1937 – George VI and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon are crowned King and Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. He was the last Emperor of England and the first Head of the Commonwealth.
1965 – The Soviet spacecraft Luna 5 crashes on the Moon. The rocket system failed and it crashed into the Sea of Clouds area, luckily it was unmanned.
2008 – An earthquake measuring around 8.0 magnitudes occurs in Sichuan, China, killing over 69,000 people. Millions of people were also left homeless.
Birthdays
1812 – Edward Lear was born in London, UK. He became a poet and author, he was famous for his literary nonsense and his limericks.
1820 – Florence Nightingale was born in Tuscany. She became a nurse and her pioneering work came to the forefront during the Crimean War, she became known as the lady with the lamp as she often made rounds at night checking on the wounded.
1924 – Tony Hancock was born in Birmingham. He became a comedian and is famed for the series Hancock’s Half Hour. It was first on radio then on TV.
1582 - The Spanish conquistador Hernando de Lerma founds the settlement of Salta, Argentina. However, new conquerors arriving meant there were many feuds fought over Salta amongst that problem the city was built of land experiencing earthquake tremours and it also suffered and the inhabitants faced many diseases.
1912 – Harriet Quimby becomes the first woman to fly across the English channel, the flight took her 59 minutes and she landed 25 miles from Calais. She died when she fell out of her plane on 1st July 1912 in Boston Massachusetts.
1972 – Apollo 16 is launched, it was the 10th manned mission in the Apollo space mission. It was to be the 5th to land on the moon, the mission lasted 11days, 1hour and 51 minutes.
Birthdays
1867 – Wilbur Wright was born in Dayton, Ohio. He became an aviator and with his brother Orville they are credited with building the first successful aeroplane. On 17 December 1903 they achieved the first controlled flight.
1889 – Sir Charles ‘Charlie’ Spencer Chaplin was born in London, UK. He became an actor during the silent era of movies. He was the most famous actor before WWWI, he later went onto produce films and compose music.
1918 – Terence Alan Patrick Seán “Spike” Milligan was born in Marharashtra, India. He became a well-known actor, comedian and writer, he was influential for many upcoming comedic writers including The Monty Python team.
421 – Legend has it, Venice was formed at noon. It is thought the first church was built, San Giacamo and it was from this it began. The fisherman who lived here were called Lagoon Dwellers.
1655 – Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, is discovered by Christiaan Huygens, he used a 50 power refracting telescope which he had designed himself.
1948 – The first successful tornado forecast predicts that a tornado will strike Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, the base had been struck earlier and were prepared for the second tornado thanks to the forecast.
Birthdays
1942 – Aretha Franklin was born in Memphis, Tennessee. She became singer and is known as the Queen of Soul. She became the first female to go into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. Her songs include Respect, Think and I Say A Little Prayer.
1947 – Elton John was born as Reginald Kenneth Dwight in Middlesex, England. He became a singer and songwriter, he is one of the most successful artists of all time selling over 250 million records. He entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1984.
1965 – Sarah Jessica Parker was born in Nelsonville, Ohio. She became an actress and is famed for playing Carrie Bradshaw in the Sex in the City series. She has won Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild and Emmy Awards.
1882 – Circus owner PT Barnum buys his world famous African elephant called Jumbo from London Zoo.
1953 – J Fred Muggs, a chimpanzee, became a regular on NBC’s Today Show. When he appeared he boosted the shows ratings and enticed advertisers.
1966 – The first unmanned soft landing on the Moon by the Soviet Union’s Luna Programme, the spacecraft was Luna 9.
Birthdays
1821 – Elizabeth Blackwell was born in Bristol, UK, she became the first female physician in the US and the first on the UK medical register.
1929 – Val Doonican was born in Waterford, Ireland. He became a singer and entertainer, he had his own TV show and regularly crooned into the top 10 album charts in the sixties.
1950 – Morgan Fairchild was born as Patsy Ann McClenny in Dallas Texas. She became an actress starring in Falcon Crest, Flamingo Road and a guest role in the Bold and the Beautiful.
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