878 Battle of Edington: Alfred the Great and his West Saxon army defeat Viking army of Guthrum the Old.
1536 King Henry VIII ordered that English language Bibles be placed in every church.
1659 English Restoration: A faction of the British Army removed Richard Cromwell as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth.
1733 1st international boxing match: Bob Whittaker beats Tito di Carni.
1801 Captain Thomas Cochrane captured the 32-gun Spanish frigate El Gamo in his 14 gun ship HMS Speedy.
1840 The first postage stamps, the ‘Penny Black’ and two-penny ‘blues’, which were the brainchild of Roland Hill, became valid for postage On This Day.
1910 Following the death of King Edward VII, George V acceded to the throne. He celebrated his Silver Jubilee with Queen Mary in 1935.
The Hindenburg bursts into flames as it approaches its mooring mast. Thirty-six people died.
1954 Roger Bannister, a 25 year old British medical student, became the first man to run a mile in less than four minute (at the Iffley Road Sports Ground, Oxford). His time was 3 minute 59.4 seconds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fveB-XgovgQ
1959 Icelandic gunboats fire lived ammunition at British trawlers during a Cod War between Britain and Iceland over fishing rights in the North Sea.
1960 Princess Margaret, sister of Queen Elizabeth II, married Anthony Armstrong-Jones at Westminster Abbey in London. It was the first televised royal wedding and was watched by more than 20 million viewers.
1961 The first football team to achieve the double (FA Cup and League champions), was Tottenham Hotspur led by Danny Blanchflower when they beat Leicester City 2-0 to win the Cup at Wembley.
1966 At Chester Crown Court, 'Moors murderers' Ian Brady and Myra Hindley were found guilty of torturing and killing several children before burying their bodies on the moors north of Manchester.
1970 European Cup Final, San Siro, Milan: Feyenoord beats Celtic, 2-1; first time title won by a Dutch club.
1979 These six rock-cut tombs at Heysham in Lancashire became Grade I listed and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Further excavation in 1993 on land below the stone coffins showed that the site had been occupied about 12,000 years previously. The rock tombs are next to the ruined St Patrick's Chapel (Grade I listed), on a headland above St Peter's Church (also Grade I listed), in Heysham, Lancashire.
1988 Graeme Hick, Worcestershire's 21 year year old cricketer, scored 405 runs, not out, in a county championship match. It was the biggest innings in England in 93 years.
1990 London telephone codes changed to 071 and 081 (replacing 01).
1994 The Queen and France's President Francois Mitterrand formally opened the Channel Tunnel during two elaborate ceremonies in France and Britain.
1994 Lennox Lewis TKOs Phil Jackson in 8 for heavyweight boxing title.
1995 The Queen Mother opened (in Hyde Park) three days of VE Day celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the ending of World War Two.
1997 The Bank of England was given independence from political control. It was the most significant change in its 300 year history.
1999 In an historic vote, electors in Scotland and Wales went to the polls to chose their representatives for the newly-devolved Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly.
2002 Entrepreneur Elon Musk founds SpaceX.
2004 TV sitcom "Friends" airs season finale in 10th and final season in US (52.5 million viewers).
2019 World Snooker Championship, Crucible Theatre, Sheffield: Englishman Judd Trump wins his first world crown beating John Higgins of Scotland, 18-9.
2020 Irish organisation repays a 170 year old favor, raising over $2 million (to date) for US Navajo Nation and Hopi Reservation badly affected by COVID-19. In 1840s Choctaw Nation sent $170 to aid Irish potato famine.
Tottenham beat Leicester 2-0 in the FA Cup Final to become the first club since Aston Villa in 1896/97 to win a League and FA Cup double. Among their ranks that day were Bill Brown, Danny Blanchflower, Dave Mackay, Cliff Jones and John White who helped Spurs become the dominant force of the time. And Jimmy Greaves had yet to arrive at White Hart Lane! The final was Leicester's 10th FA Cup tie of the season and it was part of a disappointing run that saw them lose in all the four FA Cup finals they played in in the 25 years since football had resumed after the Second World War.
Football On This Day – 6th May 1978.
Arsenal were red-hot favourites to beat FA Cup final debutants Ipswich Town in the 1978 final at Wembley. The Suffolk side had been beaten 6-1 by Aston Villa in the League a week previously but the underdogs hit the posts three times in the final before Roger Osborne scored the only goal of the match for Ipswich in the 77th minute. That was his last action in the match - he immediately fainted and had to be substituted!
Football On This Day – 6th May 2018.
Wolves were clear champions but the battle for the second automatic promotion spot from the Championship in 2017/18 went to the last match of the season. Fulham had to pick up more points than Cardiff on the last day, May 6th - Cardiff drew 0-0 at home to Reading while Fulham - defending a 23-match unbeaten League run dating back to December 2017....lost at Birmingham! Cardiff's promotion saw their manager Neil Warnock set an impressive new record - it was the eighth time he had managed a club to promotion, a record covering 7 different clubs. He started off by managing Scarborough to promotion from the Conference to the Football League in 1986/87 followed by promotions with Notts County (twice), Huddersfield, Plymouth, Sheffield United and QPR before his latest success at Cardiff. And for the record Cardiff set a major new Football League first during the season. In consecutive matches in February and March they beat Bristol City, Barnsley, Birmingham, Brentford and Burton to become the first side ever to beat five clubs starting with the letter 'B' in consecutive League matches. Hey - every record is important!
1429 English siege of Orleans broken by Joan of Arc and the French army.
1663 The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, built by Thomas Killigrew, opened under a charter granted by Charles II.
1765 HMS Victory, the ship which became the flagship of British Admiral Horatio Nelson, was launched at Chatham. The ship is now preserved at Portsmouth.
1821 Sierra Leone, Gambia, and the Gold Coast were taken over by the British government to form British West Africa.
1860 The birth of English freak showman Thomas Noakes, (later known as Tom Norman). In 1884, he took over the management of Joseph Merrick, otherwise known as the 'Elephant Man' and exhibited him for a few weeks until police closed down the show. Over the next few years, Norman's travelling exhibitions featured Eliza Jenkins, the 'Skeleton Woman', a 'Balloon Headed Baby' and a woman who bit off the heads of live rats, the 'most gruesome' act that Norman claimed to have seen. Other acts included fleas, fat ladies, giants, dwarfs and retired white seamen, painted black and speaking in an invented language, billed 'savage Zulus'.
1867 Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel patents dynamite in England, the first of three patents he would receive for the explosive material.
1915 World War I : The Cunard liner Lusitania, bound for Liverpool, was torpedoed by a German submarine off the coast of Ireland with the loss of almost 1,200 lives. The loss of 128 US citizens brought the USA to the verge of war with Germany.
1928 The voting age for women in Britain was reduced from 30 to 21.
1941 Glenn Miller records "Chattanooga Choo Choo" for RCA, it becomes 1st record to be designated "gold".
1945 Germany signed an unconditional surrender in a small school in Rheims (France) when General Jodl, German Army Chief of Staff, signed his name on documents that formally ended six years of war in Europe.
1946 Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering (later renamed Sony) is founded with around 20 employees.
1956 Health Minister, RH Turton, rejected calls for a government campaign against smoking, saying no ill effects had been proven.
1959 British Rail announced plans to close down 230 stations.
1965 White voters in the African colony of Rhodesia backed Prime Minister Ian Smith's Rhodesian Front which was demanding independence from the UK.
1986 30th European Cup: Steaua Bucuresti beats Barcelona (0-0, 2-0 on penalties) at Seville.
1987 Ex-Guinness chairman Geoffrey Saunders was remanded on bail on a charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
1997 Glasgow Rangers won their 9th successive Scottish League title - to equal the record held by their closest rivals, Celtic.
1999 The first Scottish Parliament for 300 years was elected. The Scottish Parliament building is in Edinburgh and was built at a cost of £414 million (ten times over the original budget).
2003 Arsenal thrash Southampton, 6-1 at Highbury to start Gunners' amazing English Premier League record 49-game unbeaten streak; ends 24 October, 2004 with 2-0 defeat at Manchester United.
2011 Seve Ballesteros, the legendary five-time major winning golfer, died at the age of 54 after losing his fight against cancer.
2015 British General Elections: Conservative Party win outright majority and David Cameron returns as Prime Minister.
2018 World Snooker Championship, Crucible Theatre, Sheffield: Welshman Mark Williams beats John Higgins of Scotland, 18-16; as promised, does his press conference in the nude.
Spurs needed to win their last match of the season to make sure of getting the fourth Champions League spot – instead they are beaten by West Ham with Arsenal pipping them to that Champions League place. A dodgy meal of lasagne the night before the match is thought to have caused the problem.
1348 Ship from Bordeaux carrying the plague, lands in Melcombe Regis (now Weymouth), Dorset.
1429 The French warrior maiden, Joan of Arc, led the Dauphin's troops to victory over the English laying siege to Orleans.
1450 Jack Cade's rebellion occurred 'On This Day' when Kentishmen, led by Jack Cade, revolted against King Henry VI with his 'Complaint of the Poor Commons of Kent' manifesto. His army of as many as 5,000 marched on London, causing the King to flee to Warwickshire. After taking and looting London, the rebels were defeated in a battle at London Bridge and scattered. They were promised pardons and reforms, but many of the rebels were instead declared traitors, and Cade was killed in a small skirmish on 12th July 1450.
1559 The Act of Supremacy was passed by which the new Queen Elizabeth I became "Supreme Governor" of the Church of England and a Common Prayer book was introduced.
1660 Charles II was proclaimed King of England. This was the restoration of the monarchy after the English Civil War and the reign of Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector.
1701 English pirate Captain Kidd went on trial at the Old Bailey in London. After being found guilty of piracy he was hanged on 23rd May, 1701.
1886 Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta sells the first Coca-Cola (contained cocaine).
1896 The highest county cricket championship innings score, 887, was achieved by Yorkshire against Warwickshire at Edgbaston.
1926 David Attenborough, English naturalist and broadcaster was born.
1933 Mahatma Gandhi, the pre-eminent leader of Indian nationalism in British ruled India began a 21 day fast in protest against the British rule.
1941 The German Luftwaffe launched a bombing raid on Nottingham and Derby.
1945 VE Day in Europe. After five years, eight months, and five days of massive devastation, the end of the European phase of World War II was celebrated. Victory in Europe was commemorated with celebrations all around the world in recognition of the unconditional surrender of all German forces, which was signed in Reims, France, the previous day.
1958 "Dracula" film starring Christopher Lee as the eponymous vampire, directed by Terence Fisher is the first Hammer Horror film released.
1961 Former British diplomat George Blake, was jailed for 42 years after being found guilty of spying for Russia. In 1966 he successfully escaped from London's Wormwood Scrubs.
1967 Muhammad Ali is indicted for refusing induction in US Army.
1968 Gangster twins Reginald and Ronnie Kray and their brother Charlie were arrested after dawn raids by police in London.
1970 Beatles release 12th, and final, studio album, "Let It Be", in conjunction with the film of the same name.
1974 50 MPH speed limit in Britain lifted.
1984 The official opening of the Thames Barrier in London. The barrier is designed to be raised when exceptionally high tides on the River Thames threaten to flood parts of London.
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.
1986 British climber Alison Hargreaves became the first climber to conquer a Himalayan peak by its toughest route when she reached the 11,500 foot summit of Kantega in 5 days without oxygen, porters or a fixed camp.
2013 Sir Alex Ferguson (aged 71) announced his retirement as Manchester United manager after 26 years in charge. The Scot won 38 trophies for the club including 13 league titles, two Champions League crowns, five FA Cups and four League Cups and was the most successful manager in the history of British football.
2015 David cameron's Conservative party won a majority Government. In the aftermath; Ed Miliband (Labour party leader) resigned, as did Nick Clegg (Liberal Democrat leader) and also the UKIP leader Nigel Farage. (Note: The UKIP chairman Steve Crowther later rejected Mr. Farage's post-election resignation because 'the party's election campaign has been a great success'.
Going into the last match of the season Carlisle United were favourites to fill the one relegation spot from the League to the Conference, they were a point behind Scarborough. Going into the last seconds of the season Carlisle were near certainties to go down. Scarborough's match had just finished - they had got a point - while Carlisle were level with Plymouth at Brunton Park, and so they needed a win to stay up. With seconds left Carlisle goalkeeper Jimmy Glass went upfield for a Carlisle corner - and scored the winning goal to keep Carlisle in the Football League. Jimmy Glass was on loan from Swindon at the time, he only ever played 3 times for Carlisle and yet scored one of the most important goals in the clubs' history - not bad for a goalkeeper!
1092 Lincoln Cathedral was consecrated. For 249 years it was reputedly the tallest building in the world.
1386 The Treaty of Windsor was ratified between England (succeeded by the United Kingdom) and Portugal. It is the oldest diplomatic alliance in the world that is still in force.
1662 The first recorded Punch & Judy Show in Britain took place at Covent Garden in London.
1671 Irishman Colonel Thomas Blood attempted to steal the British Crown Jewels from the Tower of London. Despite being caught red-handed, he was pardoned by King Charles II.
1689 English King William III declares war on France.
1726 Three men arrested during a February raid on Mother Clap's molly-house (a coffee house catering to homosexuals) in London are executed by hanging at Tyburn, England.
1785 British inventor Joseph Bramah patents beer-pump handle.
1865 President Andrew Johnson issues a proclamation declaring armed resistance in the South is virtually at an end; this is the commonly accepted end date of the American Civil War.
1887 Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show opened in London. His cowboy themed shows also toured Europe as well as the United States.Cody was an American soldier, bison hunter and showman and was one of the most colourful figures of the American Old West.
1896 The first 'Horseless Carriage' Show opened at the Imperial Institute in London, when ten engine-powered models went on show to the public.
1904 The steam locomotive City of Truro built at the GWR Swindon Works became the first steam engine in Europe to exceed 100 mph.
1939 British prime minister Winston Churchill urged military alliance with USSR.
1941 World War II: The German submarine U-110 was captured by the Royal Navy. On board was the latest Enigma cryptography machine which Allied cryptographers later used to break coded German messages.
1945 World War II: The Channel Islands were liberated by the British after five years of German occupation.
1949 Britain's 1st launderette opens in Queensway, London.
1960 Start of the sexual revolution of the 1960s when the birth control pill went on the market.
1962 The Beatles sign their 1st contract with EMI Parlophone.
1962 Laser beam successfully bounced off Moon for 1st time.
1980 Slasher horror film "Friday the 13th" is released in US cinemas.
1987 32nd Eurovision Song Contest: Johnny Logan for Ireland wins singing "Hold Me Now" in Brussels.
1992 37th Eurovision Song Contest: Linda Martin for Ireland wins singing "Why Me" in Malmo.
1996 The British House of Commons voted to maintain the Ministry of Defence ban on homosexuals serving in the armed forces.
1998 43rd Eurovision Song Contest: Dana International for Israel wins singing "Diva" in Birmingham.
2001 Accra Sports Stadium Disaster: 129 Ghanaian football fans die in a stampede caused by the firing of teargas by police following a decision by the referee in a crucial match between arch-rivals Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko.
2005 Liberal commentary website The Huffington Post is launched.
2012 Mark Rothko's "Orange, Red, Yellow" becomes the most expensive contemporary art piece to be sold at auction for $86.9 million dollars.
2014 Former cabinet minister Chris Huhne was ordered to pay £77,750 for the costs of his prosecution for passing speeding points to his then wife, the economist Vicky Pryce. Both Huhne and Pryce were sentenced to eight months imprisonment in March 2013.
2013 Everton Manager David Moyes is announced as Sir Alex Ferguson's successor at Manchester United (he only lasts 10 months).
2016 Boris Johnson resigns as Mayor of London, succeeded by Sadiq Khan.
2018 Manchester City smashes EPL records in 3-1 win over Brighton - most goals (105), most points (97) and most wins (31).
2019 English clubs create football history by taking all 4 final spots in Europe's 2 major competitions; Chelsea & Arsenal qualify in Europa Cup after Champions League wins for Liverpool & Spurs.
1291 Scottish nobles recognized the authority of Edward I of England.
1307 The Battle of Loudoun Hill; fought between a Scots force led by Robert Bruce and the English commanded by Aymer de Valence. The battle took place beneath Loudoun Hill, in Ayrshire and ended in a victory for Bruce. It was his first major military victory.
1773 The British Parliament passed the Tea Act, designed to save the British East India Company by granting it a monopoly on the North American tea trade.
1824 The National Gallery in London opened to the public.
1915 Zeppelin drops hundred of bombs on Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England.
1916 Explorer Ernest Shackleton and companions reached the Falkland island of South Georgia after sailing 800 miles in 16 days in an open boat. They were looking for help for the remaining members of their party marooned on Elephant island, Antarctica.
1919 The first scheduled commercial air service in Britain began. The flight from Manchester to Southport cost 4 guineas one way and was run by A.V.Roe.
1941 Rudolf Hess, deputy leader of Nazi Germany, flew a small plane to Scotland and parachuted to the ground in a bizarre attempt to negotiate a peace settlement with Britain. After interrogation he was later jailed for life.
1941 World War II - The worst night of the Blitz in Britain. 550 German bombers dropped 100,000 bombs on London. More than 1500 people were killed and many thousands more were injured.
1980 Underdogs Second Division West Ham beat Arsenal in F.A. CUP final. To date,it is the last time a team from outside the top flight has won the FA Cup. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUlHRuwZGb4
1994 Nelson Mandela sworn in as South Africa's 1st black president.
1995 A lob from 45 yards out on the right touchline by former Tottenham player Nayim beat David Seaman in the last minute of extra time and gave Real Zaragoza a 2-1 victory over holders Arsenal in the final of the European Cup Winners Cup played at the Parc des Princes in Paris. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbLGnHmGg9Y
1068 Matilda of Flanders, wife of William the Conqueror, is crowned Queen of England in Westminster Abbey, London.
1310 Fifty-four members of the Knights Templar are burned at the stake in France for being heretics.
1685 The death of 18 year old Margaret Wilson, executed by drowning for refusing to swear an oath declaring James VII (James II of England) as head of the church. She died along with Margaret McLachlan. Known as the Wigtown Martyrs they are buried in Wigtown Churchyard alongside the three men hanged at Wigtown.
1812 British Prime Minister Spencer Percival was assassinated in the House of Commons, apparently mistaken by his killer, bankrupt broker John Bellingham, for someone else. He is the only Prime Minister in Britain to have been assassinated.
1812 Waltz introduced into English ballrooms. Some observers consider it disgusting and immoral.
1820 The launch of HMS Beagle, the ship that took Charles Darwin on his scientific voyage to test his theories on evolution.
1857 During the Indian Revolution, Indian rebels seized Delhi from the British.
1924 Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft and Benz & Cie begin their first joint venture (later merge into Mercedes-Benz).
1937 The knighting of Pelham Warner, a cricketer, marked the first time the honour was conferred upon a sportsman.
1949 Siam renames itself Thailand.
1956 Elvis Presley's 1st entry on UK charts with "Heartbreak Hotel".
1963 British businessman Greville Wynne, aged 44, accused of spying for the West was sentenced to eight years' detention by a Moscow tribunal.
1964 Interior designer and businessman Terence Conran opened his first Habitat Shop in London's Fulham Road.
1967 Britain, Ireland and Denmark officially applied to join the EEC.
1969 British comedy troupe Monty Python forms, made up of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin.
1971 The Daily Sketch newspaper which was founded in 1909, was published for the last time. It was Britain's oldest 'tabloid' newspaper.
1977 Wallace Virgo, former head of the police **** squad was found guilty of taking bribes from Soho vice kings.
1983 Aberdeen F.C. defeated Real Madrid 2-1 to win the European Cup Winners' Cup in Gothenburg, Sweden.
1985 Fifty six spectators died and more than 200 were injured in a flash fire at Bradford City stadium (Valley Parade football ground) during a match against Lincoln City. The inquiry into the disaster led to the introduction of new legislation to improve safety at the UK's football grounds. One of the main outcomes of the inquiry was prohibiting the construction of new wooden grandstands at all UK sports grounds.
1988 Athlete Zola Budd flew back to her home in South Africa following the diplomatic row over her eligibility to compete for Britain.
1988 Kim Philby, the English born Soviet spy, died in the USSR.
1989 Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical 'Cats' , based on T.S.Eliot's Old Possum poems, became the West End's longest-running musical, completing eight years.
1997 Deep Blue defeats Garry Kasparov 3.5-2.5 in chess.
2002 Last performance of the musical Cats in London's West End.
2008 PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: Sergio García of Spain claims the biggest win of his career to date in a sudden-death playoff over American Paul Goydos.
2010 David Cameron becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after forming a coalition government between the Liberal Democrats and his own Conservative Party.
2013 English FA Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London (86,254): Wigan Athletic upsets Manchester City, 1-0; Ben Watson scores 90+1' winner. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2J5ImKiQnbo
2015 Record price for a work of art at auction: Picasso's The Women of Algiers (Version ‘O’) sells for US$179.3 million at Christies in New York.
1264 The start of the Battle of Lewes (Sussex), between King Henry III and the rebel Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester. It marked the high point of the career of Simon de Montfort and made him the 'uncrowned King of England'.
1536 Sir Francis Weston, Mark Smeaton and several other alleged lovers of Anne Boleyn, wife of King Henry VIII, were tried for treason and executed 'On This Day'.
1820 The birth of Florence Nightingale, English hospital reformer who attended to the wounded during the Crimean War. She was born in Florence, but Embley Park in Hampshire was her family home from 1825 until her death in 1910. ‘The Lady of the Lamp’ had over 10,000 under her care in appalling and unsanitary conditions. Determined to remedy the suffering she had experienced, she raised £50,000 to establish nurses’ training in Britain.
1890 The first official County Championship cricket match. Yorkshire beat Gloucestershire by eight wickets.
1906 The pro-British magazine John Bull was published by the MP Horatio Bottomley.
1926 The Trade Union Congress called off the General Strike that had brought the nation to a standstill for nine days. Workers across the country had downed tools in support of miners, protesting at a wage cut.
1937 The Coronation of George VI. The BBC televised the procession in its first ever outside broadcast. Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon became queen consort and was later known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II.
1945 The publication of the first of the 'Thomas the Tank Engine' series by the Rev. Wilbert Awdry. It was entitled 'The Three Railway Engines' and featured Edward, Gordon and Henry. The book quickly sold the initial print run of 22,500 copies and there were a further two print runs by the end of the year.
1967 The Government gave the go-ahead to proposals to convert Stansted into an international airport.
1969 The minimum voting age in Britain was lowered from 21 to 18.
1994 The Labour leader John Smith (aged 55) died in a London hospital after two serious heart attacks.
1994 "Pulp Fiction", directed by Quentin Tarantino and starring John Travolta, Uma Thurman and Samuel L. Jackson premieres at the Cannes Film Festival.
1997 Guinness and Grand Metropolitan, two of Britain's leading drinks companies, agreed to a £23 billion mega-merger that would create the world's largest spirits group, GMG Brands.
2000 Ford workers at its Dagenham plant reacted with shock and anger at the news that car production was to be transferred to Germany and Spain, with the loss of 3,000 jobs.
2001 For the first time ever the FA Cup Final was held outside England when it took place at the new Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Liverpool beats Arsenal, 2-1 with Michael Owen scoring twice for the Reds.
2010 Conservative David Cameron's arrival in Downing Street as Prime Minister of a coalition government, marked the end of 13 years of Labour rule, with Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg as Deputy Prime Minister.
2019 Manchester City beats Brighton, 4-1 to claim back-to-back English Premier League titles with 98 points, 1 ahead of runners-up, Liverpool.
The day that Sunderland won the FA Cup......by scoring for Arsenal! In one of the most memorable FA Cup finals Arsenal had taken a 2-0 half-time lead over Manchester United with goals from Brian Talbot and Frank Stapleton and with four minutes of the final left to play the scoreline remained the same and the Londoners looked set to win the famous trophy. But then things happened! In the 86th minute United pulled a goal back with Gordon McQueen scoring and then in the 88th minute Sammy McIlroy hit an equaliser. With extra-time looking a certainty things changed again when Arsenal's Alan Sunderland scored an 89th minute winner. Amazing - it was one of the most dramatic cup finishes with the match becoming known as 'The Five-Minute Final'
For the first time ever the FA Cup Final was held outside England when it took place at the new Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Liverpool beat Arsenal, 2-1 with Michael Owen scoring twice for the Reds.
1515 Mary Tudor, Queen of France and Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, were officially married at Greenwich.
1568 In the Battle of Langside, the forces of Mary, Queen of Scots, were defeated by a confederacy of Scottish Protestants under James Stewart, Earl of Moray, who was her half-brother.
1607 Riots took place in Northamptonshire and other Midland counties of England in protest at the widespread enclosure of common land.
1607 Captain John Smith landed on the coast of Virginia and began the first permanent English settlement in the New World, calling it Jamestown.
1660 Diarist Samuel Pepys witnessed the removal of the Irish Harp from the Union Flag, on the Restoration of Charles II. The cross of St Patrick was not added until 1801.
1787 The first fleet of 11 ships carrying convicts to the new penal colony of Australia left England. They arrived in January 1788. 'On This Day' in 1987 several sailing ships left Portsmouth, re-enacting the first voyage.
1868 A team of Aboriginal cricketers arrived in England to play 47 matches. They preceded a white Australian team by more than ten years.
1912 The Royal Flying Corps, (now known as the Royal Air Force), was established.
1949 Britain’s first jet bomber, the Canberra, was given its first test flight at Warton in Lancashire and was flown by Wing Cdr. RP Beaumont.
1950 First ever race of the Formula 1 World Drivers Championship is run at Silverstone, England and won by Giuseppe Farina of italy in an Alfa Romeo.
1957 The BBC began its regular television programmes for schools.
1966 The Rolling Stones release "Paint it Black" in the UK.
1967 Octagonal boxing ring is tested to avoid corner injuries.
1972 Battle at Springmartin: following a loyalist car bombing of a Catholic-owned pub in the Ballymurphy area of Belfast, clashes erupt between PIRA, UVF and British Army.
1977 England captain Tony Greig was fired for recruiting players to Australian Kerry Packer's rival World XI team in what was seen as a 'breach of trust'.
1998 Chelsea win 38th European Cup Winner's Cup against Stuttgart of Germany 1-0 in Stockholm.
2006 English FA Cup Final, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff (71,140): Liverpool beat West Ham United, 3-1 on penalties after 3–3 (a.e.t.); Reds 7th title. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kBrbDf0siw
2007 At 16 years, 65 days Matthew Briggs debuts for Fulham in a 3-1 defeat at Middlesbrough; youngest player to appear in an English Premier League match.
2007 The first episode of 'Gavin & Stacey', a romantic situation comedy.
2009 Health minister Phil Hope agreed to repay £41,709 in second home allowances following further media revelations about MPs expenses.
2012 Manchester City win the English Premier League for the first time as they beat QPR 3-2 at City of Manchester Stadium to win English Premier League title on goal difference from Manchester United; Citizens recover from 2–1 down with 2 stoppage-time goals; first EPL title decided on goal difference. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1fhiP2fjYc
2013 Former cabinet minister Chris Huhne and his ex-wife Vicky Pryce were released from prison and electronically tagged, having served a quarter of their eight month jail sentences for perverting the course of justice. The ex-energy secretary had asked Pryce to take his speeding points after his BMW car was caught by a speed camera on the M11 between Stansted Airport and London in March 2003.
2018 Arsène Wenger guides Arsenal to a 1-0 win at Huddersfield in his final game as Gunners manager after 22 years in charge.
1080 William Walcher, the Bishop of Durham and Earl of Northumberland, was murdered. As revenge, William the Conqueror ravaged the area and took the opportunity to invade Scotland and build the castle at Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
1779 The classic English horse race The Oaks was first run at the Epsom Racecourse in southern England.
1796 Edward Jenner became the first British physician to carry out a successful vaccination; on an eight year old boy against smallpox using cowpox pus. His pioneering work laid the foundation for modern immunology techniques.
1847 HMS Driver completed the first circumnavigation of the world by a steamship when it arrived back at Spithead on the Hampshire coast.
1856 The trial of William Palmer, doctor and poisoner, began at the Old Bailey. Palmer’s victims were poisoned with strychnine. They included creditors, at least four of his 14 illegitimate children, his mother-in-law, his wife who had brought him a large dowry, and other relations. Palmer was found guilty and executed in his native Staffordshire.
1889 The children's charity the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, was launched in London. Liverpool businessman Thomas Agnew had visited the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and was so impressed that he returned to England determined to provide similar help. In 1895 Queen Victoria became its first Royal Patron but it did not change its title to 'Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children' or similar, as the acronym NSPCC was already well established.
1894 Blackpool Tower first opened to the public who paid a 6d (six pence) entrance fee, six pence more for a ride in the lifts to the top, and a further six pence for the circus.
1929 Yorkshire and England cricketer Wilfred Rhodes took his 4000th first-class wicket during a performance of 9 for 39 at Leyton. He is the only player in history to have reached that plateau. He was also the first Englishman to complete the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in Test matches.
1939 Lina Medina of Peru becomes the world's youngest confirmed mother in medical history at the age of five.
1951 Trains ran on the Talyllyn Railway in Wales for the first time since preservation, making it the first railway in the world to be operated by volunteers.
1961 Stirling Moss wins the 1961 Monaco Grand Prix.
1980 Valencia of Spain wins 20th European Cup Winner's Cup against Arsenal of England 5-4 on penalties in Brussels.
1989 1st Tour de Trump bicycle race run (Atlanta). The race was originally sponsored by Donald Trump and known as the "Tour de Trump" in 1989 and 1990.
1991 Winnie Mandela sentenced to 6 years for complicity in kidnapping & beating of four youths, one of whom died, She is freed pending appeal.
1994 FA Cup Final: Manchester United defeat Chelsea 4-0 at Wembley Stadium, London.
1995 At 43 years, 162 days Manchester City goalkeeper John Burridge becomes the oldest player to appear in an EPL match, a 3-2 home defeat to Queens Park Rangers.
2011 English FA Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London (88,643): Manchester City beat Stoke City, 1-0; Yaya Touré scores 74' winner; Citizens' 5th title.
2018 Arsenal finish EPL season in 6th place on 63 points; fail to qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 1997.
After a France v England international in Paris shirt swapping began. It was the seventh time the countries had met and England had won all the previous six, usually by a big margin. But on 14th May 1931 things were different and France recorded - for them anyway - an historic 5-2 victory. So pleased were the French that they asked if they could have the England shirts to keep to commemorate the win, their request was granted and a tradition was started.
Football On This Day – 14th May 1980.
In their 68th competitive match of the season (they would play a record 70) Arsenal met Valencia in the first European final to be decided on penalties. Liam Brady and Graham Rix missed their kicks with Valencia winning the penalty shoot-out 5-4 at the Heysel Stadium in Belgium to take the European Cup Winners Cup.
Football On This Day – 14th May 1983.
Saturday 14th May 1983 was the day that Raddy Antic got a page to himself in the Luton Town history book. It was the last match of the season and Manchester City were playing Luton in a First Division match at Maine Road, The mathematics were straightforward enough. The winning team would stay in the top flight, the losing team would be relegated with a draw seeing City up and Town down. And it looked as if it was heading for a draw when Antic came on as a sub in the last half an hour but with four minutes remaining he scored the only goal of the match with a shot from the edge of the box. The Hatters stayed up and Raddy Antic became the hero of the day although Luton manager David Pleat did get a headline or two for himself with his celebration jig when the final whistle was blown. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyAUkaC6nsI
Football On This Day – 14th May 1988.
Just 11 years previously Wimbledon had been a non-league side but on this day in 1988 they caused a major shock by beating Liverpool in the FA Cup final, Lawrie Sanchez scoring the only goal of the match to deny the Merseysiders a League and FA Cup double. Wimbledon's skipper Dave Beasant became the first goalkeeper to save an FA Cup final penalty at Wembley (against John Aldridge).
Football On This Day – 14th May 2017.
Tottenham Hotspur played their 1993rd and last League match at their old White Hart Lane ground, their home since 1899. Spurs were moving to Wembley for the 2017/18 season to allow their old ground to be demolished and their new ground to be completed. They marked the occasion with a 2-1 victory over Manchester United to equal a club record of 14 consecutive home League wins. But it was perhaps their last two away matches of the season that made more headlines. On May 18th Harry Kane scored 4 in the 6-1 win at reigning champions Leicester and three days after that Kane scored three more in their 7-1 victory at Hull, their record away League win. Those goals saw Kane win the Golden Boot award for the top Premier League goalscorer for the second season in a row while the points won saw Spurs finish second, their best League finish since 1963 and perhaps more importantly for the first time since 1994/95 they finished the season higher in the League than north London rivals Arsenal.
1464 The Battle of Hexham (Northumberland). It marked the end of significant Lancastrian resistance in the north of England during the early part of the reign of Edward IV.
1536 The trial of Anne Boleyn. She was accused of incest, sleeping with 4 men and an assassination plot against her husband, King Henry VIII. She was found guilty by a specially-selected jury and executed four days later.
1567 Mary Queen of Scots married James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, just three months after the assassination of her husband, Lord Darnley.
1568 Mary Queen of Scots spent her last night on Scottish soil,the next morning she boarded a fishing boat bound for Workington in England and for imprisonment and eventual execution.
1718 The first machine gun was patented by London lawyer James Puckle who, as a keen fisherman, intended to use it at sea! He began to manufacture it in London in 1721.
1800 George III survived two assassination attempts in one day, the second coming from James Hadfield who fired a shot at the King during a performance at the Drury Lane Theatre in London. Hadfield was later acquitted by reason of insanity.
1858 The present Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London was opened.
1905 Las Vegas founded in Nevada.
1921 The formation of the British Legion by Earl Haig (known as 'Butcher of the Somme').. It brought together four National Organisations of ex-Service men that had established themselves after the Great War of 1914-1918 and it is the UK's leading Armed Forces charity. It provides practical, emotional and financial support to all members of the British Armed Forces past and present, and to their families.
1929 In the first football international, England lost to Spain 4-3, in Madrid.
1936 Aviator Amy Johnson arrived in England after a record-breaking 12 day, 15 hour flight from London to Cape Town and back.
1941 The first flight of Britain's first jet propelled aircraft, the Gloster-Whittle E.28/39. It was designed to test the Whittle jet engine in flight, leading to the development of the Gloster Meteor.
1957 Britain's first hydrogen bomb was exploded on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean. The effect of the radiation on some of the British soldiers who watched the test only came to light many years later.
1963 Tottenham Hotspur of England win 3rd European Cup winner's Cup against Atlético Madrid of Spain 5-1 at Rotterdam.
1985 Everton of England wins 25th European Cup Winner's Cup against Rapid Wien of Austria 3-1 in Rotterdam.
1987 The birth of Andy Murray, Scottish tennis player. In 2011, Murray became only the seventh player in the Open Era to reach the semi-finals of all four Grand Slam tournaments in one year. On 7th July 2013 he won his first Wimbledon title and ended Britain's 77-year wait for a men's champion, with a straight-sets victory over world number one Novak Djokovic.
1990 Home produced beef was banned in UK schools and hospitals as a result of concern over 'mad cow disease' (BSE).
1991 Manchester United of England win 31th European Cup Winner's Cup against FC Barcelona 2-1 in Rotterdam.
1995 The British Police Federation voted against the routine arming of police officers.
2010 English FA Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London (88,335): Chelsea beat Portsmouth,1-0; Didier Drogba scores 59' winner; Blues' 6th title.
1220 Henry III of England laid the foundation stone of a new Lady Chapel at Westminster Abbey, thus beginning the new abbey-church which was completed in 1245.
1532 Sir Thomas More resigned as Lord Chancellor of England. He opposed the King's separation from the Catholic Church and refused to accept the King as Supreme Head of the Church of England. He was imprisoned in 1534, tried for treason in 1535 where he was convicted on perjured testimony and beheaded.
1568 Mary Queen of Scots fled to England. Disguised as an ordinary woman, she crossed the River Solway and landed at Workington, Cumbria, spending her first night at Workington Hall.
1862 The death of the British politician Edward Gibbon Wakefield. His abduction of and marriage to the 15-year-old heiress Ellen Turner of Pott Shrigley led to 'The Shrigley abduction case - 1826'. The couple were married in Gretna Green before Turner's father was able to notify the authorities and intervene. The marriage was annulled by Parliament and Edward Gibbon Wakefield and his brother William, who had aided him, were convicted at trial and sentenced to three years in prison.
1908 Britain’s first diesel submarine was launched.
1929 1st Academy Awards (Oscars) "Wings" wins. The ceremony took the form of a private dinner party for 250 people in the Blossom Room of the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood. There was no radio or television to record the event. Only silent movies were considered for an award in 1929, which ruled out "The Jazz Singer" starring Al Jolson, one of the first “talkies”.
1943 The famous ‘Dam Busters’ raid by the 617 Squadron of Lancaster bombers led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson breached the Mohne, Eder and Sorpe dams in Germany using the ‘bouncing’ bombs developed by Dr Barnes Wallis. Of the 133 aircrew that took part, 53 men were killed and three became prisoners of war. On the ground, almost 1,300 people were killed in the resulting flooding. Although the impact on industrial production was limited, the raid gave a significant morale boost to the people of Britain.
1951 The first regularly scheduled transatlantic flights begin between Idlewild Airport (New York International Airport) and Heathrow Airport (London), operated by El Al Israel Airlines.
1956 England's Jim Laker took all 10 Australian wickets for 88 in 46 overs at the Oval.
1966 The Beach Boys release their groundbreaking album "Pet Sounds", containing hit singles "Sloop John B" and "Wouldn't It Be Nice".
1973 AC Milan of Italy win 13th European Cup Winner's Cup against Leeds of England 1-0 in Saloniki.
1975 Muhammad Ali TKOs Ron Lyle in 11 for heavyweight boxing title.
1977 Muhammad Ali beats Alfredo Evangelist in 15 for heavyweight boxing title.
1983 London police began wheel clamping illegally parked vehicles.
1986 "Top Gun", directed by Tony Scott and starring Tom Cruise premieres.
1986 Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy) comes back from the dead on TV show "Dallas".
1990 John Gummer (government minister) attempted to reassure the public that British beef was safe despite growing fears over BSE. He enlisted his daughter by having her filmed eating a beef burger for the benefit of the TV cameras.
2001 Labour's Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, punched a man who threw an egg at him during his visit to, Rhyl, North Wales. The two men were then involved in a scuffle before the police intervened and arrested Craig Evans, aged 29. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XTiI1e-wVc
2014 Paris Saint-Germain F.C. & Manchester City F.C. are each fined €60 million for breaching Fair Play Regulations.
2019 UK talk show "The Jeremy Kyle Show" axed by ITV after a guest dies.
2019 British people get drunk more than any other nation, 51 times year according to the Global Drug survey, with English-speaking countries drinking the most.
The 1986/87 FA Cup final was something of a 'David v Goliath' encounter between Tottenham Hotspur - who had previously played in seven FA Cup finals and won them all - and Coventry City who were playing in their first final. It proved to be one of the most entertaining finals. Clive Allen gave the Londoners the lead after just two minutes, Dave Bennett equalised five minutes later, Gary Mabbutt restored the Spurs lead just before half-time with Keith Houchen levelling things up again in the second half. Extra time brought the winning goal with Gary Mabbutt getting his second goal of the match - an own-goal giving Coventry victory!
To add insult to injury brewers Holsten, the Spurs kit sponsor, were obviously delighted at the publicity they would be getting at the high-profile cup final. But a manufacturing problem meant that half the Spurs shirts supplied for the final had the Holsten logo on it.....and the other half didn't!
Football On This Day – 16th May 1988.
Just two days after winning the FA Cup the Wimbledon's 'Crazy Gang' hit the headlines again. In a testimonial for one of their cup-winning team, Alan Cork, most of the players 'mooned' at half time. It saw Wimbledon being charged by the FA for bringing the game into disrepute - the club were fined £5000 and each of the players involved £750.
Football On This Day – 16th May 1999.
West Ham United set a new world record! Each fan who attended West Ham's last Premier Division match of the 1998/99 season, against Middlesbrough, at Upton Park on Sunday May 16th 1999 was given a bubble-blowing pot by kit supplier Fila and 23,680 of them blew bubbles for 1 minute to get into the Guinness Book of World Records.
Football On This Day – 16th May 2015.
The quickest-ever hat-trick in the Premier League was scored by Southampton's Sadio Mané on Saturday May 16th 2015. His three goals were scored in 2 minutes 56 seconds in the 6-1 defeat of Aston Villa at St Mary's. The Senegal international's 176 second record beat the previous best which had stood for nearly 21 years - Robbie Fowler had scored all of Liverpool's goals in their 3-0 victory over Arsenal at Anfield on Sunday August 28th 1994 in four minutes 33 seconds.
Brilliant stuff this is @lucy4 but the Spurs v Coventry final was on 15th May (my Dad's 50th birthday) and because of the extra-time I missed my train back to Stoke (& the birthday party as well- I was in everyone's bad books lol)
Brilliant stuff this is @lucy4 but the Spurs v Coventry final was on 15th May (my Dad's 50th birthday) and because of the extra-time I missed my train back to Stoke (& the birthday party as well- I was in everyone's bad books lol)
@SidV79 the places I've looked all say the 16th perhaps you were celebrating a bit too much
Yup, you are right but you also have the following year's final as taking place on the same date (16th May 1988 was a Monday) so should be 14th not 16th...and I still missed my Dad's 50th party as that was on same day as Cup final lol
Comments
878 Battle of Edington: Alfred the Great and his West Saxon army defeat Viking army of Guthrum the Old.
1536 King Henry VIII ordered that English language Bibles be placed in every church.
1659 English Restoration: A faction of the British Army removed Richard Cromwell as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth.
1733 1st international boxing match: Bob Whittaker beats Tito di Carni.
1801 Captain Thomas Cochrane captured the 32-gun Spanish frigate El Gamo in his 14 gun ship HMS Speedy.
1840 The first postage stamps, the ‘Penny Black’ and two-penny ‘blues’, which were the brainchild of Roland Hill, became valid for postage On This Day.
1910 Following the death of King Edward VII, George V acceded to the throne. He celebrated his Silver Jubilee with Queen Mary in 1935.
1937 German airship Hindenburg explodes in flames at Lakehurst, New Jersey, killing 35 of the 97 on board and 1 on the ground.
The Hindenburg bursts into flames as it approaches its mooring mast. Thirty-six people died.
1954 Roger Bannister, a 25 year old British medical student, became the first man to run a mile in less than four minute (at the Iffley Road Sports Ground, Oxford). His time was 3 minute 59.4 seconds.
1959 Icelandic gunboats fire lived ammunition at British trawlers during a Cod War between Britain and Iceland over fishing rights in the North Sea.
1960 Princess Margaret, sister of Queen Elizabeth II, married Anthony Armstrong-Jones at Westminster Abbey in London. It was the first televised royal wedding and was watched by more than 20 million viewers.
1961 The first football team to achieve the double (FA Cup and League champions), was Tottenham Hotspur led by Danny Blanchflower when they beat Leicester City 2-0 to win the Cup at Wembley.
1966 At Chester Crown Court, 'Moors murderers' Ian Brady and Myra Hindley were found guilty of torturing and killing several children before burying their bodies on the moors north of Manchester.
1970 European Cup Final, San Siro, Milan: Feyenoord beats Celtic, 2-1; first time title won by a Dutch club.
1979 These six rock-cut tombs at Heysham in Lancashire became Grade I listed and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Further excavation in 1993 on land below the stone coffins showed that the site had been occupied about 12,000 years previously.
The rock tombs are next to the ruined St Patrick's Chapel (Grade I listed), on a headland above St Peter's Church (also Grade I listed), in Heysham, Lancashire.
1988 Graeme Hick, Worcestershire's 21 year year old cricketer, scored 405 runs, not out, in a county championship match. It was the biggest innings in England in 93 years.
1990 London telephone codes changed to 071 and 081 (replacing 01).
1994 The Queen and France's President Francois Mitterrand formally opened the Channel Tunnel during two elaborate ceremonies in France and Britain.
1994 Lennox Lewis TKOs Phil Jackson in 8 for heavyweight boxing title.
1995 The Queen Mother opened (in Hyde Park) three days of VE Day celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the ending of World War Two.
1997 The Bank of England was given independence from political control. It was the most significant change in its 300 year history.
1999 In an historic vote, electors in Scotland and Wales went to the polls to chose their representatives for the newly-devolved Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly.
2002 Entrepreneur Elon Musk founds SpaceX.
2004 TV sitcom "Friends" airs season finale in 10th and final season in US (52.5 million viewers).
2019 World Snooker Championship, Crucible Theatre, Sheffield: Englishman Judd Trump wins his first world crown beating John Higgins of Scotland, 18-9.
2020 Irish organisation repays a 170 year old favor, raising over $2 million (to date) for US Navajo Nation and Hopi Reservation badly affected by COVID-19. In 1840s Choctaw Nation sent $170 to aid Irish potato famine.
Tottenham beat Leicester 2-0 in the FA Cup Final to become the first club since Aston Villa in 1896/97 to win a League and FA Cup double. Among their ranks that day were Bill Brown, Danny Blanchflower, Dave Mackay, Cliff Jones and John White who helped Spurs become the dominant force of the time. And Jimmy Greaves had yet to arrive at White Hart Lane! The final was Leicester's 10th FA Cup tie of the season and it was part of a disappointing run that saw them lose in all the four FA Cup finals they played in in the 25 years since football had resumed after the Second World War.
Football On This Day – 6th May 1978.
Arsenal were red-hot favourites to beat FA Cup final debutants Ipswich Town in the 1978 final at Wembley. The Suffolk side had been beaten 6-1 by Aston Villa in the League a week previously but the underdogs hit the posts three times in the final before Roger Osborne scored the only goal of the match for Ipswich in the 77th minute. That was his last action in the match - he immediately fainted and had to be substituted!
Football On This Day – 6th May 2018.
Wolves were clear champions but the battle for the second automatic promotion spot from the Championship in 2017/18 went to the last match of the season. Fulham had to pick up more points than Cardiff on the last day, May 6th - Cardiff drew 0-0 at home to Reading while Fulham - defending a 23-match unbeaten League run dating back to December 2017....lost at Birmingham! Cardiff's promotion saw their manager Neil Warnock set an impressive new record - it was the eighth time he had managed a club to promotion, a record covering 7 different clubs. He started off by managing Scarborough to promotion from the Conference to the Football League in 1986/87 followed by promotions with Notts County (twice), Huddersfield, Plymouth, Sheffield United and QPR before his latest success at Cardiff. And for the record Cardiff set a major new Football League first during the season. In consecutive matches in February and March they beat Bristol City, Barnsley, Birmingham, Brentford and Burton to become the first side ever to beat five clubs starting with the letter 'B' in consecutive League matches. Hey - every record is important!
1429 English siege of Orleans broken by Joan of Arc and the French army.
1663 The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, built by Thomas Killigrew, opened under a charter granted by Charles II.
1765 HMS Victory, the ship which became the flagship of British Admiral Horatio Nelson, was launched at Chatham. The ship is now preserved at Portsmouth.
1821 Sierra Leone, Gambia, and the Gold Coast were taken over by the British government to form British West Africa.
1860 The birth of English freak showman Thomas Noakes, (later known as Tom Norman). In 1884, he took over the management of Joseph Merrick, otherwise known as the 'Elephant Man' and exhibited him for a few weeks until police closed down the show. Over the next few years, Norman's travelling exhibitions featured Eliza Jenkins, the 'Skeleton Woman', a 'Balloon Headed Baby' and a woman who bit off the heads of live rats, the 'most gruesome' act that Norman claimed to have seen. Other acts included fleas, fat ladies, giants, dwarfs and retired white seamen, painted black and speaking in an invented language, billed 'savage Zulus'.
1867 Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel patents dynamite in England, the first of three patents he would receive for the explosive material.
1915 World War I : The Cunard liner Lusitania, bound for Liverpool, was torpedoed by a German submarine off the coast of Ireland with the loss of almost 1,200 lives. The loss of 128 US citizens brought the USA to the verge of war with Germany.
1928 The voting age for women in Britain was reduced from 30 to 21.
1941 Glenn Miller records "Chattanooga Choo Choo" for RCA, it becomes 1st record to be designated "gold".
1945 Germany signed an unconditional surrender in a small school in Rheims (France) when General Jodl, German Army Chief of Staff, signed his name on documents that formally ended six years of war in Europe.
1946 Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering (later renamed Sony) is founded with around 20 employees.
1956 Health Minister, RH Turton, rejected calls for a government campaign against smoking, saying no ill effects had been proven.
1959 British Rail announced plans to close down 230 stations.
1965 White voters in the African colony of Rhodesia backed Prime Minister Ian Smith's Rhodesian Front which was demanding independence from the UK.
1986 30th European Cup: Steaua Bucuresti beats Barcelona (0-0, 2-0 on penalties) at Seville.
1987 Ex-Guinness chairman Geoffrey Saunders was remanded on bail on a charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
1997 Glasgow Rangers won their 9th successive Scottish League title - to equal the record held by their closest rivals, Celtic.
1999 The first Scottish Parliament for 300 years was elected. The Scottish Parliament building is in Edinburgh and was built at a cost of £414 million (ten times over the original budget).
2003 Arsenal thrash Southampton, 6-1 at Highbury to start Gunners' amazing English Premier League record 49-game unbeaten streak; ends 24 October, 2004 with 2-0 defeat at Manchester United.
2011 Seve Ballesteros, the legendary five-time major winning golfer, died at the age of 54 after losing his fight against cancer.
2015 British General Elections: Conservative Party win outright majority and David Cameron returns as Prime Minister.
2018 World Snooker Championship, Crucible Theatre, Sheffield: Welshman Mark Williams beats John Higgins of Scotland, 18-16; as promised, does his press conference in the nude.
#Lasagnegate#
Spurs needed to win their last match of the season to make sure of getting the fourth Champions League spot – instead they are beaten by West Ham with Arsenal pipping them to that Champions League place. A dodgy meal of lasagne the night before the match is thought to have caused the problem.
On this day 5 years ago, Leicester City completed The Fairytale Story and lifted the Premier League Trophy against all odds.
1348 Ship from Bordeaux carrying the plague, lands in Melcombe Regis (now Weymouth), Dorset.
1429 The French warrior maiden, Joan of Arc, led the Dauphin's troops to victory over the English laying siege to Orleans.
1450 Jack Cade's rebellion occurred 'On This Day' when Kentishmen, led by Jack Cade, revolted against King Henry VI with his 'Complaint of the Poor Commons of Kent' manifesto. His army of as many as 5,000 marched on London, causing the King to flee to Warwickshire. After taking and looting London, the rebels were defeated in a battle at London Bridge and scattered. They were promised pardons and reforms, but many of the rebels were instead declared traitors, and Cade was killed in a small skirmish on 12th July 1450.
1559 The Act of Supremacy was passed by which the new Queen Elizabeth I became "Supreme Governor" of the Church of England and a Common Prayer book was introduced.
1660 Charles II was proclaimed King of England. This was the restoration of the monarchy after the English Civil War and the reign of Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector.
1701 English pirate Captain Kidd went on trial at the Old Bailey in London. After being found guilty of piracy he was hanged on 23rd May, 1701.
1886 Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta sells the first Coca-Cola (contained cocaine).
1896 The highest county cricket championship innings score, 887, was achieved by Yorkshire against Warwickshire at Edgbaston.
1926 David Attenborough, English naturalist and broadcaster was born.
1933 Mahatma Gandhi, the pre-eminent leader of Indian nationalism in British ruled India began a 21 day fast in protest against the British rule.
1941 The German Luftwaffe launched a bombing raid on Nottingham and Derby.
1945 VE Day in Europe. After five years, eight months, and five days of massive devastation, the end of the European phase of World War II was celebrated. Victory in Europe was commemorated with celebrations all around the world in recognition of the unconditional surrender of all German forces, which was signed in Reims, France, the previous day.
1958 "Dracula" film starring Christopher Lee as the eponymous vampire, directed by Terence Fisher is the first Hammer Horror film released.
1961 Former British diplomat George Blake, was jailed for 42 years after being found guilty of spying for Russia. In 1966 he successfully escaped from London's Wormwood Scrubs.
1967 Muhammad Ali is indicted for refusing induction in US Army.
1968 Gangster twins Reginald and Ronnie Kray and their brother Charlie were arrested after dawn raids by police in London.
1970 Beatles release 12th, and final, studio album, "Let It Be", in conjunction with the film of the same name.
1974 50 MPH speed limit in Britain lifted.
1984 The official opening of the Thames Barrier in London. The barrier is designed to be raised when exceptionally high tides on the River Thames threaten to flood parts of London.
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.
1986 British climber Alison Hargreaves became the first climber to conquer a Himalayan peak by its toughest route when she reached the 11,500 foot summit of Kantega in 5 days without oxygen, porters or a fixed camp.
2013 Sir Alex Ferguson (aged 71) announced his retirement as Manchester United manager after 26 years in charge. The Scot won 38 trophies for the club including 13 league titles, two Champions League crowns, five FA Cups and four League Cups and was the most successful manager in the history of British football.
2015 David cameron's Conservative party won a majority Government. In the aftermath; Ed Miliband (Labour party leader) resigned, as did Nick Clegg (Liberal Democrat leader) and also the UKIP leader Nigel Farage. (Note: The UKIP chairman Steve Crowther later rejected Mr. Farage's post-election resignation because 'the party's election campaign has been a great success'.
Arsenal complete the Double with victory in the F.A. Cup final with Charlie George scoring a screamer.
Football On This Day – 8th May 1999.
Going into the last match of the season Carlisle United were favourites to fill the one relegation spot from the League to the Conference, they were a point behind Scarborough. Going into the last seconds of the season Carlisle were near certainties to go down. Scarborough's match had just finished - they had got a point - while Carlisle were level with Plymouth at Brunton Park, and so they needed a win to stay up. With seconds left Carlisle goalkeeper Jimmy Glass went upfield for a Carlisle corner - and scored the winning goal to keep Carlisle in the Football League. Jimmy Glass was on loan from Swindon at the time, he only ever played 3 times for Carlisle and yet scored one of the most important goals in the clubs' history - not bad for a goalkeeper!
Football On This Day – 8th May 2002.
Arsenal complete the Double with victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford.
1092 Lincoln Cathedral was consecrated. For 249 years it was reputedly the tallest building in the world.
1386 The Treaty of Windsor was ratified between England (succeeded by the United Kingdom) and Portugal. It is the oldest diplomatic alliance in the world that is still in force.
1662 The first recorded Punch & Judy Show in Britain took place at Covent Garden in London.
1671 Irishman Colonel Thomas Blood attempted to steal the British Crown Jewels from the Tower of London. Despite being caught red-handed, he was pardoned by King Charles II.
1689 English King William III declares war on France.
1726 Three men arrested during a February raid on Mother Clap's molly-house (a coffee house catering to homosexuals) in London are executed by hanging at Tyburn, England.
1785 British inventor Joseph Bramah patents beer-pump handle.
1865 President Andrew Johnson issues a proclamation declaring armed resistance in the South is virtually at an end; this is the commonly accepted end date of the American Civil War.
1887 Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show opened in London. His cowboy themed shows also toured Europe as well as the United States.Cody was an American soldier, bison hunter and showman and was one of the most colourful figures of the American Old West.
1896 The first 'Horseless Carriage' Show opened at the Imperial Institute in London, when ten engine-powered models went on show to the public.
1904 The steam locomotive City of Truro built at the GWR Swindon Works became the first steam engine in Europe to exceed 100 mph.
1939 British prime minister Winston Churchill urged military alliance with USSR.
1941 World War II: The German submarine U-110 was captured by the Royal Navy. On board was the latest Enigma cryptography machine which Allied cryptographers later used to break coded German messages.
1945 World War II: The Channel Islands were liberated by the British after five years of German occupation.
1949 Britain's 1st launderette opens in Queensway, London.
1960 Start of the sexual revolution of the 1960s when the birth control pill went on the market.
1962 The Beatles sign their 1st contract with EMI Parlophone.
1962 Laser beam successfully bounced off Moon for 1st time.
1980 Slasher horror film "Friday the 13th" is released in US cinemas.
1987 32nd Eurovision Song Contest: Johnny Logan for Ireland wins singing "Hold Me Now" in Brussels.
1992 37th Eurovision Song Contest: Linda Martin for Ireland wins singing "Why Me" in Malmo.
1996 The British House of Commons voted to maintain the Ministry of Defence ban on homosexuals serving in the armed forces.
1998 43rd Eurovision Song Contest: Dana International for Israel wins singing "Diva" in Birmingham.
2001 Accra Sports Stadium Disaster: 129 Ghanaian football fans die in a stampede caused by the firing of teargas by police following a decision by the referee in a crucial match between arch-rivals Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko.
2005 Liberal commentary website The Huffington Post is launched.
2012 Mark Rothko's "Orange, Red, Yellow" becomes the most expensive contemporary art piece to be sold at auction for $86.9 million dollars.
2014 Former cabinet minister Chris Huhne was ordered to pay £77,750 for the costs of his prosecution for passing speeding points to his then wife, the economist Vicky Pryce. Both Huhne and Pryce were sentenced to eight months imprisonment in March 2013.
2013 Everton Manager David Moyes is announced as Sir Alex Ferguson's successor at Manchester United (he only lasts 10 months).
2016 Boris Johnson resigns as Mayor of London, succeeded by Sadiq Khan.
2018 Manchester City smashes EPL records in 3-1 win over Brighton - most goals (105), most points (97) and most wins (31).
2019 English clubs create football history by taking all 4 final spots in Europe's 2 major competitions; Chelsea & Arsenal qualify in Europa Cup after Champions League wins for Liverpool & Spurs.
1291 Scottish nobles recognized the authority of Edward I of England.
1307 The Battle of Loudoun Hill; fought between a Scots force led by Robert Bruce and the English commanded by Aymer de Valence. The battle took place beneath Loudoun Hill, in Ayrshire and ended in a victory for Bruce. It was his first major military victory.
1773 The British Parliament passed the Tea Act, designed to save the British East India Company by granting it a monopoly on the North American tea trade.
1824 The National Gallery in London opened to the public.
1915 Zeppelin drops hundred of bombs on Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England.
1916 Explorer Ernest Shackleton and companions reached the Falkland island of South Georgia after sailing 800 miles in 16 days in an open boat. They were looking for help for the remaining members of their party marooned on Elephant island, Antarctica.
1919 The first scheduled commercial air service in Britain began. The flight from Manchester to Southport cost 4 guineas one way and was run by A.V.Roe.
1941 Rudolf Hess, deputy leader of Nazi Germany, flew a small plane to Scotland and parachuted to the ground in a bizarre attempt to negotiate a peace settlement with Britain. After interrogation he was later jailed for life.
1941 World War II - The worst night of the Blitz in Britain. 550 German bombers dropped 100,000 bombs on London. More than 1500 people were killed and many thousands more were injured.
1978 22nd European Cup: Liverpool beats Club Brugge 1-0 at Wembley Stadium.
1980 Underdogs Second Division West Ham beat Arsenal in F.A. CUP final. To date,it is the last time a team from outside the top flight has won the FA Cup.
1994 Nelson Mandela sworn in as South Africa's 1st black president.
1995 A lob from 45 yards out on the right touchline by former Tottenham player Nayim beat David Seaman in the last minute of extra time and gave Real Zaragoza a 2-1 victory over holders Arsenal in the final of the European Cup Winners Cup played at the Parc des Princes in Paris.
1068 Matilda of Flanders, wife of William the Conqueror, is crowned Queen of England in Westminster Abbey, London.
1310 Fifty-four members of the Knights Templar are burned at the stake in France for being heretics.
1685 The death of 18 year old Margaret Wilson, executed by drowning for refusing to swear an oath declaring James VII (James II of England) as head of the church. She died along with Margaret McLachlan. Known as the Wigtown Martyrs they are buried in Wigtown Churchyard alongside the three men hanged at Wigtown.
1812 British Prime Minister Spencer Percival was assassinated in the House of Commons, apparently mistaken by his killer, bankrupt broker John Bellingham, for someone else. He is the only Prime Minister in Britain to have been assassinated.
1812 Waltz introduced into English ballrooms. Some observers consider it disgusting and immoral.
1820 The launch of HMS Beagle, the ship that took Charles Darwin on his scientific voyage to test his theories on evolution.
1857 During the Indian Revolution, Indian rebels seized Delhi from the British.
1924 Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft and Benz & Cie begin their first joint venture (later merge into Mercedes-Benz).
1937 The knighting of Pelham Warner, a cricketer, marked the first time the honour was conferred upon a sportsman.
1949 Siam renames itself Thailand.
1956 Elvis Presley's 1st entry on UK charts with "Heartbreak Hotel".
1963 British businessman Greville Wynne, aged 44, accused of spying for the West was sentenced to eight years' detention by a Moscow tribunal.
1964 Interior designer and businessman Terence Conran opened his first Habitat Shop in London's Fulham Road.
1967 Britain, Ireland and Denmark officially applied to join the EEC.
1969 British comedy troupe Monty Python forms, made up of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin.
1971 The Daily Sketch newspaper which was founded in 1909, was published for the last time. It was Britain's oldest 'tabloid' newspaper.
1977 Wallace Virgo, former head of the police **** squad was found guilty of taking bribes from Soho vice kings.
1983 Aberdeen F.C. defeated Real Madrid 2-1 to win the European Cup Winners' Cup in Gothenburg, Sweden.
1985 Fifty six spectators died and more than 200 were injured in a flash fire at Bradford City stadium (Valley Parade football ground) during a match against Lincoln City. The inquiry into the disaster led to the introduction of new legislation to improve safety at the UK's football grounds. One of the main outcomes of the inquiry was prohibiting the construction of new wooden grandstands at all UK sports grounds.
1988 Athlete Zola Budd flew back to her home in South Africa following the diplomatic row over her eligibility to compete for Britain.
1988 Kim Philby, the English born Soviet spy, died in the USSR.
1989 Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical 'Cats' , based on T.S.Eliot's Old Possum poems, became the West End's longest-running musical, completing eight years.
1997 Deep Blue defeats Garry Kasparov 3.5-2.5 in chess.
2002 Last performance of the musical Cats in London's West End.
2008 PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: Sergio García of Spain claims the biggest win of his career to date in a sudden-death playoff over American Paul Goydos.
2010 David Cameron becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after forming a coalition government between the Liberal Democrats and his own Conservative Party.
2013 English FA Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London (86,254): Wigan Athletic upsets Manchester City, 1-0; Ben Watson scores 90+1' winner.
2015 Record price for a work of art at auction: Picasso's The Women of Algiers (Version ‘O’) sells for US$179.3 million at Christies in New York.
1264 The start of the Battle of Lewes (Sussex), between King Henry III and the rebel Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester. It marked the high point of the career of Simon de Montfort and made him the 'uncrowned King of England'.
1536 Sir Francis Weston, Mark Smeaton and several other alleged lovers of Anne Boleyn, wife of King Henry VIII, were tried for treason and executed 'On This Day'.
1820 The birth of Florence Nightingale, English hospital reformer who attended to the wounded during the Crimean War. She was born in Florence, but Embley Park in Hampshire was her family home from 1825 until her death in 1910. ‘The Lady of the Lamp’ had over 10,000 under her care in appalling and unsanitary conditions. Determined to remedy the suffering she had experienced, she raised £50,000 to establish nurses’ training in Britain.
1890 The first official County Championship cricket match. Yorkshire beat Gloucestershire by eight wickets.
1906 The pro-British magazine John Bull was published by the MP Horatio Bottomley.
1926 The Trade Union Congress called off the General Strike that had brought the nation to a standstill for nine days. Workers across the country had downed tools in support of miners, protesting at a wage cut.
1937 The Coronation of George VI. The BBC televised the procession in its first ever outside broadcast. Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon became queen consort and was later known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II.
1945 The publication of the first of the 'Thomas the Tank Engine' series by the Rev. Wilbert Awdry. It was entitled 'The Three Railway Engines' and featured Edward, Gordon and Henry. The book quickly sold the initial print run of 22,500 copies and there were a further two print runs by the end of the year.
1967 The Government gave the go-ahead to proposals to convert Stansted into an international airport.
1969 The minimum voting age in Britain was lowered from 21 to 18.
1994 The Labour leader John Smith (aged 55) died in a London hospital after two serious heart attacks.
1994 "Pulp Fiction", directed by Quentin Tarantino and starring John Travolta, Uma Thurman and Samuel L. Jackson premieres at the Cannes Film Festival.
1997 Guinness and Grand Metropolitan, two of Britain's leading drinks companies, agreed to a £23 billion mega-merger that would create the world's largest spirits group, GMG Brands.
2000 Ford workers at its Dagenham plant reacted with shock and anger at the news that car production was to be transferred to Germany and Spain, with the loss of 3,000 jobs.
2001 For the first time ever the FA Cup Final was held outside England when it took place at the new Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Liverpool beats Arsenal, 2-1 with Michael Owen scoring twice for the Reds.
2010 Conservative David Cameron's arrival in Downing Street as Prime Minister of a coalition government, marked the end of 13 years of Labour rule, with Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg as Deputy Prime Minister.
2019 Manchester City beats Brighton, 4-1 to claim back-to-back English Premier League titles with 98 points, 1 ahead of runners-up, Liverpool.
The day that Sunderland won the FA Cup......by scoring for Arsenal! In one of the most memorable FA Cup finals Arsenal had taken a 2-0 half-time lead over Manchester United with goals from Brian Talbot and Frank Stapleton and with four minutes of the final left to play the scoreline remained the same and the Londoners looked set to win the famous trophy. But then things happened! In the 86th minute United pulled a goal back with Gordon McQueen scoring and then in the 88th minute Sammy McIlroy hit an equaliser. With extra-time looking a certainty things changed again when Arsenal's Alan Sunderland scored an 89th minute winner. Amazing - it was one of the most dramatic cup finishes with the match becoming known as 'The Five-Minute Final'
Football On This Day - 12th May 2001.
For the first time ever the FA Cup Final was held outside England when it took place at the new Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Liverpool beat Arsenal, 2-1 with Michael Owen scoring twice for the Reds.
1515 Mary Tudor, Queen of France and Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, were officially married at Greenwich.
1568 In the Battle of Langside, the forces of Mary, Queen of Scots, were defeated by a confederacy of Scottish Protestants under James Stewart, Earl of Moray, who was her half-brother.
1607 Riots took place in Northamptonshire and other Midland counties of England in protest at the widespread enclosure of common land.
1607 Captain John Smith landed on the coast of Virginia and began the first permanent English settlement in the New World, calling it Jamestown.
1660 Diarist Samuel Pepys witnessed the removal of the Irish Harp from the Union Flag, on the Restoration of Charles II. The cross of St Patrick was not added until 1801.
1787 The first fleet of 11 ships carrying convicts to the new penal colony of Australia left England. They arrived in January 1788. 'On This Day' in 1987 several sailing ships left Portsmouth, re-enacting the first voyage.
1868 A team of Aboriginal cricketers arrived in England to play 47 matches. They preceded a white Australian team by more than ten years.
1912 The Royal Flying Corps, (now known as the Royal Air Force), was established.
1949 Britain’s first jet bomber, the Canberra, was given its first test flight at Warton in Lancashire and was flown by Wing Cdr. RP Beaumont.
1950 First ever race of the Formula 1 World Drivers Championship is run at Silverstone, England and won by Giuseppe Farina of italy in an Alfa Romeo.
1957 The BBC began its regular television programmes for schools.
1966 The Rolling Stones release "Paint it Black" in the UK.
1967 Octagonal boxing ring is tested to avoid corner injuries.
1972 Battle at Springmartin: following a loyalist car bombing of a Catholic-owned pub in the Ballymurphy area of Belfast, clashes erupt between PIRA, UVF and British Army.
1977 England captain Tony Greig was fired for recruiting players to Australian Kerry Packer's rival World XI team in what was seen as a 'breach of trust'.
1998 Chelsea win 38th European Cup Winner's Cup against Stuttgart of Germany 1-0 in Stockholm.
2006 English FA Cup Final, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff (71,140): Liverpool beat West Ham United, 3-1 on penalties after 3–3 (a.e.t.); Reds 7th title.
2007 At 16 years, 65 days Matthew Briggs debuts for Fulham in a 3-1 defeat at Middlesbrough; youngest player to appear in an English Premier League match.
2007 The first episode of 'Gavin & Stacey', a romantic situation comedy.
2009 Health minister Phil Hope agreed to repay £41,709 in second home allowances following further media revelations about MPs expenses.
2012 Manchester City win the English Premier League for the first time as they beat QPR 3-2 at City of Manchester Stadium to win English Premier League title on goal difference from Manchester United; Citizens recover from 2–1 down with 2 stoppage-time goals; first EPL title decided on goal difference.
2013 Former cabinet minister Chris Huhne and his ex-wife Vicky Pryce were released from prison and electronically tagged, having served a quarter of their eight month jail sentences for perverting the course of justice. The ex-energy secretary had asked Pryce to take his speeding points after his BMW car was caught by a speed camera on the M11 between Stansted Airport and London in March 2003.
2018 Arsène Wenger guides Arsenal to a 1-0 win at Huddersfield in his final game as Gunners manager after 22 years in charge.
1080 William Walcher, the Bishop of Durham and Earl of Northumberland, was murdered. As revenge, William the Conqueror ravaged the area and took the opportunity to invade Scotland and build the castle at Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
1779 The classic English horse race The Oaks was first run at the Epsom Racecourse in southern England.
1796 Edward Jenner became the first British physician to carry out a successful vaccination; on an eight year old boy against smallpox using cowpox pus. His pioneering work laid the foundation for modern immunology techniques.
1847 HMS Driver completed the first circumnavigation of the world by a steamship when it arrived back at Spithead on the Hampshire coast.
1856 The trial of William Palmer, doctor and poisoner, began at the Old Bailey. Palmer’s victims were poisoned with strychnine. They included creditors, at least four of his 14 illegitimate children, his mother-in-law, his wife who had brought him a large dowry, and other relations. Palmer was found guilty and executed in his native Staffordshire.
1889 The children's charity the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, was launched in London. Liverpool businessman Thomas Agnew had visited the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and was so impressed that he returned to England determined to provide similar help. In 1895 Queen Victoria became its first Royal Patron but it did not change its title to 'Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children' or similar, as the acronym NSPCC was already well established.
1894 Blackpool Tower first opened to the public who paid a 6d (six pence) entrance fee, six pence more for a ride in the lifts to the top, and a further six pence for the circus.
1929 Yorkshire and England cricketer Wilfred Rhodes took his 4000th first-class wicket during a performance of 9 for 39 at Leyton. He is the only player in history to have reached that plateau. He was also the first Englishman to complete the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in Test matches.
1939 Lina Medina of Peru becomes the world's youngest confirmed mother in medical history at the age of five.
1951 Trains ran on the Talyllyn Railway in Wales for the first time since preservation, making it the first railway in the world to be operated by volunteers.
1961 Stirling Moss wins the 1961 Monaco Grand Prix.
1980 Valencia of Spain wins 20th European Cup Winner's Cup against Arsenal of England 5-4 on penalties in Brussels.
1989 1st Tour de Trump bicycle race run (Atlanta). The race was originally sponsored by Donald Trump and known as the "Tour de Trump" in 1989 and 1990.
1991 Winnie Mandela sentenced to 6 years for complicity in kidnapping & beating of four youths, one of whom died, She is freed pending appeal.
1994 FA Cup Final: Manchester United defeat Chelsea 4-0 at Wembley Stadium, London.
1995 At 43 years, 162 days Manchester City goalkeeper John Burridge becomes the oldest player to appear in an EPL match, a 3-2 home defeat to Queens Park Rangers.
2011 English FA Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London (88,643): Manchester City beat Stoke City, 1-0; Yaya Touré scores 74' winner; Citizens' 5th title.
2018 Arsenal finish EPL season in 6th place on 63 points; fail to qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 1997.
Football On This Day – 14th May 1931.
After a France v England international in Paris shirt swapping began. It was the seventh time the countries had met and England had won all the previous six, usually by a big margin. But on 14th May 1931 things were different and France recorded - for them anyway - an historic 5-2 victory. So pleased were the French that they asked if they could have the England shirts to keep to commemorate the win, their request was granted and a tradition was started.
Football On This Day – 14th May 1980.
In their 68th competitive match of the season (they would play a record 70) Arsenal met Valencia in the first European final to be decided on penalties. Liam Brady and Graham Rix missed their kicks with Valencia winning the penalty shoot-out 5-4 at the Heysel Stadium in Belgium to take the European Cup Winners Cup.
Football On This Day – 14th May 1983.
Saturday 14th May 1983 was the day that Raddy Antic got a page to himself in the Luton Town history book. It was the last match of the season and Manchester City were playing Luton in a First Division match at Maine Road, The mathematics were straightforward enough. The winning team would stay in the top flight, the losing team would be relegated with a draw seeing City up and Town down. And it looked as if it was heading for a draw when Antic came on as a sub in the last half an hour but with four minutes remaining he scored the only goal of the match with a shot from the edge of the box. The Hatters stayed up and Raddy Antic became the hero of the day although Luton manager David Pleat did get a headline or two for himself with his celebration jig when the final whistle was blown.
Football On This Day – 14th May 1988.
Just 11 years previously Wimbledon had been a non-league side but on this day in 1988 they caused a major shock by beating Liverpool in the FA Cup final, Lawrie Sanchez scoring the only goal of the match to deny the Merseysiders a League and FA Cup double. Wimbledon's skipper Dave Beasant became the first goalkeeper to save an FA Cup final penalty at Wembley (against John Aldridge).
Football On This Day – 14th May 2017.
Tottenham Hotspur played their 1993rd and last League match at their old White Hart Lane ground, their home since 1899. Spurs were moving to Wembley for the 2017/18 season to allow their old ground to be demolished and their new ground to be completed. They marked the occasion with a 2-1 victory over Manchester United to equal a club record of 14 consecutive home League wins. But it was perhaps their last two away matches of the season that made more headlines. On May 18th Harry Kane scored 4 in the 6-1 win at reigning champions Leicester and three days after that Kane scored three more in their 7-1 victory at Hull, their record away League win. Those goals saw Kane win the Golden Boot award for the top Premier League goalscorer for the second season in a row while the points won saw Spurs finish second, their best League finish since 1963 and perhaps more importantly for the first time since 1994/95 they finished the season higher in the League than north London rivals Arsenal.
1464 The Battle of Hexham (Northumberland). It marked the end of significant Lancastrian resistance in the north of England during the early part of the reign of Edward IV.
1536 The trial of Anne Boleyn. She was accused of incest, sleeping with 4 men and an assassination plot against her husband, King Henry VIII. She was found guilty by a specially-selected jury and executed four days later.
1567 Mary Queen of Scots married James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, just three months after the assassination of her husband, Lord Darnley.
1568 Mary Queen of Scots spent her last night on Scottish soil,the next morning she boarded a fishing boat bound for Workington in England and for imprisonment and eventual execution.
1718 The first machine gun was patented by London lawyer James Puckle who, as a keen fisherman, intended to use it at sea! He began to manufacture it in London in 1721.
1800 George III survived two assassination attempts in one day, the second coming from James Hadfield who fired a shot at the King during a performance at the Drury Lane Theatre in London. Hadfield was later acquitted by reason of insanity.
1858 The present Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London was opened.
1905 Las Vegas founded in Nevada.
1921 The formation of the British Legion by Earl Haig (known as 'Butcher of the Somme').. It brought together four National Organisations of ex-Service men that had established themselves after the Great War of 1914-1918 and it is the UK's leading Armed Forces charity. It provides practical, emotional and financial support to all members of the British Armed Forces past and present, and to their families.
1929 In the first football international, England lost to Spain 4-3, in Madrid.
1936 Aviator Amy Johnson arrived in England after a record-breaking 12 day, 15 hour flight from London to Cape Town and back.
1941 The first flight of Britain's first jet propelled aircraft, the Gloster-Whittle E.28/39. It was designed to test the Whittle jet engine in flight, leading to the development of the Gloster Meteor.
1957 Britain's first hydrogen bomb was exploded on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean. The effect of the radiation on some of the British soldiers who watched the test only came to light many years later.
1963 Tottenham Hotspur of England win 3rd European Cup winner's Cup against Atlético Madrid of Spain 5-1 at Rotterdam.
1985 Everton of England wins 25th European Cup Winner's Cup against Rapid Wien of Austria 3-1 in Rotterdam.
1987 The birth of Andy Murray, Scottish tennis player. In 2011, Murray became only the seventh player in the Open Era to reach the semi-finals of all four Grand Slam tournaments in one year. On 7th July 2013 he won his first Wimbledon title and ended Britain's 77-year wait for a men's champion, with a straight-sets victory over world number one Novak Djokovic.
1990 Home produced beef was banned in UK schools and hospitals as a result of concern over 'mad cow disease' (BSE).
1991 Manchester United of England win 31th European Cup Winner's Cup against FC Barcelona 2-1 in Rotterdam.
1995 The British Police Federation voted against the routine arming of police officers.
2010 English FA Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London (88,335): Chelsea beat Portsmouth,1-0; Didier Drogba scores 59' winner; Blues' 6th title.
1220 Henry III of England laid the foundation stone of a new Lady Chapel at Westminster Abbey, thus beginning the new abbey-church which was completed in 1245.
1532 Sir Thomas More resigned as Lord Chancellor of England. He opposed the King's separation from the Catholic Church and refused to accept the King as Supreme Head of the Church of England. He was imprisoned in 1534, tried for treason in 1535 where he was convicted on perjured testimony and beheaded.
1568 Mary Queen of Scots fled to England. Disguised as an ordinary woman, she crossed the River Solway and landed at Workington, Cumbria, spending her first night at Workington Hall.
1862 The death of the British politician Edward Gibbon Wakefield. His abduction of and marriage to the 15-year-old heiress Ellen Turner of Pott Shrigley led to 'The Shrigley abduction case - 1826'. The couple were married in Gretna Green before Turner's father was able to notify the authorities and intervene. The marriage was annulled by Parliament and Edward Gibbon Wakefield and his brother William, who had aided him, were convicted at trial and sentenced to three years in prison.
1908 Britain’s first diesel submarine was launched.
1929 1st Academy Awards (Oscars) "Wings" wins. The ceremony took the form of a private dinner party for 250 people in the Blossom Room of the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood. There was no radio or television to record the event. Only silent movies were considered for an award in 1929, which ruled out "The Jazz Singer" starring Al Jolson, one of the first “talkies”.
1943 The famous ‘Dam Busters’ raid by the 617 Squadron of Lancaster bombers led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson breached the Mohne, Eder and Sorpe dams in Germany using the ‘bouncing’ bombs developed by Dr Barnes Wallis. Of the 133 aircrew that took part, 53 men were killed and three became prisoners of war. On the ground, almost 1,300 people were killed in the resulting flooding. Although the impact on industrial production was limited, the raid gave a significant morale boost to the people of Britain.
1951 The first regularly scheduled transatlantic flights begin between Idlewild Airport (New York International Airport) and Heathrow Airport (London), operated by El Al Israel Airlines.
1956 England's Jim Laker took all 10 Australian wickets for 88 in 46 overs at the Oval.
1966 The Beach Boys release their groundbreaking album "Pet Sounds", containing hit singles "Sloop John B" and "Wouldn't It Be Nice".
1973 AC Milan of Italy win 13th European Cup Winner's Cup against Leeds of England 1-0 in Saloniki.
1975 Muhammad Ali TKOs Ron Lyle in 11 for heavyweight boxing title.
1977 Muhammad Ali beats Alfredo Evangelist in 15 for heavyweight boxing title.
1983 London police began wheel clamping illegally parked vehicles.
1986 "Top Gun", directed by Tony Scott and starring Tom Cruise premieres.
1986 Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy) comes back from the dead on TV show "Dallas".
1990 John Gummer (government minister) attempted to reassure the public that British beef was safe despite growing fears over BSE. He enlisted his daughter by having her filmed eating a beef burger for the benefit of the TV cameras.
2001 Labour's Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, punched a man who threw an egg at him during his visit to, Rhyl, North Wales. The two men were then involved in a scuffle before the police intervened and arrested Craig Evans, aged 29.
2014 Paris Saint-Germain F.C. & Manchester City F.C. are each fined €60 million for breaching Fair Play Regulations.
2019 UK talk show "The Jeremy Kyle Show" axed by ITV after a guest dies.
2019 British people get drunk more than any other nation, 51 times year according to the Global Drug survey, with English-speaking countries drinking the most.
The 1986/87 FA Cup final was something of a 'David v Goliath' encounter between Tottenham Hotspur - who had previously played in seven FA Cup finals and won them all - and Coventry City who were playing in their first final. It proved to be one of the most entertaining finals. Clive Allen gave the Londoners the lead after just two minutes, Dave Bennett equalised five minutes later, Gary Mabbutt restored the Spurs lead just before half-time with Keith Houchen levelling things up again in the second half. Extra time brought the winning goal with Gary Mabbutt getting his second goal of the match - an own-goal giving Coventry victory!
To add insult to injury brewers Holsten, the Spurs kit sponsor, were obviously delighted at the publicity they would be getting at the high-profile cup final. But a manufacturing problem meant that half the Spurs shirts supplied for the final had the Holsten logo on it.....and the other half didn't!
Football On This Day – 16th May 1988.
Just two days after winning the FA Cup the Wimbledon's 'Crazy Gang' hit the headlines again. In a testimonial for one of their cup-winning team, Alan Cork, most of the players 'mooned' at half time. It saw Wimbledon being charged by the FA for bringing the game into disrepute - the club were fined £5000 and each of the players involved £750.
Football On This Day – 16th May 1999.
West Ham United set a new world record! Each fan who attended West Ham's last Premier Division match of the 1998/99 season, against Middlesbrough, at Upton Park on Sunday May 16th 1999 was given a bubble-blowing pot by kit supplier Fila and 23,680 of them blew bubbles for 1 minute to get into the Guinness Book of World Records.
Football On This Day – 16th May 2015.
The quickest-ever hat-trick in the Premier League was scored by Southampton's Sadio Mané on Saturday May 16th 2015. His three goals were scored in 2 minutes 56 seconds in the 6-1 defeat of Aston Villa at St Mary's. The Senegal international's 176 second record beat the previous best which had stood for nearly 21 years - Robbie Fowler had scored all of Liverpool's goals in their 3-0 victory over Arsenal at Anfield on Sunday August 28th 1994 in four minutes 33 seconds.