11th February

[chenrezig]

1466 The birth of Elizabeth of York, wife of Henry VII and mother of King Henry VIII. She died, on her birthday in 1503 aged 37. In the children's nursery rhyme, 'Sing a Song of Sixpence' Elizabeth is reportedly the queen in the parlour, while her husband, with a reputation for thrift, is the king counting his money.

1531 Henry VIII was recognized as supreme head of the Church of England.

1542 Catherine Howard, the fifth queen consort of Henry VIII, was confined in the Tower of London to be executed three days later. Henry learned that Catherine had had several affairs before their marriage and had Parliament declare it treason for an unchaste woman to marry the king. The night before her execution, Catherine spent many hours practising how to lay her head upon the block.

1800 The birth of William Henry Fox Talbot, English pioneer of photography. Talbot's technique involved the use of a photographic negative, from which multiple prints could be made. His photograph of the Oriel window at Lacock Abbey, is the earliest camera negative in existence.

1895 The lowest ever UK temperature of -27.2°C was recorded at Braemar in Aberdeenshire. This record was equalled, also at Braemar on 10th January 1982. Minus 27°C was also recorded at Altnaharra (Highland) on 30th December 1995.

1908 Birth of Sir Vivien Fuchs, English geologist and leader of the Commonwealth Antarctic Expedition (1956-8).

1932 The birth in Clay Cross, Derbyshire of Dennis Edward Skinner, former NUM leader and Labour Member of Parliament for Bolsover since 1970. He is known for never missing a Commons session, for his left-wing views and his acid tongue that has led to him being suspended from Parliament on at least ten occasions, usually for 'unparliamentary language' when attacking opponents.

1934 The Birth of the racing driver John Surtees. He remains the only person to have won World Championships on both two and four wheels.

1956 Two British spies, Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean, who had vanished in mysterious circumstances five years previously, re-appeared in the Soviet Union.

1971 Eighty-seven countries, including the UK, the United States and the USSR, sign the Seabed Treaty. It outlawed nuclear weapons on the ocean floor in international waters.

1975 Margaret Thatcher won the Conservative Party Leadership and became the first woman leader of a British political party.

1976 John Curry became the first Briton to win a gold medal for men’s figure skating.

1983 Police launched a mass murder investigation in London after discovering human remains in drains. Civil servant Dennis Andrew Nilsen, 37, was later charged with 12 murders and sentenced to six life sentences.

1993 Queen Elizabeth II and the Prince of Wales both volunteered to pay income tax and capital gains tax on their private income. The Queen also took over civil list payments to junior members of the royal family.

[annie]

than999