22nd March

[chenrezig]

1774 Mary Cooper published the first book of English nursery rhymes. Called Tommy Thumb's Song Book, it included Baa Baa Black Sheep, whose 'three bags full' is thought to refer to a tax imposed on the wool trade in 1275.

1824 The British parliament purchased 38 paintings (cost £57,000) to establish a national collection now at the National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London.

1888 The English Football League was founded when 12 clubs met at a hotel in Fleet Street, London.

1906 The first rugby international between France and England in Paris ended with a 35-0 victory to England.

1910 The birth of Nicholas Monsarrat, naval officer and British novelist known today for his sea stories, particularly The Cruel Sea (1951), regarded as his finest work.

1926 The first directional road markings were introduced onto British roads (Hyde Park Corner, London). They caused confusion and led to seven accidents on the first day.

1942 The BBC began broadcasting in Morse code to the French Resistance.

1948 Andrew Lloyd Webber, English composer of musicals, was born. Several of his 13 musicals have run for more than a decade, both in the West End and on Broadway. He was awarded a knighthood in 1992, followed by a peerage from the British Government.

1954 Closed since 1939, the London bullion market, a market for trading gold and silver, reopened.

1963 John Profumo (Secretary of State for War) denied any impropriety with the model Christine Keeler, or that he was in any way connected to her disappearance when she had been due to appear as a witness in a trial at the Old Bailey. On 5th June 1963 he resigned after admitting that he had lied about his relationship.

1997 Comet Hale-Bopp made its closest approach to Earth in the skies over the northern hemisphere. The comet’s next pass is predicted for the year 4397.

2000 D.C. Cook became the first major dealership to sell imported vehicles on the Internet and car buyers were offered price reductions of up to 40%

2006 Three Christian Peacemaker Team hostages were freed by British forces in Baghdad after 118 days of captivity and the death of their colleague, American Tom Fox.

2013 The death, in Ripley, Debyshire of New Zealand born George Lowe, aged 89. He was the last surviving member of the team which first conquered Everest in 1953.

[annie]

than999

[wendy]