6th April

[chenrezig]

1199 King Richard I (Richard the Lionheart) died from an infection following the removal of an arrow from his shoulder, after being wounded by a crossbow bolt during a siege in France.

1320 The Scots reaffirmed their independence by signing the Declaration of Arbroath. The Declaration was in the form of a letter submitted to Pope John XXII. It confirmed Scotland's status as a sovereign state and defended Scotland's right to use military action when unjustly attacked.

1580 An earth tremor damaged several London churches, including the old St. Paul's Cathedral.

1812 British forces, under the command of the Duke of Wellington, assaulted the fortress of Badajoz in Spain. It was the turning point in the Peninsular War against Napoleon-led France.

1843 English poet William Wordsworth was appointed Poet Laureate, a day before his 73rd birthday.

1913 Suffragettes increased their militant activities by cutting telephone lines and damaging post boxes.

1944 Pay As You Earn (PAYE) income tax was introduced into Britain. It was devised by Cornelius Gregg.

1963 Britain and the USA signed the Polaris missile agreement. Polaris was a submarine launched, nuclear tipped weapon designed as a nuclear deterrent.

1965 The British Government announced the cancellation of the TSR-2 aircraft project. Only one airframe flew. It was the victim of ever rising costs and inter-service squabbling over Britain's future defence needs.

1974 Swedish pop group ABBA won the 19th annual Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton, Sussex, with 'Waterloo'. The Swedish version single was coupled with 'Honey, Honey', while the English version featured 'Watch Out' as the B-side.

1975 During 'Operation Babylift' a plane carrying 99 Vietnamese orphans, victims of the war in Vietnam, landed at Heathrow airport.

1984 The 17-year-old South African barefooted, long and middle distance runner, Zola Budd, was granted British citizenship by Home Secretary, Leon Brittan, after only a matter of weeks, enabling her to compete as a British citizen in the Olympic games. The decision provoked considerable controversy.

1989 The government announced it was to abolish legislation which guaranteed 'jobs for life' for more than 9,000 dockers.

1990 Married women in Britain became independent entities for income tax purposes for the first time, making them responsible for their own tax declarations. Their income was no longer assessed with that of their husbands.

1993 Following public disquiet, Queen Elizabeth II began paying income tax.

2012 A ban on tobacco displays was announced in England, with other parts of the UK planning similar action to drive down smoking rates. Cigarettes and other products are to be kept below the counter in large shops and supermarkets, while small outlets are exempt until 2015.

2014 Polish MP Artur Debski arrived in London to live as a migrant on £100 a week, in an attempt to see why so many Poles prefer Britain to their homeland. Poland has one of the EU’s most successful economies; nevertheless, 72% of Poles living in the UK intend to stay and 40% are thinking of applying for British citizenship.

[Rosalind]

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[annie]

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