15th May

[chenrezig]

1536 The trial of Anne Boleyn. She was accused of incest, sleeping with 4 men and an assassination plot against her husband, King Henry VIII. She was found guilty by a specially-selected jury and executed four days later.

1567 Mary Queen of Scots married James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, just three months after the assassination of her husband, Lord Darnley.

1718 The first machine gun was patented by London lawyer James Puckle who, as a keen fisherman, intended to use it at sea! He began to manufacture it in London in 1721.

1740 Ephraim Chambers, the English encyclopaedist died.

1800 George III survived two assassination attempts in one day, the second coming from James Hadfield who fired a shot at the King during a performance at the Drury Lane Theatre in London. Hadfield was later acquitted by reason of insanity.

1858 The present Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London was opened.

1895 The death of Joseph Whitaker, English publisher of Whitaker's Almanac.

1909 The birth, in Huddersfield, of James Mason, British actor who appeared in more than 80 films. His distinctive voice enabled him to play a menacing villain as greatly as his good looks assisted him as a leading man. His roles include Brutus in Julius Caesar, Field Marshal Rommel in The Desert Fox and Captain Nemo in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

1929 In the first football international, England lost to Spain 4-3, in Madrid.

1936 Aviator Amy Johnson arrived in England after a record-breaking 12 day, 15 hour flight from London to Cape Town and back.

1941 The first flight of Britain's first jet propelled aircraft, the Gloster-Whittle E28/39. It was devised by Frank Whittle.

1957 Britain's first hydrogen bomb was exploded on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean. The effect of the radiation on some of the British soldiers who watched the test only came to light many years later.

1981 The birth of Zara Phillips, daughter of Anne, the Princess Royal and Mark Phillips.

1987 The birth of Andy Murray, Scottish tennis player. In 2011, Murray became only the seventh player in the Open Era to reach the semi-finals of all four Grand Slam tournaments in one year. On 7th July 2013 he won his first Wimbledon title and ended Britain's 77-year wait for a men's champion, with a straight-sets victory over world number one Novak Djokovic.

1990 Home produced beef was banned in UK schools and hospitals as a result of concern over 'mad cow disease' (BSE).

1995 The British Police Federation voted against the routine arming of police officers.

2008 The death (aged 51) of Thomas "Tommy" Burns, Scottish professional football player and manager. He was also a Scotland international, winning eight caps between 1981 and 1988 whilst a Celtic player.

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[Rosalind]

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