20th June

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20th June

Postby chenrezig » 20 Jun 2016, 05:34

1214 The University of Oxford received its charter. Oxford is the second-oldest surviving university in the world (Bologna in Italy is the oldest) and the oldest in the English-speaking world.

1756 In India, the night of the infamous 'Black Hole of Calcutta', where more than 140 British soldiers and civilians were placed in a small prison cell - 18 feet by 14 feet - by the Nawab of Bengal. The following morning only 23 emerged alive.

1819 The U.S. vessel SS Savannah arrived at Liverpool. She was the first steam-propelled vessel to cross the Atlantic, although most of the journey was made under sail.

1837 On the death of William IV, Queen Victoria, aged 18, acceded to the throne. Her reign of 63 years and 7 months is currently longer than that of any other British monarch and the longest of any female monarch in history.

1887 On Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, Buffalo Bill Cody staged a Royal Command performance of his famous Wild West Show, and four European kings boarded the original Deadwood coach driven by Cody.

1887 Britain's longest railway bridge over the River Tay opened. The first had collapsed in 1879 whilst the Edinburgh to Dundee train was crossing, killing over 90 people.

1906 Catherine Cookson, English novelist, was born.

1934 The birth of Wendy Craig, BAFTA Award winning actress who is best known for her appearances in the sitcoms Butterflies.

1949 American tennis player 'Gorgeous' Gussie Moran caused a sensation at the Wimbledon Championships by wearing lace-trimmed pants under a short skirt.

1984 The biggest exam shake up for over 10 years was announced with O Level and CSE exams to be replaced by new examinations, to be known as GCSEs.

1986 In the wake of the Chernobyl disaster, the government ordered a temporary ban on the slaughter and movement of lambs in some parts of the country.

1990 British Chancellor John Major proposed a new European currency which would circulate alongside existing national currencies.

1995 Shell abandoned at the eleventh hour its plan to dump the disused Brent Spar rig in the Atlantic, provoking a furious reaction in the British government. Meanwhile, the environmental campaign group Greenpeace claimed victory in the high-profile battle.

1996 English cricket umpire Harold 'Dickie' Bird received a standing ovation by players and spectators at Lords when he took the field to officiate in his final Test Match.

1997 Former Conservative minister Jonathan Aitken lost his libel action against The Guardian newspaper over allegations that wealthy Arabs paid for him to stay at the Ritz Hotel in Paris while he was a minister.

2014 England were eliminated at the group stage of the Fifa World Cup for the first time since 1958. They were knocked out after just two matches, with Roy Hodgson's side beaten by Group D rivals Italy and Uruguay.
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Re: 20th June

Postby annie » 20 Jun 2016, 08:21

than999
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Re: 20th June

Postby Rosalind » 20 Jun 2016, 13:55

go90 tha22222
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