28th January

[chenrezig]

1457 The birth of Henry VII, founder of the Tudor dynasty in England. Henry won the throne when he defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of England to win his throne on the field of battle and he restored order after the Wars of the Roses.

1547 The death of Henry VIII, exactly 90 years after the birth of his father Henry VII. His nine year old son, Edward VI becomes King, and the first Protestant ruler of England.

1596 Sir Francis Drake died from dysentery aboard his ship, off Porto Bello. His exploits were legendary, making him a hero to the English but a pirate to the Spaniards. It's claimed that King Philip II of Spain offered a reward of 20,000 ducats, (equivalent to £4,000,000 in today's money) for Drake's life.

1813 The novel Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen, was first published. It follows Elizabeth Bennet as she deals with the issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education and marriage in the society of the landed gentry of early 19th-century England.

1829 The public hanging of Irish body-snatcher William Burke in Edinburgh. Burke and his accomplice William Hare, sold the corpses of their 17 victims to provide material for dissection to Doctor Robert Knox. Hare was offered immunity from prosecution if he confessed and if he testified against Burke. After Burke was hanged he was publicly dissected at the Edinburgh Medical College.

1833 Birth of General Charles George Hamilton Gordon, British defender of Khartoum and often referred to as Gordon of Khartoum.

1841 Birth of Sir Henry Morton Stanley (born John Rowlands), Welsh journalist and explorer famous for his exploration of Africa. The New York Herald sent him to Africa, in search of Dr Livingstone. Upon finding Livingstone, Stanley allegedly uttered the now-famous greeting, 'Dr. Livingstone, I presume?'

1896 Walter Arnold of Kent was the first British motorist to receive a speeding fine, for exceeding 2 mph in a built-up area. He was doing 8 mph as he passed the house of the local policeman. The constable gave chase on his bicycle and after a 5 mile chase Mr. Arnold was arrested. He was fined one shilling for his offence.

1918 The birth of Harry Corbett, the English puppeteer who created Sooty. According to the Guinness Book of Records, Sooty is the longest-running children's programme in the UK. The puppet was 60 years old on 19th July 2008 and, as this was close to Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday, Sooty sent him a birthday message!

1953 19 year-old Derek Bentley was hanged at Wandsworth Prison. On 2nd November 1952, he and 16-year-old Christopher Craig were attempting to rob a confectioner’s warehouse in Croydon when they were caught by police. It was alleged that Bentley urged Craig to fire his gun, injuring one policeman and killing another. Both boys were found guilty of murder. Craig, too young to hang, was imprisoned, while Bentley was sentenced to death despite considerable public protest.

1985 The Clive Ponting case opened in London. Ponting was accused of leaking secret information on the sinking of the Belgrano during the Falklands war but was found not guilty.

1994 The first women only boxing tournament was held at the Marine Halls, Fleetwood. Diane Berry became the first British super-flyweight women’s champion.

[wendy]

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[Misspears]

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