Posts Tagged ‘scotland’


May 17

Events

  • 1590 - Anne of Denmark is crowned Queen of Scotland. She was the wife of James VI.
  • 1849 – A large fire nearly burns St. Louis, Missouri to the ground. It destroyed many of the steamboats who used the Mississippi, it also took the life of a fire-fighter called Captain Thomas B. Targee, who is the first fire-fighter to have died in the line of duty.
  • 1902 - Greek archaeologist Valerios Stais discovers the Antikythera mechanism, an ancient mechanical analogue computer. It was designed to calculate astronomical positions. Its construction dates back to the 1st century BC.

Birthdays

  • 1936 - Dennis Hopper was born in Kansas, US. He became an actor and director; he won an award at the Cannes Film Festival for the film Easy Rider.
  • 1956 - Sugar Ray Leonard was born in North Carolina, US. He became a boxer and won world titles in five divisions, he was the first boxer to earn over $100 million in purses.
  • 1974 - Andrea Corr was born in County Louth, Ireland. She became a singer with her family known as The Corrs and also plays the tin whistle and the piano.

May 1

Events

  • 1707 – The Act of Union joins the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom named as Great Britain.
  • 1840 – The Penny Black is the first official adhesive postage stamp issued in the United Kingdom. The stamp could be officially used on 6th May.
  • 1930 – The dwarf planet Pluto is officially named. The name was suggested by an 11 year old girl called Venetia Burney, as she liked classical mythology and it refers to the God of the Underworld.

Birthdays

  • 1852 – Calamity Jane was born as Martha Jane Cannary in South Dakota, US. She became a frontiers woman and gained fame for fighting Native Americans and at the same time helping the sick and needy which added to her infamy.
  • 1937 – Una Stubbs was born in Hinckley, UK. She became a dancer and an actress and is famed for playing Aunt Sally in Worzel Gummidge and Mrs Hudson in Sherlock.
  • 1946 – Joanna Lumley was born in India. She became an actress and has starred in many hit series including The New Avengers and Absolutely Fabulous. She is also an advocate of many charities.

April 23

Events

  • 1348 - King Edward III founded the Order of the Garter and it is announced on St George’s Day. It is the highest order of Knighthood.
  • 1927 – Turkey becomes the first country to celebrate Children’s Day as a national holiday. The day is to honour children.
  • 1985 – Coca-Cola makes a big mistake and changes its formula, they release New Coke. The response was staggeringly negative, and the original formula is back on the market in less than 3 months.

Birthdays

  • 1939 – Lee Majors was born in Michigan, US. He became an actor and is famed for playing the Bionic Man, Steve Austin he also acted in the series, The Fall Guy.
  • 1962 – John Hannah was born in Scotland. He became an actor and has starred in many films including Four Weddings and a Funeral, Sliding Doors and he also appears in adverts.
  • 1977 – John Cena was born in Massachusetts. He became a wrestler and has won 19 championships and 10 World titles.

April 6

Events

  • 1199 – Richard I dies after having an arrow removed from his shoulder, the wound became infected. His heart was buried in Rouen, Normandy, his entrails in Chalus, his body was buried in Anjou.
  • 1896 – Athens opens the first modern Olympic Games. It is celebrated as 1,500 years ago the original games were banned by the Roman Emperor Theodosius I.
  • 1974 – The pop group ABBA win the 19th annual Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton with Waterloo. They went on to have a huge fan base and to sell albums worldwide.

Birthdays

  • 1961 – Rory Bremner was as Rodderick in born in Edinburgh, Scotland. He became an impressionist and is noted for his political satire.
  • 1969 - Louis Spence was born in Enfield, UK. He became a dancer and choreographer; he also appears on television shows and was in the series Pineapple Dance Studios.
  • 1978 – Mylene Klass was born as Mylene Angela Quinn in Norfolk, UK. She found fame through the TV series Popstars, where she was placed in a group called Hear Say.