Post
by Richard Frost » Sat May 08 2021 11:04am
8th May
8-9 May
Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives During the Second World War
A Selection of Birthdays
1737 Edward Gibbon, English historian (The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire), born in Putney, England (d. 1794)
1786 Thomas Hancock, British engineer, founded British rubber industry, born in Malborough, Wilshire (d. 1865)
1846 Oscar Hammerstein, German opera and playwright (Kohinoor), born in Stettin, Kingdom of Prussia (d. 1919)
1855 John Gates ("Bet-a-million" Gates), American inventor and industrialist who established the market for barbed wire fencing, born in Chicago, Illinois
1898 Vera Chapman, English writer and Tolkien Society founder, born in Bournemouth, England (d. 1996)
1913 Sid James [Solomon Joel Cohen], South African-born British character and comedy actor (Hancock's Half Hour, Carry On), born in Johannesburg, Transvaal Province (d. 1976)
1920 Tom of Finland [Touko Laaksonen], Finnish fetish artist, born in Helsinki (d. 1991)
1921 Graham Leonard, Bishop of London, most senior Anglican to convert to Catholicism since the reformation (d. 2010)
1926 David Attenborough, English naturalist, TV producer and host (BBC "Life" and "Our Planet" series), born in London, England
1930 Heather Harper, Northern Irish operatic soprano (Britten's War Requiem), born in Belfast, Northern Ireland (d. 2019)
1940 Peter Benchley, American novelist (Jaws, The Deep), born in NYC, New York (d. 2006)
1942 Norman Lamont, MP/Chancellor of Exchequer
1942 Terry Neill, Northern Irish footballer
1944 Gary Glitter [Paul Gadd], England, rocker (Rock & Roll Part II)
1944 Bill Legend [Fifield], British musician and rock drummer (T. Rex), born in Barking, Essex
1963 Terry Christian, British writer, radio and television presenter, born in Old Trafford, Lancashire, England
1964 Dave Rowntree, British drummer (Blur - "Country House"; Coffee &TV"), and politician, born in Colchester, Essex, England
1975 Enrique Iglesias, Spanish singer-songwriter and King of Latin Pop ("Bailamos"; "Hero"), born in Madrid, Spain
1976 Ian "H" Watkins, Welsh pop singer (Steps - "Heartbeat"; "Stomp"), actor, and television personality, born in Llwynypia, Wales
1980 Michelle McManus, Scottish pop singer ("All This Time"), born in Glasgow, Scotland
1983 Matt Willis, British pop singer, bassist (Busted), and television personality. born in Tooting, London, England
On this day in history
535 John II's reign as Catholic Pope ends
589 Reccared summons the Third Council of Toledo
615 St Boniface IV's reign as Catholic Pope ends
685 St Benedict II's as Catholic Pope ends after 11 months with his death
1348 Ship from Bordeaux carrying the Black plague, lands in Melcombe Regis (now Weymouth), Dorset
1360 Treaty of Brétigny signed by English & French, ending the first phase of the Hundred Years' War
1450 Jack Cade's Rebellion: Kentishmen revolt against King Henry VI
1521 Parliament of Worms installs edict against Martin Luther
1541 Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto and his expedition discover the Mississippi River
1624 Hungarian King Bethlen Gabor & Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II sign Treaty of Vienna
1639 William Coddington founds Newport, Rhode Island
1660 English parliament declares Charles Stuart to be King Charles II of England
1721 Michelangiolo dei Conti succeeds Pope Clement XI, as Innocent XIII
1741 France & Bavaria sign Covenant of Nymphenburg
1784 Only known deaths by hailstones in US (Winnsborough, South Carolina)
1787 First US prison reform society formed, the Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons led by Dr. Benjamin Rush
1792 British Captain George Vancouver sights and names Mt Rainier, Washington
1792 US establishes the military draft
1821 Greek War of Independence: Greeks defeat the Turks in Gravia
1823 "Home! Sweet Home!" by John Howard Payne is 1st sung in London
1834 Prussia, Austria and Russia sign classified accord about Belgium
1835 1st instalment of Hans Christian Andersen "Fairy Tales" published by C. A. Reitzel in Copenhagen, Denmark
1840 Alexander Wolcott patents Photographic Process
1842 Versailles to Paris train catches fire; 50 die
1846 1st major battle of Mexican War fought at Palo Alto, Texas
1847 Scot Robert Thompson patents rubber tyre
1852 Second London protocol signed reaffirming Danish federation control of independent Duchies of Holstein, Lauenburg and Schleswig
1858 John Brown holds antislavery convention
1862 Valley Campaign: Federals repulsed at Battle of McDowell, Virginia
1863 Confederación Granadina becomes Estados Unidos de Colombia
1864 Actions at Stony Creek/Nottoway bridge, Virginia (Drewry's Bluff)
1864 Atlanta Campaign: Severe fighting near Dalton
1864 Battle of Spotsylvania Court House begins
1871 British-US treaty ends Alabama dispute
1877 1st Westminster Dog Show held
1878 David Edward Hughes' paper on the idea for a microphone is read before the Royal Society of London by Thomas Henry Huxley
1879 George Selden files for 1st patent for a gasoline-driven automobile
1881 Henry Morton Stanley signs the first of many contracts with the Congolian monarch
1882 David Belasco's "La Belle Russe" premieres in NYC
1885 Sarah Ann Henley survives 76-m jump from Clifton Bridge in Bristol, England
1886 Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta sells the first Coca-Cola (contained cocaine)
1895 China cedes Taiwan to Japan under Treaty of Shimonoseki
1896 Yorkshire Cricket all out for 887 against Warwickshire
1898 The first games of the Italian Football League are played
1899 The Irish Literary Theatre in Dublin opens
1899 Ernest Rutherford publishes his discovery of two different kinds of radiation (Alpha and Beta Particles)
1901 A British appointed commission estimates today that some 1,250,000 Indians have died after a severe drought, lasting since 1899
1902 Mount Pelée on the French overseas island of Martinique erupts, wiping out the city of Saint-Pierre, killing 30,000 and leaving only two survivors
1905 Union of Unions organizes In Russia under the chairmanship of Paul Miliukov and joins liberal groups demanding parliamentary government and universal suffrage
1907 Canadian Tommy Burns retains his world heavyweight boxing title after beating "Philadelphia" Jack O'Brien on points in 20 rounds in Los Angeles, California
1909 American Albert Raines runs world record marathon (2:46:04.6) in NYC
1909 British runner Henry Barrett runs world record marathon (2:42:31) in the Polytechnic Marathon in London
1912 Film and television production and distribution studio Paramount Pictures is founded
1916 German munitions bunker in Fort Douaumont explodes killing 679 German soldiers
1916 Irishmen Eamon Kent, Michael Mallin, Con Colbert and Sean Houston are executed by British authorities following the Easter Rising at Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin
1919 1st transatlantic flight take-off by a navy seaplane
1919 Appingedam soccer team forms
1919 Edward George Honey first proposes the idea of a moment of silence to commemorate The Armistice of World War I, leads to the creation of Remembrance Day
1921 Sweden abolishes capital punishment
1923 Hobbs scores his 100th 100, 116* v Somerset at Bath
1924 Arthur Honegger's "Pacifica 231" premieres
1924 Memel territories given to Lithuania
1924 Workers at Werkspoor in Amsterdam strike against 3rd wage cut
1925 French colonial army beats Rifkabylen in Morocco
1926 A Philip Randolph organizes Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
1929 Jan Mayen island, 500 km NNE of Iceland, incorporated into Norway
1929 Soviet government contract Albert Kahn Associates architectural firm to design the USSR's 1st tractor plant
1931 Operette "Land of Smiles" premieres in London
1933 Mahatma Gandhi begins a 21-day fast in protest against British oppression in India
1936 Jockey Ralph Neves unexpectedly revived after being declared dead after a fall. His wife faints when he returned to track
1938 Stravinsky's "Dumbarton Oaks" premieres in Washington, D.C.
1941 German Q-ship Pinguin sinks in Indian Ocean
1942 Aircraft carrier USS Lexington sunk by Japanese air attack in Coral Sea
1942 German summer offensive opens in Crimea
1943 Admiral Cunningham of British fleet: "Sink, burn & destroy; let nothing pass"
1944 33 communist resistance fighters sentenced to death
1945 Canadian troops move into Amsterdam
1945 Chinese counter attack at Tsjangte, supports by 14th air fleet
1945 German General Wilhelm Keitel formally surrenders to the Allies represented by the United States, the UK, France and the Soviet Union in Berlin
1945 V-E Day: World War II ends in Europe after Germany signs an unconditional surrender
1946 Estonian school girls Aili Jõgi and Ageeda Paavel blow up the Soviet memorial that preceded the Bronze Soldier in Tallinn
1947 Polish resistance fighter Witold Pilecki, who had volunteered to be imprisoned in Auschwitz to gain information about the Holocaust, is arrested by Polish communist police
1949 West German constitution approved
1950 Chinese Military and Political Leader Chiang Kai-shek asks US for weapons
1951 Dacron men's suits introduced
1951 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Enwetak
1952 "Of Thee I Sing" opens at Ziegfeld Theater NYC for 72 performances
1952 "Shuffle Along" opens at Broadway Theater NYC for 4 performances
1952 5th British Film and Television Awards (BAFTAS): "La Ronde" Best Film
1956 John Osborne's "Look Back in Anger" premieres in London
1957 South Vietnamese President, Ngô Đình Diệm, arrives in the United States on a state visit
1958 US VP Richard Nixon is shoved, stoned, booed and spat upon by protesters in Peru
1958 "Dracula" film starring Christopher Lee as the eponymous vampire, directed by Terence Fisher is the first Hammer Horror film released
1959 3-deck Nile excursion steamer springs a leak panicking passengers who capsized ship. 200 drown just yards from shore
1960 1st performance of Ferde Grofé's "San Francisco Suite", with Grofé conducting, in San Francisco
1960 USSR & Cuba resume diplomatic relations
1961 1st practical sea water conversion plant-Freeport, Texas
1961 Alan Shepard receives NASA Distinguished Service Medal, Washington
1962 Stephen Sondheim's musical "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" starring Zero Mostel and Jack Gilford, and directed by George Abbot opens at Alvin Theater, NYC; runs for 965 performances, and wins 6 Tony Awards
1962 1st Atlas Centaur Launch
1962 London trolley buses (electrically powered buses using overhead supply) go out of service
1962 Oskar Schindler and his wife Emilie Schindler are honored for saving 1200 Jews during WWII, in a ceremony on the Avenue of the Righteous, Jerusalem
1963 1st James Bond film, "Dr. No", starring Sean Connery, premieres in US
1963 U.S. President John F. Kennedy offers Israel assistance against aggression from its neighbors
1967 Muhammad Ali is indicted for refusing induction in US Army
1967 The Philippine province of Davao is split into three: Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, and Davao Oriental
1968 Pulitzer prize awarded to William Styron (Confessions of Nat Turner)
1969 Cambodia recognizes the German Democratic Republic (East Germany)
1969 Pope Paul VI publishes constitution Sacra Ritum Congregation
1970 Beatles release 12th, and final, studio album, "Let It Be", in conjunction with the film of the same name
1970 Construction workers break up an anti-war rally in NYC's Wall Street
1970 Thousands of students protest against the Vietnam War following the Kent State shootings in Ohio
1971 Courtney, Courtney, and Link's musical "Earl of Ruston" closes at Billy Rose Theater, NYC, after 5 performances
1972 Sabena aircraft at Lod International Airport, Tel Aviv, captured by Palestinians
1973 Indians holding South Dakota hamlet of Wounded Knee for 10 weeks surrender
1974 50 MPH speed limit in Britain lifted
1974 Canadian government of Pierre Trudeau falls
1974 FC Magdenburg of East Germany win 14th European Cup Winner's Cup against AC Milan of Italy 2-0 in Rotterdam
1976 Leonard Bernstein and Alan Jay Lerner's musical "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue" closes at Mark Hellinger, NYC, after 7 performances
1976 The rollercoaster Revolution (roller coaster), the first steel coaster with a vertical flip, opens at Six Flags Magic Mountain
1979 Radio Shack releases TRSDOS 2.3
1979 The Cure release their debut album "Three Imaginary Boys" (Boys Don't Cry in US, Australia)
1980 World Health Organization announces smallpox has been eradicated
1980 1st non-stop trans-North American balloon flight departs Fort Baker, California. Maxie Anderson and son Kristian pilot the Kitty Hawk for five days.
1984 France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
1984 Minnesota Twins Kirby Puckett debuts with 4 singles
1984 Thames Barrier to stop flooding in London officially completed
1984 The Soviet Union announces it will not participate in Los Angeles Summer Olympics in retaliation for the American boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics
1985 20th Academy of Country Music Awards: Alabama, George Strait, and Reba McEntire win
1985 France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
1987 Gary Hart quits US democratic presidential race due to affair with Donna Rice
1987 The Loughgall ambush: The SAS kill 8 IRA members and 1 civilian, in Loughgall, Northern Ireland
1988 "Oba Oba" closes at Ambassador Theater NYC after 46 performances
1988 Francois Mitterrand elected President of France
1988 Mike Tyson crashes his $183,000 Bently on Varick St in New York City
1989 Paul McCartney releases remake of "Ferry Cross the Mersey" in aid of those affected by the Hillsborough disaster, which claimed the lives of 96 Liverpool football fans
1989 US space shuttle STS-30 lands
1990 Cuyahoga County voters approve sin tax to build Cleveland Gateway
1990 Reindependence Day of Estonia
1993 ABC Masters Bowling Tournament won by Phil Ware
1993 Lennox Lewis beats Tony Tucker in 12 for heavyweight boxing title
1993 16 year old Keron Thomas disguises himself as a motorman & takes NYC subway train and 2,000 passengers on a 3 hour ride
1994 Jim Cartwright's play "The Rise & Fall of Little Voice" closes at Neil Simon Theater, NYC after 9 performances
1994 500th commentary by Andy Rooney on 60 Minutes
1994 Ernesto Perez Balladares elected president of Panama
1994 Jose Maria Figueres becomes president of Costa Rica
1994 President Clinton announces US will no longer repatriate boat people
1994 Erling Kagge becomes the first person to complete the Three Poles Challenge.
1996 South Africa's Constitutional Assembly adopts permanent post-apartheid constitution
1996 Paris Saint-Germain of France win 36th European Cup Winner's Cup against Rapid Wien of Austria 1-0 in Brussels
2001 36th Academy of Country Music Awards: Dixie Chicks, Faith Hill & Toby Keith win
2005 The new Canadian War Museum opens, in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of V-E Day.
2007 A new Northern Ireland Executive is formed with Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party) as First Minister and Martin McGuinness (Sinn Féin) as Deputy First Minister
2008 Dmitry Medvedev appoints Vladimir Putin as Russian Prime Minister
2010 Barrow AFC wins English FA Trophy at Wembley, makes them only team to win it at both Old & New Wembley stadiums
2011 The Tradition Senior Men's Golf, Shoal Creek G&CC: Tom Lehman wins second of 3 Champions Tour majors with par on 2nd playoff hole against Australian Peter Senior
2012 Dmitry Medvedev is confirmed as Russian Prime Minister by the State Duma, after being nominated by Vladimir Putin
2013 33 people are killed after an overloaded bus falls into a river in Himachal Pradesh, India
2013 Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi receives a four year prison sentence for fraud
2013 Sir Alex Ferguson announces his retirement as Manchester United's manager at the end of the season
2014 World's oldest astrolabe (mariner's navigator tool) c. 1498 from Portuguese shipwreck of explorer Vasco da Gama found near Al Hallaniyah Island, Oman
2016 Sadiq Khan (L) is elected Mayor of London, - 1st Muslim mayor of a major Western city
2018 President Trump pulls the US out of the multilateral Iran nuclear deal
2018 Ebola outbreak declared in north-west Democratic Republic of Congo with 2 confirmed cases and 17 deaths
2018 Paris St-Germain seals the French domestic football treble with a 2-0 win over 3rd Div Les Herbiers in the French Cup Final at the Stade de France
2018 Largest-ever wave at 23.8m recorded in the South Hemisphere at Campbell Island by New Zealand scientists
2019 Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes argues that Facebook should be split up and regulated in "New York Times" Op-Ed essay
2019 Thailand's general elections official results show opposition Pheu Thai Party won most seats but still unable to form government, due to rules favoring the military
2019 UK goes a week without using a coal-fired power station for first time in 137 years due to use of more renewable energy
2019 Iran announces it will stop complying with parts of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal
2019 Governor of Georgia Brian Kemp signs new abortion law, the so-called "heart-beat bill" (comes into effect Jan 2020)
2019 Singapore passes sweeping "anti-fake news" laws bill
2019 Pakistani Christian woman Asia Bibi who spent eight years in prison on death row for blasphemy arrives in Canada
2020 Two US White House staffers test positive for COVID-19 and three members of the coronavirus task force go into self-isolation after possible exposure to the virus
2020 11-year old Brazilian skateboarder Gui Khury creates world record by performing 1st 1080 degree turn on a vertical ramp