First gorilla born in captivity, 1956
In January 1951, a hunter called Bill Said brought three gorillas to Columbus Zoo in Ohio. Two of the apes, Millie Christina and Baron Macombo, stayed at the zoo as…
Rochdale Pioneers opened their first store, 1844
In 1844 a group of twenty-eight artisans in Rochdale, near Manchester, established the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers. While not the first co-operative in England, the Rochdale Pioneers set out…
Electricity generated by nuclear power for the first time, 1951
In 1934 the Italian physicist Enrico Fermi produced nuclear fission for the first time for which he received the Nobel Prize for Physics four years later. After receiving his prize,…
Voyager completed record flight, 1986
In 1980, a former United States Air Force pilot called Dick Rutan met fellow pilot Jeana Yeager (no relation of Chuck Yeager) at an airshow in Chino, California. Romance blossomed…
English Parliament authorised the trial of Charles I, 1649
Following their victory over the forces of King Charles I during the civil wars, the New Model Army became the most powerful political body in Britain eclipsing Parliament, which created…
First edition of The Times published, 1785
In 1781, a wealthy London coal merchant called John Walters joined Lloyd’s insurance company only to be left bankrupt by series of disasters. Undeterred, he decided to try his hand…
First Spanish Republic ended, 1874
In February, 1873 King Amadeo I abdicated from the Spanish throne. Three years earlier, following the revolution against Queen Isabella II, the Spanish parliament, the Cortes Generales, had elected Amadeo,…
Foundation of the African National Congress, 1912
In May 1910 the Union of South Africa came into being as unitary state comprising the former colonies of Cape of Good Hope, Natal, Orange River Colony, and the Transvaal.…
First transatlantic telephone service, 1927
The earliest attempt at transatlantic telephony was in 1915 when the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (later known as AT&T) managed to transmit one-way voice signal between the Naval Wireless…
First underground railway opened, 1863
By the 1850s many of those commuting into central London by rail had to continue their journey by road because all but one of metropolis’ seven railway termini were outside…