1770 Explorer Captain James Cook sighted the eastern coast of what is now Australia.
1775 The start of the American War of Independence against Britain when fighting began at Lexington and Concord.
1824 Lord Byron, the great English poet, died (aged 36) from malaria on his way to fight for Greek independence.
1880 The Times war correspondent telephoned a report of the Battle of Ahmed Khel (part of the Second Afghan War). It was the first time that news had been sent from a field of battle in this manner.
1882 Charles Darwin, the English biologist who developed the theory of evolution, died at his home in Kent.
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).
1905 The birth of James Allan ‘Jim’ Mollison, Scottish aviator who flew from Australia to England in 1931 in eight days, 19 hours and 28 minutes. He married aviator Amy Johnson, and together they made the first east-west crossing of the North Atlantic and several other pioneering flights.
1928 The 125th and final section of the Oxford English Dictionary was published.
1933 'Dickie' Bird, (Harold Dennis Bird) English cricket umpire, was born in Barnsley, Yorkshire.
1935 The birth of Dudley Moore, English actor, comedian and composer.
1951 The first Miss World Contest was won by Kiki Haakonson, a 21 year old from Sweden. There were 30 contestants and 25 came from Britain, although all nations could enter. The contest was devised by Mecca publicity officer, Eric Morley, as part of the Festival of Britain celebrations.
1958 The legendary English footballer Bobby Charlton made the first of his 106 appearances for England against Scotland and scored the first of his record 49 goals for his country.
1992 The death of Frankie Howerd OBE, English comedian and comic actor whose career, (described by fellow comedian Barry Cryer as 'a series of comebacks'), spanned six decades.
1995 The first television advert for football pools was screened in a £1.5m Littlewood's campaign. The ban on such commercials was lifted after the company protested to the government that the National Lottery was hitting their profits.
2004 The death of Norris McWhirter, Scottish co-founder (along with Ross McWhirter) of the Guinness Book of Records.Statistics: Posted by chenrezig — 19 Apr 2014, 06:10
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