4th February

[chenrezig]

211 The death in York, (formerly know as Eboracum), of the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus whilst preparing to lead a campaign against the Caledonians. He left the empire in the control of his two quarrelling sons.

1905 The birth, in Farnworth near Bolton, Lancashire of Hylda Baker, British comedienne, actress and music hall star. Her most famous role was in the comedy series 'Nearest and Dearest' with comedian Jimmy Jewel. They bickered onscreen as part of the script, but the insults continued offscreen. The two disliked each other intensely and their arguments became showbiz legend.

1911 Rolls-Royce commissioned their famous figurehead ‘The Spirit of Ecstasy’ by Charles Sykes. He used Lord Montague’s mistress, Eleanor Thornton, as his model. 60 years later to the day, Rolls-Royce was declared bankrupt due to a disastrous contract to supply aero engines to Lockheed. The British government came to its rescue.

1920 Norman Wisdom, actor & star of many comedy films, was born. In 1995 he was given the Freedom of the City of London and also Tirana in Albania where the population were devoted to him and referred to him as 'Pitkin'. He received an OBE in the same year and was knighted in 2000. He retired from acting at the age of 90 after his health deteriorated and died in October 2010.

1927 Malcolm Campbell reached 174.88 mph in Bluebird on the Pendine Sands in Wales to set a new land speed record. A year later in 1928 at Daytona Beach, Florida, he reached 206.35 mph. Four years and one day later, in 1931, he reached a record-breaking 245 mph, again at Daytona Beach.

1948 Ceylon became a self governing dominion within the British Commonwealth. It later changed its name to Sri Lanka.

1953 Sweets were taken 'off ration' in Britain, 8 years after the 2nd World War had ended.

1962 The first colour supplement in Britain was published by The Sunday Times.

1968 The world's largest hovercraft, weighing 165 tonnes, was launched at Cowes on the Isle of Wight.

1974 Eleven people, including eight off-duty soldiers and two young children, travelling to an army base in North Yorkshire, were killed when their coach was blown up by a bomb. Twelve others were seriously injured.

1975 Edward Heath withdrew from the Conservative party leadership after losing the first-round vote to Margaret Thatcher.

1997 British Home Secretary Michael Howard ruled that Moors murderer Myra Hindley should never be released from prison.

2002 Cancer Research UK was founded. It is the world's largest independent cancer research charity.

2008 The London Low Emission Zone (LEZ) scheme began to operate, with hefty fines for the owners of polluting vehicles.

2012 Fifty four year old Nottingham Forest owner Nigel Doughty was found dead at his home in Skillington, Lincolnshire. The life-long Forest fan was estimated to have invested more than £100m of his personal fortune into the football club.

2013 A skeleton found beneath a Leicester car park was confirmed as that of English king Richard III. Experts from the University of Leicester said that DNA from the bones matched that of descendants of the monarch's family.

[annie]

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[wendy]

[Misspears]