1042 Harthacnut, King of England and Denmark, died. He was succeeded in England by his adopted heir, Edward the Confessor, and in Denmark by Magnus, King of Norway.
1405 Richard le Scrope (Archbishop of York) and Thomas Mowbray (Earl of Norfolk) were executed in York on Henry IV's orders, accused of treason.
1536 The English Parliament met and settled the succession on the future children of Henry VIII by Jane Seymour. The Princesses Mary and Elizabeth were declared illegitimate.
1652 The birth of William Dampier, English explorer who turned to piracy. His exploits netted him £200,000 worth of treasure in only two voyages.
1724 The birth of John Smeaton, considered the founder of English civil engineering. He built the Eddystone lighthouse, at the same time developing cement that could be used underwater. He had an extensive series of commissions including canals and Banff harbour in Aberdeenshire.
1772 Robert Stevenson, Scottish engineer, was born. He built Bell Rock lighthouse, the first in Scotland.
1924 The last sighting of English climbers George Mallory and Andrew Irvine; 800 feet from the summit of Mount Everest during the third attempt to become the first men to conquer the world's highest mountain. Their fate was unknown for 75 years, until Mallory's body was discovered in 1999 by an expedition that had set out to search for the climbers' remains. Whether or not Mallory and Irvine reached the summit before they died remains a subject of speculation and continuing research.
1963 Dr. Stephen Ward, a London osteopath and friend of 'call girl' Christine Keeler, was arrested and charged with living on immoral earnings.
1968 James Earl Ray, wanted for the murder of American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, was arrested in London, travelling under an assumed name.
1982 American President Ronald Reagan became the first American head of state to address a joint session of the British Parliament.
1982 Up to fifty British servicemen were killed in an Argentine air attack on two supply ships in the Falklands. Sir Galahad and Sir Tristram were anchored at Bluff Cove when they were hit by missiles in a surprise raid by five Argentine Skyhawks.
1985 All Ireland united behind Barry McGuigan as he won the world featherweight title at Loftus Road, London.
1999 Ex-cabinet minister Jonathan Aitken was jailed for 18 months after admitting he lied during a libel action.Statistics: Posted by chenrezig — 08 Jun 2014, 05:48
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