14th November 1687 The death of Eleanor Nell Gwyn, long-time mistress of King Charles II of England and mother of two of his illegitimate children. 1770 James Bruce, Scottish traveller and travel writer, discovered what he believed to be the source of the Blue Nile. 1864 Franz Müller, a German tailor, who had murdered Thomas Briggs in the first murder committed on a British train (on 9th July) was publicly hanged at Newgate prison. 1896 The speed limit for horseless carriages in Britain was raised from 4 mph (2 mph in towns) to 14 mph. 1911 George V and Queen Mary landed at Gibraltar, the first time a reigning British monarch had visited a British Commonwealth country. 1922 BBC radio was first broadcast from Alexandra Palace. 1936 The birth of Freddie Garrity, singer, frontman and the comical element in the 1960s pop band, Freddie and the Dreamers. 1940 449 German Luftwaffe bombers dropped 503 tons of bombs and 881 incendiaries onto the City of Coventry, killing over 500 civilians and destroying the medieval cathedral. 1941 The British aircraft carrier Ark Royal sank off Gibraltar after being hit by a torpedo from German U-boat, the U-81. 1948 Birth of Prince Charles (Charles Philip Arthur George). 1952 Britain’s first music chart was published, in the New Musical Express, with Al Martino’s ‘Here in my Heart’ at No. 1. 1969 The BBC began colour television programmes. 1973 Bobby Moore made his 108th and final appearance for England. 1973 Princess Anne married Captain Mark Phillips at Westminster Abbey. 1977 Firefighters held their first national strike, over a 30% pay demand. 1983 The first Cruise missiles arrived at Greenham Common, a US airbase. 2011 Coronation Street become the first prime time television show in the UK to feature product placement, when a Nationwide Building Society cash machine was shown in the episode, after ITV signed a deal with the company.
Posted on: Thu, 14 Nov 2013 17:47:09 +0000
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