18th January

[chenrezig]

1778 English navigator Captain James Cook became the first European to visit the Hawaiian Islands. He named them the Sandwich Islands, after Lord Sandwich, who was then first Lord of the Admiralty.

1779 The birth of Peter Mark Roget, English doctor and lexicographer, who produced his Roget's Thesaurus in 1852 after 47 years’ work. It was originally called 'Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases Classified and Arranged so as to Facilitate the Expression of Ideas and Assist in Literary Composition.'

1884 Dr. William Price cremated the body of his infant son, Iesu Grist (the Welsh for Jesus Christ). Price was arrested and put on trial by those who believed that cremation was illegal in Britain. However, he successfully argued that there was no legislation that specifically outlawed it, setting a precedent that allowed cremation to eventually flourish in the country.

1919 Bentley Motors Limited was founded by Walter Owen Bentley, but the manufacturer did not make a complete car for 27 years, only engines and chassis. Bentley had been previously known for his range of rotary aero-engines in World War I. He also designed and made production cars that won the Le Mans 24 hours in the 1920s. Bentley was purchased by Rolls-Royce in 1931, which itself was purchased by the Volkswagen Group of Germany in 1998, although the business is still based in Crewe.

1934 The first arrest was made in Britain as a result of issuing pocket radios to police. A Brighton shoplifter was arrested just 15 minutes after stealing three coats.

2014 UKIP councillor David Silvester blamed the recent storms and heavy floods across Britain on the Government's decision to legalise gay marriage.

2014 Lewis Clarke, a 16-year-old boy from Bristol set a new record by becoming the youngest person to trek to the South Pole. He spent 48 days at temperatures as low as -50C (-58F) and winds of up to 120 mph (193 kmh), covering a distance of 702 miles.

For more fascinating things ... visit http://www.beautifulbritain.co.uk/htm/o ... hisday.htm

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