11th January

[chenrezig]

1569 The first state lottery took place in England. Lots were sold at the West Door of St Paul’s Cathedral. National lotteries continued until 1826 when it was felt that " the inducement to gambling held out by lotteries is a great moral evil, helping to impoverish many and diverting attention from the more legitimate industrial modes of moneymaking."

1815 The birth, in Glasgow, of Sir John Alexander Macdonald, the first Prime Minister of Canada.

1857 Jockey Fred Archer was born. He won his first race at the age of 12 and was a Champion Jockey for 13 consecutive years until 1886. He won 2748 races during his career, including five Derby winners. In 1885 he rode 246 winners, a record that wasn't broken until Gordon Richards' 1933 season. Archer committed suicide, aged 29, by shooting himself, following depression after the death of his wife.

1859 The birth of George Nathaniel Curzon (Lord Curzon of Kedleston), Viceroy of India. He had hopes of becoming Prime Minister, but Baldwin was chosen in his place. The love of his life was Elinor Glyn, the romantic novelist.

1922 Squadron Leader Neville Duke was born, in Tonbridge, Kent. He was a supreme flying ace during the war and shot down at least 27 enemy aircraft. After the war he became acknowledged as one of the world's foremost test pilots. In 1953, he became holder of the world air speed record when he flew a Hawker Hunter F Mk3 at 727.63 mph. During the Coronation year of Queen Elizabeth II, he became a celebrity alongside footballer Stanley Matthews and mountaineer Edmund Hillary.

1928 The death of Thomas Hardy, the English playwright and poet. He was born at Higher Bockhampton, Dorset and died, aged 87 at his later house, Max Gate, Dorchester, having dictated his final poem to his wife on his deathbed. He regarded himself primarily as a poet but came to be known for his novels, such as Tess of the d'Urbervilles and Far from the Madding Crowd. He is buried at Westminster Abbey, which proved controversial, as Hardy and his family and friends had wanted him to be interred at his birth place in Stinsford, Dorchester, in the same grave as his first wife, Emma. A compromise was reached whereby his heart was buried here at Stinsford with Emma, and his ashes in Poets' Corner at Westminster Abbey'.

1954 All Comet airliners were grounded. The day before, 35 people had died in a mysterious crash off the island of Elba. In 1953, another Comet had crashed inexplicably near Calcutta when 'it fell out of the sky for no apparent reason’. The cause was finally traced to a structural fault, with serious consequences for British aviation.

1954 George Cowling, a 34-year-old meteorologist, gave the first televised weather broadcast.

1973 The first 867 graduates from the Open University were awarded their degrees after two years studying from home.

1980 Nigel Short, age 14, from Bolton, Lancashire, became the youngest International Master in the history of chess. Participating in four World Junior Championships, from 1980–1983, Short achieved his best result during his first attempt, in which he was placed second to Garry Kasparov. He was awarded the Grandmaster title in 1984, aged nineteen, the world's youngest grandmaster at that time.

1984 French farmers hijacked British lorries in a dispute against meat imports.

1993 British Airways was forced into an embarrassing climb-down in relation to a campaign of 'dirty tricks' it had launched against rival airline Virgin Atlantic. BA was forced to pay damages to both Virgin Atlantic and its boss Richard Branson.

1994 The Duchess of Kent announced that she was converting to Catholicism, the first member of the Royal Family to become a Roman Catholic since James II in the 17th century.

2014 Three Britons made the shortlist of just over 1,000 who want to take part in the Dutch project 'Mars One'. It hopes to send 24 people from around the world on a one way trip to settle on Mars, after going through a seven-year training course, commencing in 2018.

[wendy]

[annie]

than999