Today in History

[Gemini]

1968

London Bridge was sold for £1m to American oil tycoon Robert McCullough. He decided to knock it down, brick by brick, and have it re-built at Lake Havasu in the United States.

[Daisy]

I think he thought he'd bought Tower Bridge so was a bit disappointed when he realised his mistake.

[Gemini]

1883
At a meeting in Liverpool to establish a home for dogs, the proposer, T.F. Agnew, suggested it should perhaps be turned into a home for children as he had seen the work of the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to children. On the evening of this day, the Liverpool Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children was formed. Later, it would become the National Society (NSPCC).

[Daisy]

It's such a pity that we still need both child protection and dog/cat rescue organisations in this day and age.

[Gemini]

1989
Scientists said that the Earth had narrowly missed being struck by a passing asteroid weighing 400 million tons.

[Daisy]

Good job we all ducked. ☄️☄️☄️

[Gemini]

1959

English ballerina Dame Margot Fonteyn was jailed for a day in Panama while the police looked for her Panamanian husband, accused of plotting a coup.

[Gemini]

2000

The Big Number Change took place. It was an update of telephone dialling codes in Britain in response to the rapid growth of telecommunications and the impending exhaustion of numbers.

[Gemini]

1969

The BBC Radio serial Mrs. Dale's Diary ended after 21 years and more than 5,400 episodes. Her final words were: "I'm rather worried about Jim...."

What a cliffhanger! I remember my mum listening to this.

[Daisy]

Gem - I think they've left it a bit late to pick up that storyline again.

[Gemini]

1989

Naas, County Kildare, in Ireland held their first annual pig race watched by over 7,000 people. One punter won £200 on the favourite, Porky’s Revenge, and the bookies handed the remainder of their money to the charity People in Need.

[Daisy]

I've never heard of pig racing.

[Gemini]

1759

Josiah Wedgwood founded the Wedgwood pottery company in Burslem, Staffordshire. Wedgewood was a prominent abolitionist of slavery. He mass produced cameos depicting the seal for the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade and had them widely distributed. He was also the grandfather of Charles Darwin and Emma Darwin.


I didn't know about the Darwin connection!

[Daisy]

Gem - I worked at Wedgwoods before I was married - I was secretary to the Finance director. When I first went there there was an Hon Josiah Wedgwood as Chairman, and another Wedgwood was in charge of marketing. It was still a private company, with Wedgwood family members holding the shares. A lot of the famous philanthropic Quaker families inter-married, including the Wedgwoods, the Darwins and the Huxleys. I found it all very interesting.

[Gemini]

I bet it was Daisy.