated all over the world each year on this day.
|
|
26
Jan.
|
1885
|
The British
commander of Khartoum, General Charles Gordon is killed by a dervish
spear as his forces are overrun by the Mahdi's Muslim army.
|
|
|
27
Jan.
|
1926
|
Inventor John
Logie Baird demonstrates his new television machine to members of
the Royal Institution in London. Some have suggested that this could one day provide every home with a substitute for the
cinema.
|
|
28
Jan. |
1807
|
London becomes
the first city in the world to be lit by gas lights.
|
|
29
Jan.
|
1596
|
The most famous English seaman and adventurer of the Elizabethan era,
Sir Frances Drake, is buried at sea. The Spanish breathed a sigh of
relief!
|
|
30
Jan.
|
1649
|
The courts deemed
him a "tyrant, traitor, murderer and enemy of the people",
for this England's King Charles I was beheaded in Whitehall.
|
|
31 Jan.
|
1747
|
The first clinic specializing in the treatment of venereal disease is
opened at the London Dock Hospital.
|