On this day

[Richard Frost]

Wednesday, 10th November 2021

World Science Day for Peace and Development
The World Science Day for Peace and Development (WSDPD) is annually held on November 10 to raise awareness of the benefits of science worldwide. The WSDPD is also known as World Science Day.

A Selection of Birthdays

1341 Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, English statesman, born in Alnwick, Northumberland (d. 1408)
1480 Bridget of York, English princess and nun, born in Eltham Palace, London (d. 1517)
1483 Martin Luther, German theologian and key figure in the Protestant Reformation, born in Eisleben, Saxony, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1546)
1565 Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex and favorite of Elizabeth I, born in Herefordshire (d. 1601)
1683 George II [Georg August], King of Great Britain and Ireland, Elector of Hanover, born in Herrenhausen Palace, Germany (d. 1760)
1695 John Bevis, English physician and astronomer (discovered Crab Nebula), born in Old Sarum, Wiltshire (d. 1771)
1697 William Hogarth, English satiric painter and engraver (Rake's Progress), born in London (d. 1764)
1730 Oliver Goldsmith, Irish novelist and dramatist (She Stoops to Conquer), born in Kilkenny West, Ireland (d. 1774)
1735 Granville Sharp, English abolitionist, born in Durham (d. 1813)
1810 George Jennings, English sanitary engineer (invented first public flush toilets), born in Eling, Hampshire (d. 1882)
1861 Robert T. A. Innes, Scottish astronomer (Proxima Centauri), born in Edinburgh (d. 1933)
1879 Patrick Pearse, Irish poet, nationalist and political activist, born in Dublin (d. 1916)
1880 Jacob Epstein, American-English sculptor (Adam, Jacob & the Angel), born in NYC, New York (d. 1959)
1888 Hugh Wakefield, British actor (The Man Who Knew Too Much, Blithe Spirit), born in Wanstead, East London (d. 1971)
1889 Claude Rains, British actor (Invisible Man, Casablanca), born in London (d. 1967)
1907 John Moore, English author (Portrait of Elmbury, Brensham Village and The Blue Field), born in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire (d. 1967)
1908 Charles Merritt, Canadian Army officer and recipient of the Victoria Cross during World War II, born in Vancouver, British Columbia (d. 2000)
1911 Harry Andrews, English actor (Equus, Man of La Mancha), born in Kent (d. 1989)
1925 Richard Burton, Welsh stage and screen actor (Cleopatra, Virginia Woolf), born in Pontrhydyfen, Neath, Port Talbot (d. 1984)
1927 Jacob Pleydell-Bouvery, 8th earl of Radnor and art collector (d. 2008)
1928 William Staveley, British Royal Navy admiral (d. 1997)
1931 Don Henderson, British actor (The XYY Man, Strangers), born in Leytonstone, Essex (d. 1997)
1940 Screaming Lord [David Edward] Sutch, English rocker and politician (founder of Official Monster Raving Loony Party), born in Hampstead, London (d. 1999)
1944 Tim Rice, English lyricist (Chess Moves, 1 Night in Bangkok), born in Amersham, Buckinghamshire
1946 Roy Thomas Baker, English record producer (Bohemian Rhapsody), born in Hampstead, London
1947 Greg Lake, English rock vocalist and bassist (King Crimson, Emerson, Lake & Palmer), born in Bournemouth (d. 2016)
1957 Chris Joyce, British drummer (Simply Red), born in Chorlton, Manchester
1959 Frank Maudsley, English rock bassist and vocalist (Flock Of Seagulls), born in Liverpool
1960 Neil Gaiman, English writer of graphic novels, films and fiction (American Gods, The Graveyard Book, The Ocean at the End of the Lane), born in Portchester, Hampshire
1961 John Walton, English darts player (BDO World Champion 2001), born in Bradford
1963 Hugh Bonneville, English actor (Downton Abbey, Paddington Bear), born in London
1965 Eddie Irvine, Irish auto racer (runner-up World F1 Championship 1999), born in Newtownards,
1965 Sean Hughes, Irish stand-up comedian, writer and actor, born in London, United Kingdom (d. 2017)
1966 Vanessa Angel, English actress (Weird Science, Kingpin), born in London
1968 Steve Brookstein, English singer who won the first series of The X Factor, born in Mitcham, London
1982 Clayton Fortune, English footballer (Bristol City), born in Forest Gate, London

On This Day in British History

1674 Dutch formally cede New Netherlands (New York) to the English
1697 English parliament accept army reduction
1871 Henry Morton Stanley encounters David Livingstone at Ujiji, near Lake Tanganyika in Central Africa, with the immortal words 'Dr Livingstone, I presume?'
1942 US-British troops occupies Oran, Algeria
1960 Uncensored version of D. H. Lawrence's "Lady Chatterley’s Lover" finally goes on sale in the UK after a jury finds publisher Penguin Books not guilty in an obscenity trial. Copies of the un-banned Lady Chatterley were much-prized and sold out within minutes.

Deaths in History

1556 Richard Chancellor, English explorer, dies in shipwreck off Scotland
1596 Peter Wentworth, English Puritan politician (b. 1530)
1617 Barnabe Rich, English soldier and writer
1624 Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton, English patron of the theatre, dies at 51
1808 Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, British soldier and administrator (Governor of Quebec 1768-1778), dies at 84
1995 Boty Goodwin, British artist, dies at 29

[Richard Frost]

I do not have the time to do a full "On this day" today but felt it important to record the fact that today is

Armistice Day
At the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month – we will remember them.
The Armistice, an agreement to end the fighting of the First World War as a prelude to peace negotiations, began at 11am on 11 November 1918.

Armistice is Latin for to stand (still) arms.

To this day we mark Armistice Day around the United Kingdom with a Two Minute Silence at 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month.

[Richard Frost]

Friday, 12th November 2021

LOY KRATONG Buddhist
Loy Kratong is celebrated in most of the village and town temples in Thailand and often coincides with a temple's Kathina Day. Degradable baskets are made and filled with carefully folded banana leaves, incense sticks, a candle and sometimes a coin. These are then launched on rivers, canals ponds or the sea, while a wish for good fortune is offered to the spirits of the water.

A Selection of Birthdays

1615 Richard Baxter, English clergyman,English Puritan church leader, poet, hymnodist, theologian, and controversialist born in Rowton, Shropshire (d. 1691)

1786 John Burke, (Burke's Peerage) Irish genealogist born in Elm Hall, County Tipperary
1841 John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh, English physicist and discoverer of argon (Nobel Prize 1904), born in Maldon, Essex (d. 1919)
1886 Ben Travers, British playwright Born Hendon, North West London (d. 1980)
1911 Pennar Davies, Welsh poet, author and theologian, born in Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf, (d. 1996)
1943 Errol Brown, British-Jamaican singer-songwriter (Hot Chocolate - "You Sexy Thing"), born in Kingston, Jamaica (d. 2015)
1945 Valerie Leon, English actress (Blood from Mummy's Tomb), born in London
1954 Levine Andrade, Indian-British violinist (Arditti Quartet, 1974-90), film score composer and conductor, born in Bombay, India (d. 2018)
1955 Leslie McKeown, Scottish pop vocalist (Bay City Rollers - "Saturday Night"), born in Edinburgh, (d. 2021)
1968 Aaron Stainthorpe, British singer (My Dying Bride), born in England
1969 Jason Cundy, English footballer and broadcaster, born in London
1970 Harvey Stephens, British child actor, born in Putney, South West London
1978 Andrew Kinlochan, English singer and musician (1st openly gay boyband member), born in Hertfordshire
1981 DJ Campbell, English football player, born in Hammersmith, West London
1982 Mikele Leigertwood, English footballer, born in London Borough of Enfield
1983 Carlton Cole, English football player, born in Croydon, Surrey
1990 James McCarthy, Scottish footballer (Celtic), born in Glasgow

On this Day in British History

1439 Plymouth, England, becomes the first town incorporated by the English Parliament
1555 The English Parliament re-establishes Catholicism
1661 Scientist, Robert Hooke appointed Curator of Experiments to the Royal Society
1847 Sir James Young Simpson, a British physician, is the first to use chloroform as an anaesthetic
1899 British troops reach Durban, Natal
1912 British explorer Robert Falcon Scott's diary & body found in Antarctica
1915 Britain annexes Gilbert & Ellice archipelago in the Western Pacific
1928 British steamer "Vestris" capsizes & sinks off Virginia, kills 110
1974 A salmon is discovered in the River Thames, for the first time since 1833
1981 Great Britain performs nuclear test
2017 For the first time Prince Charles lays the wreath to Great Britain's war dead, replacing Queen Elizabeth

Northern Ireland

1970 The Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) is formed; the NIHE gradually took over control of the building and allocation of public sector housing in Northern Ireland

Weddings in History

1656 English Poet and author of epic "Paradise Lost" John Milton (47) marries 2nd wife Katherine Woodcock

Deaths in History

1035 Cnut the Great [Canute], King of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden (1016-1035), dies around the age of 45
1094 King Duncan II of Scotland, killed in battle after reigning for 7 months (b. 1060)
1555 Stephen Gardiner, English bishop of Winchester, dies at about 65
1595 John Hawkins, English naval commander , Treasurer of the Navy, and early English slave trader, dies at 63
1606 St. Nicholas Owen (martyr), one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
1671 Thomas, 3rd baron Fairfax of Cameron, English general, dies at 59
1865 Elizabeth Gaskell, English novelist (North and South), dies of a heart attack at 55
1947 Emmuska Orczy, British author (Scarlet Pimpernel), dies at 82
2000 John Bury, British stage designer who worked with Peter Hall, dies at 75

[Richard Frost]

Saturday, 13th November 2021

A Selection of Birthdays

1312 Edward III, King of England (1327-77) noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority, born in Windsor Castle, Berkshire, (d. 1377)
1714 William Shenstone, English poet, born in Leasowes, Halesowen (d. 1763)
1718 John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, British statesman who claimed to have invented the sandwich, born in Chiswick (d. 1792)
1785 Caroline Lamb, English aristocrat, author (Glenarvon), wife of William Lamb, lover of Lord Byron (d. 1828)
1792 Edward John Trelawny, English traveler and author (Adv of Younger Son), born in London (d. 1881)
1850 Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish author (Treasure Island), born in Edinburgh (d. 1894)
1885 Montague Fawcett Phillips, British composer, born in Tottenham, North London (d. 1969)
1906 Hermione Baddeley, British actress (Camp Runamuck, Maude, Good Life), born in Broseley, Shropshire (d. 1986)
1931 Joan Lestor, Baroness Lestor of Eccles, British Labour politician (d. 1998)
1933 Adrienne Corri, actress (River, Doctor Zhivago), born in Glasgow (d. 2016)
1935 Thomas Augustine Martin, Irish academic, born in Ballinamore, County Leitrim (d. 1995)
1935 George Carey, Archbishop of Canterbury, born in East London
1938 Adrian Barber, British musician and producer, born in Ilkley, West Yorkshire
1939 Robert Whitaker, British photographer whose work was used on Beatles and Cream album covers, born in Harpenden, Hertfordshire (d. 2011) [1]
1940 Jack Birkenshaw, English cricketer (England off-spinner 1973-74), born in Rothwell, West Yorkshire
1944 Ken Shuttleworth, English cricket paceman (England on 1970-71 Ashes tour), born in St Helens, Lancashire
1949 Terry Reid, English rock guitarist (River, Bang Bang You're Terry Reid), born in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire
1953 Andy "the Clobberer" Ranken, English Celtic-punk rock drummer (The Pogues), born in London
1955 Whoopi Goldberg [Caryn Johnson], American actress, comedian and singer (Color Purple, Burglar), born in NYC, New York
1969 Gerard Butler, Scottish actor, born in Paisley, Renfrewshire,
1971 Anthony Whiteman, England, 800m/1500m runner
1976 Kelly Sotherton, English heptathlete, born in Newport, Isle of Wight
2002 Emma Raducanu, British tennis player (US Open 2021), born in Toronto, Canada

On this day in British History

1002 English king Ethelred II (the 'Unready') launches 'St Brice's Day' massacre of Danish settlers
1553 English Lady Jane Grey and Archbishop Thomas Cranmer accused of high treason
1642 Battle at Turnham Green outside London: King Charles I vs English parliament
1781 British troops occupy Negapatam, Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
1916 British offensive at Ancre, Belgium
1921 US, France, Japan and British Empire sign a Pacific Treaty
1935 Anti-British riots in Egypt
1941 U-81 torpedoes British aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal near Gibraltar
1979 British newspaper "The Times" resumes publishing after 1 year
2020 British strategist and chief advisor to the PM Dominic Cummings is let go by Boris Johnson

Northern Ireland

1968 William Craig, Home Affairs Minister, bans all marches, with the exception of 'customary' parades, in Derry, Northern Ireland; the exception of 'customary' parades meant that Loyalist institutions could parade but civil rights marches could not

Scotland

1715 Battle of Sheriffmuir during Jacobite rebellion. Battle inconclusive but Government forces halt advance of Jacobite army lead by Scottish Earl of Mar
1902 "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad is first published in one volume (previously serialized) by William Blackwood in Edinburgh

Deaths in History

1093 Malcolm III (Canmore, "Big Head") King of Scots, dies in battle at Alnwick, Northumberland. Historical figure Shakespeare's character based on.
1650 Thomas May, English poet and historian (b. 1595)
1770 George Grenville, British Prime Minister (1763-65) who introduced the Stamp Act (1st international tax to the colonies in America), dies at 58
1779 Thomas Chippendale, English furniture maker, dies at 61
1849 William Etty, English painter best known for paintings of nudes, dies at 62
1963 Margaret Murray, English anthropologist and Egyptologist (b. 1863)

[Richard Frost]

Sunday 14th November 2021

World Diabetes Day
Globally, an estimated 422 million adults were living with diabetes in 2014, compared to 108 million in 1980. The global prevalence of diabetes has nearly doubled since 1980, rising from 4.7% to 8.5% in the adult population. This reflects an increase in associated risk factors such as being overweight or obese. Over the past decade, diabetes prevalence has risen faster in low and middle-income countries than in high-income countries.

Diabetes is a major cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attack, stroke and lower limb amputation. Healthy diet, physical activity and avoiding tobacco use can prevent or delay type 2 diabetes. In addition diabetes can be treated and its consequences avoided or delayed with medication, regular screening and treatment for complications.

In 2007 General Assembly adopted resolution 61/225 designating 14 November as World Diabetes Day. The document recognized “the urgent need to pursue multilateral efforts to promote and improve human health, and provide access to treatment and health-care education.”

The resolution also encouraged Member States to develop national policies for the prevention, treatment and care of diabetes in line with the sustainable development of their health-care systems.

REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY National
The Sunday nearest to Armistice Day, devoted to remembering the dead of the two World wars and subsequent wars.

INTER FAITH WEEK
Begining on Remembrance Sunday and running until the following Sunday each year, Inter Faith week seeks to strengthen good inter-faith relations, increase awareness of the different and distinct faith communities in the UK, and increase understanding between people of religious and non-religious beliefs.

A Selection of Birthdays

1650 William III, William of Orange, King of England, Scotland and Ireland (1689-1702) and Stadtholder, born in The Hague, Dutch Republic (d. 1702)
1797 Charles Lyell, Scottish geologist (Principles of Geology), born in Kinnordy, Angus (d. 1875)
1814 Michael Kelly Lawler, Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in County Kildare, Ireland (d. 1882)
1816 John Curwen, English Congregationalist minister and founder of Tonic sol-fa music system, born in Heckmondwike, Yorkshire (d. 1880)
1840 Claude Monet [Oscar-Claude], French impressionist painter (Water Lilies, Haystacks, Poplars), born in Paris (d. 1926)
1879 Geoffrey Turton Shaw, composer born in Clapham, South London, (d. 1943)
1889 Jawaharlal Nehru, 1st Prime Minister of India (1947-64) and important leader of the Indian independence movement, born in Allahabad, North-Western Provinces, British India (d. 1964)
1894 Harold Collett Dent, journalist/educationist, more than any other individual not in government played a central part in the battle for the 1944 Education Act, (d.1995)
1904 Harold Larwood, England cricket fast bowler (21 Tests, Bodyline Series v Australia 1932-33), born in Nuncargate, Nottinghamshire (d. 1995)
1910 Eric Lawson Malpass, writer born in Derby (d. 1996)
1910 Norman MacCaig, Scottish poet, born in Edinburgh (d. 1996)
1914 Eric John Crozier, producer/librettist born in London (d. 1994)
1916 George Fierstone, British jazz and session drummer, (The Skyrockets), born in London (d. 1984)
1923 Margaret Courtenay, Welsh actress, singer and entertainer (Royal Flash, Duet for One), born in Cardiff, Glamorgan (d. 1996)
1924 Arthur Frank "Peter" Shore, egyptologist born in Aldbury, Hertfordshire (d.1994)
1927 Sir Lawrence "Lawrie" Barratt, British businessman and housing developer (Barratt Developments), born in England (d. 2012)
1930 Alan Moss, English cricket fast bowler (9 Tests, 21 wickets; Middlesex CCC), born in London, (d. 2019)
1930 Shirley Crabtree Jr. [Big Daddy], English pro wrestler (record-breaking 64-inch chest), born in Halifax (d. 1997)
1930 Michael Robbins, British actor and comedian (On the Buses, The Great Muppet Caper), born in London (d. 1992)
1930 Dame Elisabeth Frink, born in Thurlow, Suffolk, English sculptor and printmaker (d. 1993)
1930 Peter Katin, British concert pianist, born in London (d. 2015)
1931 Terence Marsh, British production designer (Oliver!, Dr. Zhivago, Spaceballs), born in London, (d. 2018)
1940 Freddie Garrity, British pop singer (Freddie and the Dreamers - "I'm Telling You Now"), born in Crumpsall, Manchester, (d. 2006)
1948 Prince Charles [Charles Philip Arthur George], Prince of Wales/Duke of Cornwall, born in London
1953 James Guthrie, English music producer and sound engineer (Pink Floyd), born in Edmonton, North London
1959 Paul McGann, English actor (Eighth Doctor in Doctor Who), born in Liverpool
1967 Letitia Dean, actress (Sharon Watts-EastEnders) born in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire
1975 Faye Tozer, British musician (Steps) born in Northampton
1981 Tom Ferrier, British racing driver
1989 Jake Livermore, English footballer born in Enfield, North London

On This Day in British History

1666 Samuel Pepys reports on 1st blood transfusion (between dogs)
1755 Henry Fox appointed British 'Secretary of State for the Southern Department'
1792 Captain George Vancouver is first Englishman to enter San Francisco Bay
1834 Mathematical Physicist and Engineer, William Thomson enters Glasgow University at 10 yrs 4 months
1883 "Treasure Island" by Robert Louis Stevenson is first published as a book by Cassell & Co.
1940 During WW II, German planes destroy most of Coventry, England
1941 British aircraft carrier Ark Royal sank in Mediterranean, having been torpedoed by a German submarine the day before
1983 First cruise missile placed at Greenham Common, England
1990 Great Britain performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1990 Michael Heseltine contests Margaret Thatcher's leadership of the British Conservative Party
1991 American and British authorities announce indictments against two Libyan intelligence officials in connection with the downing of the Pan Am Flight 103
1994 1st trains for public run in Channel Tunnel under English Channel
2018 UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s cabinet approves draft plan for country's exit from the European Union (Brexit)

Weddings in History

1532 King Henry VIII of England secretly marries Anne Boleyn (officially married January 25, 1533)
1677 Prince William of Orange (27) marries English princess Mary Stuart (15)
1973 Britain's Princess Anne marries commoner, Captain Mark Phillips at Westminster Abbey

Deaths in History

1633 William Ames, English philosopher (b. 1576)
1687 Eleanor "Nell" Gwyn, English mistress of King Charles II of England, dies from apoplexy at 37
1734 Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth, French mistress of British king Charles II, dies at 85
1841 Thomas Bruce, 7th earl of Elgin & Kincardine, British diplomat, dies at 75
1844 John Abercrombie, Scottish physician, dies at 64
1916 Saki, British writer (b. 1870)
1917 William Smith, British deserter in France, executed at 20
1981 Robert Bradford, Northern Irish footballer (b. 1941)
1990 Malcolm Muggeridge, WW II spy for Britain, dies at 87
1991 Tony Richardson, British director (Tom Jones), dies of AIDs at 63

[Richard Frost]

Monday, 15th November 2021

SHICHI-GO-SAN (Seven-Five-Three) Japanese
Girls of seven, boys of five and girls of three are dressed up in new clothes and taken to a Shinto shrine to pray for their future well-being.

World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims
#WDoR2021
Last year we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the international observance of this Day dedicated to remembering the many millions of road traffic victims throughout the world – begun by the European Federation of Road Traffic Victims (FEVR) in 1995 and adopted by the UN General Assembly Resolution 60/5 on 26th October 2005 as an “appropriate acknowledgement for victims of road traffic crashes and their families”.

This year marks the start of the new Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030, during which the World Day will play a very important part – through highlighting the very reasons for all the necessary actions during this coming Decade.

As every year, the objectives of WDoR 2021 are to provide a platform for road traffic victims and their families to:

Remember all people killed and seriously injured on the roads;
Acknowledge the crucial work of the emergency services;
Draw attention to the generally trivial legal response to culpable road deaths and injuries
Advocate for better support for road traffic victims and victim families;
Promote evidence-based actions to prevent and eventually stop further road traffic deaths and injuries.
WDoR 2021 puts the spotlight on the reduction of traffic speeds – Low speeds, which have the potential to prevent many deaths and serious injuries, in particular those of pedestrians and all other vulnerable road users – children, elderly and the disabled.

A Selection of Birthdays

1604 Davis Mell, English composer, born in Wilton, Wiltshire (d. 1662)
1661 Christoph von Graffenried, British peer from Switzerland who founded New Bern, Carolina, born in Worb Castle, Bern, Switzerland (d. 1743)
1708 William Pitt the Elder, British Prime Minister (Whig, 1756-61, 66-68) known as the `Great Commoner', born in London (d. 1778)
1738 William Herschel, German-British astronomer (discovered Uranus), born in Hanover, Brunswick-Lüneburg, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1822)
1774 William Horsley, English musician and composer, born in London (d. 1858)
1800 George Rodwell, English composer, born in London (d. 1852)
1890 Richmal Crompton, British author born in Bury (d. 1969)
1897 Sacheverell Sitwell, English author (People's Palace), born in Scarborough (d. 1988)
1897 Aneurin Nye Bevan, British politician born in Tredegar, Monmouthshire (d. 1960)
1923 Peter Hammond, British actor and director (The Buccaneers, King of the Castle), born in London,(d. 2011)
1927 Gregor Mackenzie, British politician Labour (d. 1992)
1928 John Orchard, British actor (Capone, M*A*S*H), born in Kennington, South East London (d. 1995)
1930 J.G. Ballard, British novelist (Empire of the Sun; Crash), born in 1930 Shanghai International Settlement, Republic of China (d. 2009)
1932 [Sally] Petula Clark, English singer-songwriter (Downtown, My Love), born in Epsom, Surrey
1934 Peter Dickinson, English composer, born in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire
1941 Heathcote Williams [John Henly Heathcote Williams], British poet, actor and political activist, born in Helsby, Cheshire (d. 2017)
1955 Joe Leeway, British instrumentalist and songwriter (Thompson Twins), born in Islington, North London,
1955 Georgie Born, English academic, anthropologist and musician (Henry Cow), born in Wheatley, Oxfordshire
1969 Peter Martin, cricketer born in Accrington, Lancashire, (Lancashire & England pace bowler 1995)
1972 Jonny Lee Miller, English actor (Trainspotting, Elementary), born in London
1975 Scott Henshall, British fashion designer, born in York
1977 Peter Mark Andrew Phillips, British son of Princess Anne, 15th in succession to British throne in 2020
1987 Isaiah Osbourne, English footballer born in Birmingham

On This Day in British History

1577 Sir Francis Drake aboard Pelican travels from Chile to Washington
1620 Military Leader of Plymouth Colony, Myles Standish leads 16 men in a foot exploration of the northern portion of Cape Cod
1679 English House of Commons accepts Exclusion Bill
1688 Prince Willem III's army lands at Torbay, the 'Glorious Revolution' commences
1720 Pirates Anne Bonny, Mary Read, and John Rackham are captured by Capt. Jonathan Barnet and brought to Spanish Town, Jamaica, for trial
1835 Naturalist Charles Darwin reaches Tahiti on board HMS Beagle, the location where he would formulate his ideas later written in The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs
1837 Isaac Pitman introduces his shorthand system of writing
1882 British HMS Flirt destroys village of Asaba, Niger
1887 British SS Wah Yeung catches fire on Canton River off Hong Kong
1899 Morning Post reporter Winston Churchill captured by Boers in Natal
1922 British General Election: Conservative party wins a majority under Andrew Bonar Law
1974 Ringo Starr releases singles "Goodnight Vienna" and "Only You" in the UK
1978 Harold Pinter's play "Betrayal" premieres in London
2018 David Hockney's "Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)" sells for $90.3 million in New York, record for a living artist

Scotland

1824 Series of fires kills 10 in Edinburgh

Deaths in History

1712 Charles Mohun, 4th Baron Mohun, English politician (b. 1675)
1712 James Douglas, 4th Duke of Hamilton, Scottish nationalist (b. 1658)
1794 Scottish- American Presbyterian Minister, John Witherspoon, president of the College of New Jersey, dies at 71
1819 Daniel Rutherford, Scottish chemist and physician (isolation of nitrogen in 1772), dies at 70
1892 Thomas Neill Cream, Scottish-Canadian serial killer (Lambeth poisoner), is executed at 42
1917 Oswald Chambers, Scottish Baptist and Holiness Movement minister and writer (My Utmost for His Highest), dies at 43
2002 Myra Hindley, English murderess (murdered 5 small children with Ian Brady), dies at 60
2015 Cynthia Payne, English brothel madam, dies at 82