11th April

[chenrezig]

1689 William II (Prince of Orange and champion of Protestants) and Mary II were crowned joint monarchs by the Bishop of London. The Archbishop of Canterbury refused to officiate.

1713 France handed over Gibraltar and Newfoundland to Britain in the Treaty of Utrecht.

1755 James Parkinson, the English physician who discovered Parkinson's disease was born. His observations were so detailed and complete that they laid the foundation for all subsequent research.

1819 Charles Hallé, the German-born British pianist and conductor was born.

1855 Britain's first pillar boxes were put up in London. There were six of them, all painted green.

1939 The game of darts was banned in public houses in Glasgow because it was 'too dangerous'.

1951 The Stone of Scone, (the stone upon which Scottish monarchs were traditionally crowned) was found on the site of the altar of Arbroath Abbey in Angus. It had been stolen from Westminster Abbey 107 days earlier by Scottish nationalists who wanted it returned to Scotland. In 1996, in a symbolic response to growing dissatisfaction among Scots, the Conservative Government decided that the Stone should be kept in Edinburgh Castle when not in use at coronations.

1952 Queen Elizabeth II announced that her children and descendents would bear the surname of Windsor.

1957 Britain agreed to Singapore self rule, to come into effect in 1958.

1959 Billy Wright, former England football captain became the first player in the world to play for his country in a hundred matches when England beat Scotland 1-0.

1961 The trial began, in Israel, of Adolf Eichmann, accused of helping Hitler in his plan to exterminate the Jews. He faced 15 charges, including crimes against humanity, crimes against the Jewish people and war crimes.

1973 The British Government introduced a tar content table to be printed on cigarette packets.

1981 The arrest of a black man led to hundreds of youths rampaging through the streets of Brixton in south London. Over a 100 vehicles were burned and almost 150 buildings were damaged. Reports suggested that up to 5,000 people were involved.

1983 The film Gandhi, directed by Sir Richard Attenborough, won eight Oscars, the most any British film has ever won.

1987 The London Agreement was secretly signed between Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Shimon Peres and King Hussein of Jordan. The agreement outlined the framework for an international peace conference hosted by the United Nations, and whose purpose was 'the peaceful solution of the Arab-Israeli conflict.'

2001 The death of Harry Secombe, Welsh actor, singer and comedian. He is best known for playing Neddie Seagoon, the central character in the BBC radio comedy series The Goon Show (1951–60).

[annie]

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[wendy]

[Rosalind]

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