1636 The birth of Edward Colston, Bristol-born merchant and Member of Parliament. Much of his wealth, although used often for philanthropic purposes, was acquired through the trade and exploitation of slaves. He endowed schools and almshouses and his name is commemorated in several Bristol landmarks, two schools and the Colston bun (a yeast dough flavoured with dried fruit and spices).
1871 British police began their Rogues' Gallery, taking photographs of all convicted prisoners.
1896 The first motor insurance policies were issued in Britain, but they excluded damage caused by frightened horses.
1936 The world's first regular TV service was started by the British Broadcasting Corporation at Alexandra Palace at 3:00 p.m. It was defined as 'high-definition' (with 200 lines of resolution) and was renamed BBC1 in 1964. An estimated 100 TV owners tuned in.
1964 The first episode of the television soap opera 'Crossroads' was broadcast on ITV.
1976 Democrat candidate Jimmy Carter is elected President of the United States, defeating incumbent Republican President Gerald Ford
1981 Citizens Band radio (CB radio) was legally allowed in Britain.
1983 "Thriller" single released worldwide by Michael Jackson.
1991 2nd Rugby World Cup Final, Twickenham: Australia beats England, 12-6 with Wallabies fly-half Michael Lynagh landing 2 penalties and a conversion.
2019 9th Rugby World Cup, Yokohama: South African fly-half Handré Pollard lands 6 penalties and 2 conversions as Springboks beat favourites England, 32-12 for their 3rd title.
1989 "Blackadder Goes Forth" final episode "Goodbyeee" airs starring Rowan Atkinson and Tony Robinson, written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton
"Goodbyeee", or "Plan F: Goodbyeee",is the sixth and final episode of Blackadder Goes Forth, the fourth series of British historical sitcom Blackadder. The episode was first broadcast on BBC1 in the United Kingdom on 2 November 1989, shortly before Armistice Day. Apart from the one-off short film Blackadder: Back & Forth made a decade later, it was the last episode of Blackadder to be produced and transmitted.
The episode depicts its main characters' final hours before a British offensive on the Western Front of the First World War, and Captain Blackadder's attempts to escape his fate by feigning madness after he fails to convince General Melchett, and Field Marshal Haig's advice proves useless, he resigns himself to taking part in the push. "Goodbyeee" has a darker tone than other episodes in the series, culminating in its acclaimed ending in which the main characters are assumed to die in machine-gun fire. The episode's theme of death ties in with the series' use of gallows humour, its criticism and satire of war, and its depiction of authority figures contentedly sending their subordinates to face the enemy, while unwilling to do so themselves.
Richard Curtis and Ben Elton wrote the episode, and further material was provided by cast members. Its final sequence, which shows the main characters going "over the top", uses slow motion, as the programme's creators were unhappy with the result of the scripted ending. The enhanced scene has been described as bold and highly poignant.
On 3rd November 1906 the 'SOS' signal was established as an International Distress Signal by an agreement made between the British Marconi Society and the German Telefunk organisation at the Berlin Radio Conference. The signal was formally introduced on 1 July 1908.
Why was SOS chosen to signify a distress signal?
In Morse code SOS signified by three dots, three dashes, then three dots (· · · – – – · · ·). SOS was chosen because it could not be misinterpreted as being a message for anything else.
The Meaning and History of SOS
What does SOS stand for? It’s not “Save Our Ship” or “Save Our Souls” like you might think. Instead, the distress signal that originated in the maritime community is communication used specifically for ships, based on Morse Code, that is represented by three dots, three dashes, and three more dots.
Developed by Samuel Morse in 1835, Morse code’s dots and dashes signify letters of the alphabet and are used to communicate messages, such as SOS, by sending electric pulses. But SOS wasn’t the first recognized distress signal. Before SOS there was CQD, with the “CQ” translating to “general notice” and the “D” an abbreviation for “distress.”
However, CQD wasn’t a universal distress call. England used CQD, the U.S. Navy used NC (the International Code of Signals maritime distress flag signal), and Italy used SSSDD. The need for a common indicator of distress was real, and the mode of communication needed to fit for long- distance communications—instead of being limited to those within sight range.
The universal use of SOS was ratified at the 1906 Radiotelegraph Conference and went into effect in 1908. Its first documented use in the U.S. occurred in August 1909 when the SS Arapahoe lost power in the Graveyard of the Atlantic near Diamond Shoals. T.D. Haubner (also the recipient of the second documented SOS signal) sent the distress call, and the ship and crew were successfully rescued.
November 3, 1957 — Russian dog Laika was sent up in the spaceship Sputnik II to orbit Earth on this day.
Laika was a stray that had been picked up on the streets of Moscow. At the time there was no technology – or plans – to bring her back to Earth.
One of the technicians preparing her capsule said that "after placing Laika in the container and before closing the hatch, we kissed her nose and wished her bon voyage, knowing that she would not survive the flight."
The launch was designed to show that a living passenger could survive being thrust into orbit and endure micro-gravity, paving the way for space travel by humans.
It also paved the way for furious protest across the world, nowhere more so than in Britain. The BBC’s switchboard was jammed by irate callers even before an announcer had finished reading the news bulletin of the event.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was also threatened with telephonic meltdown until a quick-thinking employee told callers to "make your protest direct to the Soviet embassy” – and gave out the number.
The League Against Cruel Sports expressed "horror and contempt" for the behaviour of the Russians "beside which the sickening stories of the inhuman cruelties of the Middle Ages fade into insignificance."
And as the protests grew, the National Canine Defence League appealed for one minute of silence across the country at 11am every day.
Lady Munnings, wife of the Royal Academy's former President, Sir Alfred Munnings, demanded: “Instead of dogs, why not use child murderers, who just get life sentences and have a jolly good time in prison?"
As protesting dog lovers massed outside the Russian Embassy in London, First Secretary Yuri Modin was forced to make a statement. "The Russians love dogs,” he insisted. “This has been done not for the sake of cruelty but for the benefit of humanity."
So what happened to Laika? Although Moscow long insisted that she expired painlessly after about a week in orbit, an official with the Institute for Biological Problems leaked the truth in 2002: Laika died from panic and overheating within hours of takeoff.
The spacecraft circled Earth every hour and 42 minutes, travelling at 18,000 mph. But after five to seven hours into the flight, all signs of life received from the spacecraft stopped.
Over five months later, after 2,570 orbits, Sputnik II—including Laika's remains—disintegrated during re-entry on April 14, 1958.
1975: North Sea oil begins to flow The Queen has formally begun the operation of the UK's first oil pipeline at a £500,000 ceremony in Scotland. The 130-mile (209-kilometre) pipeline from Cruden Bay to Grangemouth has been built by British Petroleum (BP).
The pipeline serves the Forties oilfield 110 miles east of Aberdeen, which the company discovered six years ago.
The Queen inaugurated the flow of oil by pushing a gold-plated button in BP's control centre at Dyce near Aberdeen.
She was accompanied by Prince Philip and Prince Andrew.
Prime Minister Harold Wilson also attended with the Scottish Secretary and other senior cabinet colleagues.
The inauguration by Her Majesty and the presence of so many high-ranking politicians in Dyce - a town scarcely on the map a year ago - is seen as testament to the importance being placed on North Sea oil.
The Forties is the largest oilfield so far discovered in the British sector of the North Sea.
It is being mined with the help of a £370m loan from the British government.
Production will start this month at a rate of 10,000 barrels per day.
Within two to three years the field is expected to yield 400,000 barrels per day - about a fifth of Britain's oil consumption.
The ceremony to mark the field's official opening was marked by Scotland's largest-ever police operation.
Officials were worried by threats from the so-called "Tartan Army" to disrupt the ceremony or bomb the pipeline which contains nearly 30 million gallons of oil.
The group has said it was behind four attempts to damage the pipeline in the past two years.
None of the attacks caused serious damage but the Tartan Army said they had only been "dress rehearsals".
In Context Britain's North Sea oil did not emerge immediately as a key rival to that produced by nations in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec). But output grew as major discoveries continued throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s.
However, the 1997-1998 oil price collapse had negative effects on North Sea production.
Norway, the Netherlands and Germany also extract oil from their portions of the North Sea but on a smaller scale.
After years of declining production and job losses, the industry in Scotland was given a boost in 2001 with the discovery of the Buzzard oilfield near Aberdeen.
It contains an estimated 400 million barrels of oil.
Another smaller find was made in 2004. The Brenda oilfield in the Outer Moray Firth could yield up to 150 million barrels.
1534 English parliament passes the Act of Supremacy making Henry VIII and all subsequent monarchs the Head of the Church of England.
1843 The statue of English Admiral Horatio Nelson was raised to the top of Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square, London. The operation was completed on the 4th when the statue’s two sections were assembled.
1906 International Radiotelegraph Conference in Berlin selects "SOS" (· · · – – – · · ·) distress signal as the worldwide standard for help.
1952 Clarence Birdseye markets frozen peas.
1968 English Lotus driver Graham Hill wins his 2nd Formula 1 World Drivers Championship by taking out the Mexican Grand Prix at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez; wins title by 12 points from Scotsman Jackie Stewart.
1975 Queen Elizabeth II opened the North Sea pipeline - the first to be built underwater - bringing ashore 400,000 barrels a day to Grangemouth Refinery on the Firth of Forth in Scotland.
1976 The first £100,000 Premium Bond was won, by an anonymous person in Hillingdon.
1985 French McLaren driver Alain Prost wins his first Formula 1 World Drivers Championship, finishing 4th in the Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide; wins title by 20 points from Italian Michele Alboreto.
1991 Ayrton Senna wins Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide; shortest F1 race ever run (14 laps) because of wet conditions; Senna retains his 3rd World Drivers Championship by 24 points from Nigel Mansell.
1992 Democrat Bill Clinton is elected President of the United States, defeating incumbent President George H. W. Bush.
1992 "I Will Always Love You" (Dolly Parton cover) single released by Whitney Houston.
On 3 November 1718 John Montague, Fourth Earl of Sandwich, was born in London.
Why Gambling Led John Montagu To Invent The Sandwich.
As a serious gambler, he wanted a “food of convenience” that wouldn't disrupt his card game.
John Montagu was born way back in 1718, in Great Britain. At the age of just 10 years old, he succeeded his grandfather, the Third Earl of Sandwich, and became the Fourth Earl of Sandwich.
His life as the Earl, for the most part, was none too dramatic. As most British diplomats at the time did, he got married, had a mistress, and held several different titles. He is perhaps most remembered for having the Hawaiian Islands named after him; originally, the archipelago was called the Sandwich Islands, though it was later renamed in honor of its native moniker.
He is also remembered for “inventing” the sandwich. At least, according to him.
As the story goes, John Montagu was a fervent gambler and player of cards. During particularly long games, the Earl didn’t like to break for food, but obviously, still wanted to eat. Thus, he thought up a “food of convenience” which would sustain him throughout long gambling games, and be mobile enough to bring to him throughout.
Thus, the sandwich was born.
Montagu’s sandwich of choice was salt beef (corned beef) between two slices of toasted bread, and was likely the first iteration of the modern sandwich as we know it. However, the inspiration likely came from someone else.
After visiting the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe and seeing people using pita pockets and other flatbreads like naan to hold sandwich ingredients, Montagu likely was inspired by their convenience.
Rather than have to sit down for a full meal, these people could eat on the go or while doing something more exciting, like in Montagu’s case, gambling.
Upon returning home, Montagu transferred the idea over to more readily available British ingredients, like salt beef and wheat bread. Then, he began requesting it as his gambling events. Before long, his gambling partners began to request the same, soon referring to the special as “the Sandwich.” Eventually, the name became simply “sandwich.”
In Las Vegas there is a chain of sandwich bars named in his honour. Very good sandwiches they are too, though they don't have much in common with what you or I would call a sandwich.
THIN LIZZY's WHISKEY IN THE JAR turns 48 today (November 3rd 1972) THIN LIZZY’s roaring version of the Irish traditional song WHISKEY IN THE JAR popularised by The Dubliners in the ‘60s stayed at the top of the Irish charts for 17 weeks following its issue in November 1972 and peaked at #6 in the UK singles chart. The recording of the song began as something of a lark following a rehearsal in a London pub. "We were going to pack up,” recalled guitarist Eric Bell, “and Phil put down the bass and picked up the other six-string guitar – and he just started messing about with various stupid songs. About 20 minutes later, he started singing ‘Whisk ey in the Jar’ as one of those stupid songs. Me and [drummer] Brian Downey, at this point we were extremely bored, and we started playing along with him a little bit.” The jam happened to coincide with the arrival of manager Ted Carroll who commented that he liked what he was hearing. His proposal was for the song to be recorded to appear as the B-side to ‘Black Boys in the Corner,’ but it ended up as the A-side. Numerous artists have covered Lizzy’s version of the song since, including U2, Pulp, Metallica, Belle and Sebastian and Simple Minds.
November 4th 1922 English explorers Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter discovered the Tomb of King Tutankhamen, in the Valley of the Kings near Luxor, Egypt. It had been undisturbed since 1337 BC.
On November 1, 1922, Carter began his final season working in the Valley of the Kings, by having his workers excavate the workmen's huts at the base of the tomb of Rameses VI. These mud brick huts once belonged to the people who had built the tomb of Ramesses VI.
Carter realised that anything under the huts would be untouched since the tombs in the valley were cut into rock. Carter and his workmen began to excavate the ground beneath them.
First steps of tomb found.
On the morning of November 4th, 1922, a waterboy hit a strange rock with his heel as he tried to make a place to set jars of water for the workers. The sand around the rock was cleared revealing that the rock was infact a step.
They knew that most tombs in the valley had stairways cutting into the rock. They began to clear the area of more sand and gradually uncovered another step, then another, and another until a flight of steps was cleared.
The steps led down to what looked like the top part of a door, a sealed door made of brick and plaster.
Carter knew they were in luck when he noticed that the plaster coating on the stone doorway was embedded with a stamp that was only used on royal tombs. This meant that the door would lead to the tomb of an important person.
To protect the find Carter ordered his workmen to cover the steps. He didn't want anyone else to find the tomb.
As anxious as he was to enter the tomb, Carter decided to wait for Carnarvon to arrive from England, so he too could witness the opening of the tomb.
Howard Carter (left) and lord Carnavon at the tomb entrance
1890 The Prince of Wales travelled by the underground electric railway from King William Street to the Oval to mark the opening of what is now the City Branch of the Northern Line. It was the first electrified underground railway system.
The City and South London Railway (C&SLR) was the first deep-level underground "tube" railway in the world and the first major railway to use electric traction. The railway was originally intended for cable-hauled trains, but owing to the bankruptcy of the cable contractor during construction, a system of electric traction using electric locomotives—an experimental technology at the time—was chosen instead.
When opened in 1890, the line had six stations and ran for 3.2 miles in a pair of tunnels between the City of London and Stockwell, passing under the River Thames. The diameter of the tunnels restricted the size of the trains, and the small carriages with their high-backed seating were nicknamed padded cells. The railway was extended several times north and south, eventually serving 22 stations over a distance of 13.5 miles from Camden Town in north London to Morden in south London.
Although the C&SLR was well used, low ticket prices and the construction cost of the extensions placed a strain on the company's finances. In 1913, the C&SLR became part of the Underground Group of railways and, in the 1920s, it underwent major reconstruction works before its merger with another of the Group's railways, the Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway, forming a single London Underground line called the Morden-Edgware line. In 1933, the C&SLR and the rest of the Underground Group was taken into public ownership. Today, its tunnels and stations form the Bank Branch of the Northern line from Camden Town to Kennington and the southern leg of the line from Kennington to Morden.
However, one thing that should be thought about is the silence.
Steam trains were what people were used to – and they are dirty and noisy at the best of times. The streets of London were incredibly noisy, with horses clattering and iron shod wheels rolling over pebbled roads.
Suddenly, here was this nearly silent train that magically glides into stations without any apparent form of mechanical engine then swiftly slides down the tunnels to the next station.
To the Victorians, it would have been truly a wondrous sight.
1963 John Lennon utters his infamous line at a Royal Variety Performance "Will the people in the cheaper seats clap your hands? And for the rest of you, if you’ll just rattle your jewelry…" in London.
1884 The birth of Henry George (Harry) Ferguson, Irish engineer and inventor who is noted for his role in the development of the modern agricultural tractor, for becoming the first Irishman to build and fly his own aeroplane, and for developing the first four-wheel drive Formula One car, the Ferguson P99.
The Ferguson TE20 is an agricultural tractor designed by Harry Ferguson. By far his most successful design, it was manufactured from 1946 until 1956, and was commonly known as the Little Grey Fergie. It marked a major advance in tractor design, distinguished by lightweight, small size, manoeuvrability and versatility. The TE20 popularised Harry Ferguson's invention of the hydraulic three-point hitch system around the world, and the system quickly became an international standard for tractors of all makes and sizes that has remained to this day. The tractor played a large part in introducing widespread mechanised agriculture. In many parts of the world the TE20 was the first tractor to be affordable to the average farmer and was small and light enough to replace the draft horse and manual labour. Many TE20s remain in regular use in farming and other work and the model is also a popular collector's item for enthusiasts today.
1979 November 4th. Iran hostage crisis begins after U.S. embassy in Tehran is stormed. Student followers of the Ayatollah Khomeini send shock waves across America when they storm the U.S. embassy in Tehran. The radical Islamic fundamentalists took 90 hostages. The students were enraged that the deposed Shah had been allowed to enter the United States for medical treatment and they threatened to murder hostages if any rescue was attempted. Days later, Iran’s provincial leader resigned, and the Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of Iran’s fundamentalist revolutionaries, took full control of the country—and the fate of the hostages.
Two weeks after the storming of the embassy, the Ayatollah began to release all non-U.S. captives, and all female and minority Americans, citing these groups as among the people oppressed by the United States government. The remaining 52 captives were left at the mercy of the Ayatollah for the next 14 months.
President Jimmy Carter was unable to diplomatically resolve the crisis, and on April 24, 1980, he ordered a disastrous rescue mission in which eight U.S. military personnel were killed and no hostages rescued. Three months later, the former shah died of cancer in Egypt, but the crisis continued. In November 1980, Carter lost the presidential election to Republican Ronald Reagan. Soon after, with the assistance of Algerian intermediaries, successful negotiations finally began between the United States and Iran.
On January 20, 1981—the day of Reagan’s inauguration—the United States freed almost $3 billion in frozen Iranian assets and promised $5 billion more in financial aid. Minutes after Reagan was sworn in, the hostages flew out of Iran on an Algerian airliner, ending their 444-day ordeal.
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1636 The birth of Edward Colston, Bristol-born merchant and Member of Parliament. Much of his wealth, although used often for philanthropic purposes, was acquired through the trade and exploitation of slaves. He endowed schools and almshouses and his name is commemorated in several Bristol landmarks, two schools and the Colston bun (a yeast dough flavoured with dried fruit and spices).
1871 British police began their Rogues' Gallery, taking photographs of all convicted prisoners.
1896 The first motor insurance policies were issued in Britain, but they excluded damage caused by frightened horses.
1936 The world's first regular TV service was started by the British Broadcasting Corporation at Alexandra Palace at 3:00 p.m. It was defined as 'high-definition' (with 200 lines of resolution) and was renamed BBC1 in 1964. An estimated 100 TV owners tuned in.
1964 The first episode of the television soap opera 'Crossroads' was broadcast on ITV.
1976 Democrat candidate Jimmy Carter is elected President of the United States, defeating incumbent Republican President Gerald Ford
1981 Citizens Band radio (CB radio) was legally allowed in Britain.
1983 "Thriller" single released worldwide by Michael Jackson.
1991 2nd Rugby World Cup Final, Twickenham: Australia beats England, 12-6 with Wallabies fly-half Michael Lynagh landing 2 penalties and a conversion.
2019 9th Rugby World Cup, Yokohama: South African fly-half Handré Pollard lands 6 penalties and 2 conversions as Springboks beat favourites England, 32-12 for their 3rd title.
"Goodbyeee", or "Plan F: Goodbyeee",is the sixth and final episode of Blackadder Goes Forth, the fourth series of British historical sitcom Blackadder. The episode was first broadcast on BBC1 in the United Kingdom on 2 November 1989, shortly before Armistice Day. Apart from the one-off short film Blackadder: Back & Forth made a decade later, it was the last episode of Blackadder to be produced and transmitted.
The episode depicts its main characters' final hours before a British offensive on the Western Front of the First World War, and Captain Blackadder's attempts to escape his fate by feigning madness after he fails to convince General Melchett, and Field Marshal Haig's advice proves useless, he resigns himself to taking part in the push. "Goodbyeee" has a darker tone than other episodes in the series, culminating in its acclaimed ending in which the main characters are assumed to die in machine-gun fire. The episode's theme of death ties in with the series' use of gallows humour, its criticism and satire of war, and its depiction of authority figures contentedly sending their subordinates to face the enemy, while unwilling to do so themselves.
Richard Curtis and Ben Elton wrote the episode, and further material was provided by cast members. Its final sequence, which shows the main characters going "over the top", uses slow motion, as the programme's creators were unhappy with the result of the scripted ending. The enhanced scene has been described as bold and highly poignant.
One of the most poignant and moving endings to a television series I've ever seen.
On 3rd November 1906 the 'SOS' signal was established as an International Distress Signal by an agreement made between the British Marconi Society and the German Telefunk organisation at the Berlin Radio Conference. The signal was formally introduced on 1 July 1908.
Why was SOS chosen to signify a distress signal?
In Morse code SOS signified by three dots, three dashes, then three dots (· · · – – – · · ·). SOS was chosen because it could not be misinterpreted as being a message for anything else.
The Meaning and History of SOS
What does SOS stand for? It’s not “Save Our Ship” or “Save Our Souls” like you might think. Instead, the distress signal that originated in the maritime community is communication used specifically for ships, based on Morse Code, that is represented by three dots, three dashes, and three more dots.
Developed by Samuel Morse in 1835, Morse code’s dots and dashes signify letters of the alphabet and are used to communicate messages, such as SOS, by sending electric pulses. But SOS wasn’t the first recognized distress signal. Before SOS there was CQD, with the “CQ” translating to “general notice” and the “D” an abbreviation for “distress.”
However, CQD wasn’t a universal distress call. England used CQD, the U.S. Navy used NC (the International Code of Signals maritime distress flag signal), and Italy used SSSDD. The need for a common indicator of distress was real, and the mode of communication needed to fit for long- distance communications—instead of being limited to those within sight range.
The universal use of SOS was ratified at the 1906 Radiotelegraph Conference and went into effect in 1908. Its first documented use in the U.S. occurred in August 1909 when the SS Arapahoe lost power in the Graveyard of the Atlantic near Diamond Shoals. T.D. Haubner (also the recipient of the second documented SOS signal) sent the distress call, and the ship and crew were successfully rescued.
November 3, 1957 — Russian dog Laika was sent up in the spaceship Sputnik II to orbit Earth on this day.
Laika was a stray that had been picked up on the streets of Moscow. At the time there was no technology – or plans – to bring her back to Earth.
One of the technicians preparing her capsule said that "after placing Laika in the container and before closing the hatch, we kissed her nose and wished her bon voyage, knowing that she would not survive the flight."
The launch was designed to show that a living passenger could survive being thrust into orbit and endure micro-gravity, paving the way for space travel by humans.
It also paved the way for furious protest across the world, nowhere more so than in Britain. The BBC’s switchboard was jammed by irate callers even before an announcer had finished reading the news bulletin of the event.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was also threatened with telephonic meltdown until a quick-thinking employee told callers to "make your protest direct to the Soviet embassy” – and gave out the number.
The League Against Cruel Sports expressed "horror and contempt" for the behaviour of the Russians "beside which the sickening stories of the inhuman cruelties of the Middle Ages fade into insignificance."
And as the protests grew, the National Canine Defence League appealed for one minute of silence across the country at 11am every day.
Lady Munnings, wife of the Royal Academy's former President, Sir Alfred Munnings, demanded: “Instead of dogs, why not use child murderers, who just get life sentences and have a jolly good time in prison?"
As protesting dog lovers massed outside the Russian Embassy in London, First Secretary Yuri Modin was forced to make a statement. "The Russians love dogs,” he insisted. “This has been done not for the sake of cruelty but for the benefit of humanity."
So what happened to Laika? Although Moscow long insisted that she expired painlessly after about a week in orbit, an official with the Institute for Biological Problems leaked the truth in 2002: Laika died from panic and overheating within hours of takeoff.
The spacecraft circled Earth every hour and 42 minutes, travelling at 18,000 mph. But after five to seven hours into the flight, all signs of life received from the spacecraft stopped.
Over five months later, after 2,570 orbits, Sputnik II—including Laika's remains—disintegrated during re-entry on April 14, 1958.
The Queen has formally begun the operation of the UK's first oil pipeline at a £500,000 ceremony in Scotland.
The 130-mile (209-kilometre) pipeline from Cruden Bay to Grangemouth has been built by British Petroleum (BP).
The pipeline serves the Forties oilfield 110 miles east of Aberdeen, which the company discovered six years ago.
The Queen inaugurated the flow of oil by pushing a gold-plated button in BP's control centre at Dyce near Aberdeen.
She was accompanied by Prince Philip and Prince Andrew.
Prime Minister Harold Wilson also attended with the Scottish Secretary and other senior cabinet colleagues.
The inauguration by Her Majesty and the presence of so many high-ranking politicians in Dyce - a town scarcely on the map a year ago - is seen as testament to the importance being placed on North Sea oil.
The Forties is the largest oilfield so far discovered in the British sector of the North Sea.
It is being mined with the help of a £370m loan from the British government.
Production will start this month at a rate of 10,000 barrels per day.
Within two to three years the field is expected to yield 400,000 barrels per day - about a fifth of Britain's oil consumption.
The ceremony to mark the field's official opening was marked by Scotland's largest-ever police operation.
Officials were worried by threats from the so-called "Tartan Army" to disrupt the ceremony or bomb the pipeline which contains nearly 30 million gallons of oil.
The group has said it was behind four attempts to damage the pipeline in the past two years.
None of the attacks caused serious damage but the Tartan Army said they had only been "dress rehearsals".
In Context
Britain's North Sea oil did not emerge immediately as a key rival to that produced by nations in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec).
But output grew as major discoveries continued throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s.
However, the 1997-1998 oil price collapse had negative effects on North Sea production.
Norway, the Netherlands and Germany also extract oil from their portions of the North Sea but on a smaller scale.
After years of declining production and job losses, the industry in Scotland was given a boost in 2001 with the discovery of the Buzzard oilfield near Aberdeen.
It contains an estimated 400 million barrels of oil.
Another smaller find was made in 2004. The Brenda oilfield in the Outer Moray Firth could yield up to 150 million barrels.
@lucy4
These are fabulous, keep them coming please they give so much pleasure.
1534 English parliament passes the Act of Supremacy making Henry VIII and all subsequent monarchs the Head of the Church of England.
1843 The statue of English Admiral Horatio Nelson was raised to the top of Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square, London. The operation was completed on the 4th when the statue’s two sections were assembled.
1906 International Radiotelegraph Conference in Berlin selects "SOS" (· · · – – – · · ·) distress signal as the worldwide standard for help.
1952 Clarence Birdseye markets frozen peas.
1968 English Lotus driver Graham Hill wins his 2nd Formula 1 World Drivers Championship by taking out the Mexican Grand Prix at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez; wins title by 12 points from Scotsman Jackie Stewart.
1975 Queen Elizabeth II opened the North Sea pipeline - the first to be built underwater - bringing ashore 400,000 barrels a day to Grangemouth Refinery on the Firth of Forth in Scotland.
1976 The first £100,000 Premium Bond was won, by an anonymous person in Hillingdon.
1985 French McLaren driver Alain Prost wins his first Formula 1 World Drivers Championship, finishing 4th in the Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide; wins title by 20 points from Italian Michele Alboreto.
1991 Ayrton Senna wins Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide; shortest F1 race ever run (14 laps) because of wet conditions; Senna retains his 3rd World Drivers Championship by 24 points from Nigel Mansell.
1992 Democrat Bill Clinton is elected President of the United States, defeating incumbent President George H. W. Bush.
1992 "I Will Always Love You" (Dolly Parton cover) single released by Whitney Houston.
Why Gambling Led John Montagu To Invent The Sandwich.
As a serious gambler, he wanted a “food of convenience” that wouldn't disrupt his card game.
John Montagu was born way back in 1718, in Great Britain. At the age of just 10 years old, he succeeded his grandfather, the Third Earl of Sandwich, and became the Fourth Earl of Sandwich.
His life as the Earl, for the most part, was none too dramatic. As most British diplomats at the time did, he got married, had a mistress, and held several different titles. He is perhaps most remembered for having the Hawaiian Islands named after him; originally, the archipelago was called the Sandwich Islands, though it was later renamed in honor of its native moniker.
He is also remembered for “inventing” the sandwich. At least, according to him.
As the story goes, John Montagu was a fervent gambler and player of cards. During particularly long games, the Earl didn’t like to break for food, but obviously, still wanted to eat. Thus, he thought up a “food of convenience” which would sustain him throughout long gambling games, and be mobile enough to bring to him throughout.
Thus, the sandwich was born.
Montagu’s sandwich of choice was salt beef (corned beef) between two slices of toasted bread, and was likely the first iteration of the modern sandwich as we know it. However, the inspiration likely came from someone else.
After visiting the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe and seeing people using pita pockets and other flatbreads like naan to hold sandwich ingredients, Montagu likely was inspired by their convenience.
Rather than have to sit down for a full meal, these people could eat on the go or while doing something more exciting, like in Montagu’s case, gambling.
Upon returning home, Montagu transferred the idea over to more readily available British ingredients, like salt beef and wheat bread. Then, he began requesting it as his gambling events. Before long, his gambling partners began to request the same, soon referring to the special as “the Sandwich.” Eventually, the name became simply “sandwich.”
@lucy4
In Las Vegas there is a chain of sandwich bars named in his honour. Very good sandwiches they are too, though they don't have much in common with what you or I would call a sandwich.
slightly off (day) topic, came across this, check out Pepsi 6th largest military in the world.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/andyneuenschwander/12-truly-weird-historical-events-that-actually-happ?utm_source=dynamic&utm_campaign=bfsharecopy
THIN LIZZY’s roaring version of the Irish traditional song WHISKEY IN THE JAR popularised by The Dubliners in the ‘60s stayed at the top of the Irish charts for 17 weeks following its issue in November 1972 and peaked at #6 in the UK singles chart.
The recording of the song began as something of a lark following a rehearsal in a London pub.
"We were going to pack up,” recalled guitarist Eric Bell, “and Phil put down the bass and picked up the other six-string guitar – and he just started messing about with various stupid songs. About 20 minutes later, he started singing ‘Whisk ey in the Jar’ as one of those stupid songs. Me and [drummer] Brian Downey, at this point we were extremely bored, and we started playing along with him a little bit.”
The jam happened to coincide with the arrival of manager Ted Carroll who commented that he liked what he was hearing. His proposal was for the song to be recorded to appear as the B-side to ‘Black Boys in the Corner,’ but it ended up as the A-side.
Numerous artists have covered Lizzy’s version of the song since, including U2, Pulp, Metallica, Belle and Sebastian and Simple Minds.
On November 1, 1922, Carter began his final season working in the Valley of the Kings, by having his workers excavate the workmen's huts at the base of the tomb of Rameses VI. These mud brick huts once belonged to the people who had built the tomb of Ramesses VI.
Carter realised that anything under the huts would be untouched since the tombs in the valley were cut into rock. Carter and his workmen began to excavate the ground beneath them.
First steps of tomb found.
On the morning of November 4th, 1922, a waterboy hit a strange rock with his heel as he tried to make a place to set jars of water for the workers. The sand around the rock was cleared revealing that the rock was infact a step.
They knew that most tombs in the valley had stairways cutting into the rock. They began to clear the area of more sand and gradually uncovered another step, then another, and another until a flight of steps was cleared.
The steps led down to what looked like the top part of a door, a sealed door made of brick and plaster.
Carter knew they were in luck when he noticed that the plaster coating on the stone doorway was embedded with a stamp that was only used on royal tombs. This meant that the door would lead to the tomb of an important person.
To protect the find Carter ordered his workmen to cover the steps. He didn't want anyone else to find the tomb.
As anxious as he was to enter the tomb, Carter decided to wait for Carnarvon to arrive from England, so he too could witness the opening of the tomb.
Howard Carter (left) and lord Carnavon
at the tomb entrance
The City and South London Railway (C&SLR) was the first deep-level underground "tube" railway in the world and the first major railway to use electric traction. The railway was originally intended for cable-hauled trains, but owing to the bankruptcy of the cable contractor during construction, a system of electric traction using electric locomotives—an experimental technology at the time—was chosen instead.
When opened in 1890, the line had six stations and ran for 3.2 miles in a pair of tunnels between the City of London and Stockwell, passing under the River Thames. The diameter of the tunnels restricted the size of the trains, and the small carriages with their high-backed seating were nicknamed padded cells. The railway was extended several times north and south, eventually serving 22 stations over a distance of 13.5 miles from Camden Town in north London to Morden in south London.
Although the C&SLR was well used, low ticket prices and the construction cost of the extensions placed a strain on the company's finances. In 1913, the C&SLR became part of the Underground Group of railways and, in the 1920s, it underwent major reconstruction works before its merger with another of the Group's railways, the Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway, forming a single London Underground line called the Morden-Edgware line. In 1933, the C&SLR and the rest of the Underground Group was taken into public ownership. Today, its tunnels and stations form the Bank Branch of the Northern line from Camden Town to Kennington and the southern leg of the line from Kennington to Morden.
However, one thing that should be thought about is the silence.
Steam trains were what people were used to – and they are dirty and noisy at the best of times. The streets of London were incredibly noisy, with horses clattering and iron shod wheels rolling over pebbled roads.
Suddenly, here was this nearly silent train that magically glides into stations without any apparent form of mechanical engine then swiftly slides down the tunnels to the next station.
To the Victorians, it would have been truly a wondrous sight.
The Ferguson TE20 is an agricultural tractor designed by Harry Ferguson. By far his most successful design, it was manufactured from 1946 until 1956, and was commonly known as the Little Grey Fergie. It marked a major advance in tractor design, distinguished by lightweight, small size, manoeuvrability and versatility. The TE20 popularised Harry Ferguson's invention of the hydraulic three-point hitch system around the world, and the system quickly became an international standard for tractors of all makes and sizes that has remained to this day. The tractor played a large part in introducing widespread mechanised agriculture. In many parts of the world the TE20 was the first tractor to be affordable to the average farmer and was small and light enough to replace the draft horse and manual labour. Many TE20s remain in regular use in farming and other work and the model is also a popular collector's item for enthusiasts today.
1979 November 4th.
Iran hostage crisis begins after U.S. embassy in Tehran is stormed.
Student followers of the Ayatollah Khomeini send shock waves across America when they storm the U.S. embassy in Tehran. The radical Islamic fundamentalists took 90 hostages. The students were enraged that the deposed Shah had been allowed to enter the United States for medical treatment and they threatened to murder hostages if any rescue was attempted. Days later, Iran’s provincial leader resigned, and the Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of Iran’s fundamentalist revolutionaries, took full control of the country—and the fate of the hostages.
Two weeks after the storming of the embassy, the Ayatollah began to release all non-U.S. captives, and all female and minority Americans, citing these groups as among the people oppressed by the United States government. The remaining 52 captives were left at the mercy of the Ayatollah for the next 14 months.
President Jimmy Carter was unable to diplomatically resolve the crisis, and on April 24, 1980, he ordered a disastrous rescue mission in which eight U.S. military personnel were killed and no hostages rescued. Three months later, the former shah died of cancer in Egypt, but the crisis continued. In November 1980, Carter lost the presidential election to Republican Ronald Reagan. Soon after, with the assistance of Algerian intermediaries, successful negotiations finally began between the United States and Iran.
On January 20, 1981—the day of Reagan’s inauguration—the United States freed almost $3 billion in frozen Iranian assets and promised $5 billion more in financial aid. Minutes after Reagan was sworn in, the hostages flew out of Iran on an Algerian airliner, ending their 444-day ordeal.