Execution of Admiral Byng, 1757
John Byng was born in October 1704 at Southill, Bedfordshire. The fourth son of Rear-Admiral Sir George Byng, he began his naval career at the age of fourteen and quickly…
Driving tests introduced in the United Kingdom, 1935
In 1930, the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed a Road Traffic Act, which removed all speed limits for road vehicles in spite of that year’s record number of fatalities…
First black international footballer, 1881
Andrew Watson was born in the British colony of Demerara (modern day Guyana) in May 1857. His father was a Scottish sugar planter called Peter Miller; his mother was a…
Fouad became King of Egypt, 1922
Ahmed Fouad Pasha was born on 26th March 1868 in the Giza Palace, Cairo. He was the seventh son of the newly installed Khedive of Egypt, Isma’il Pasha. The Khedivate…
Abolition of the English House of Lords, 1649
In March 1649, the Rump Parliament passed two acts completely changing the government of England. On the 17th of that month they passed ‘An Act for the abolishing the Kingly…
Conviction of the Tolpuddle Martyrs, 1834
In October 1833, the farm labourer and Methodist lay preacher George Loveless founded the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers along with five other men in Tolpuddle, Dorset. Their aim was…
Purple Haze released, 1967
In early 1966, Linda Keith, then girlfriend of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, befriended a guitarist called Jimi Hendrix during a visit to New York. While he was much in…
Tunisian independence, 1956
In 1861, Tunisia became the first country in the Arab world to enact a constitution. Nevertheless, eight years later the former Ottoman possession declared itself bankrupt, partly as a result…
The funeral of Pocahontas, 1617
In 1596 an Algonquian princess with the formal names of Matoaka and Amonute was born in an area known as Tenakomakah (modern day Virginia). She was the daughter of Wahunsunacawh…
Elisha Otis installed his first passenger elevator, 1857
Man has used hoisted platforms to move materials since ancient times, but the ever present danger of the rope or cable snapping prevented the widespread use of such devices to…