9th July

[chenrezig]

1540 England's King Henry VIII had his six-month marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, annulled.

1553 Lady Jane Grey was proclaimed queen of England in succession to Edward VI. Her reign lasted only nine days. Her successor was Mary I.

1811 Explorer David Thompson posted a sign at the confluence of the Columbia and Snake Rivers (in modern Washington state, America), claiming the land for Britain. Thompson was a British-Canadian fur trader, surveyor and map-maker, who, over his career mapped more than 3.9 million square kilometres of North America and for this has been described as the 'greatest land geographer who ever lived.'

1877 The first Wimbledon Lawn Tennis championship was held at its original site at Worple Road. The men's singles title was won by Spencer Gore - beating fellow British player W.C. Marshall in three sets.

1900 Queen Victoria gave the Royal Assent to the Australian Federation Bill which set up of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901.

1901 Barbara Cartland, romantic novelist was born. She wrote more than 500 books.

1916 Edward Heath, British politician was born.

1938 In anticipation of World War II, 35 million gas masks were issued to Britain's civilian population.

1947 Princess Elizabeth (the Queen) and Philip Mountbatten announced their engagement.

1973 Prince Charles enjoyed the Bahamas' last day as a British colony. He had hosted a formal reception at Government House, Nassau, the previous night for dignitaries from 52 countries overseeing the end of over 300 years of British sovereignty.

1982 Queen Elizabeth II woke to find an intruder (Michael Fagan) sitting at the end of her bed. It raised further concerns about poor Palace security.

1984 A massive fire, caused by a lightning strike, devastated large parts of York Minster causing an estimated £1m damage.

1991 The closure of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International lost about 20 local councils up to £30m in investments.

1996 Nelson Mandela, on a state visit to Britain, was welcomed by crowds at Horse Guards Parade and the Mall.

1999 Scotland celebrated one of its most significant political events for centuries; the formal opening of the new Scottish Parliament by the Queen.

2008 A teenager, who thought movement in her underwear was caused by her vibrating mobile phone found a bat curled up asleep in her bra. She had been wearing the bra for five hours when she plucked up the courage to investigate. - 'I put my hand down my bra and pulled out a cuddly little bat. I felt quite sorry for it. Perhaps I should have left it there and given it a good home.'

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