10th March

[chenrezig]

1536 The birth of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk. He was imprisoned by Queen Elizabeth I for scheming to marry Mary, Queen of Scots. Following his release, he participated in the Ridolfi plot with King Philip II of Spain to put Mary on the English throne and restore Catholicism in England. He was executed for treason in 1572 and is buried at St. Peter ad Vincula within the walls of the Tower of London.

1629 Charles I dissolved the Parliament, beginning an eleven year period known as the Personal Rule. He had been harshly criticized by Parliament and realized that, as long as he could avoid war, he could rule without them. It caused discontent among those who provided the ruling classes, although the effects were more popular with the common people.

1787 The birth, in York, of William Etty, English painter best known for his paintings of nudes. His works are exhibited extensively in major British galleries. He resided in London but when his health failed he returned to York, where he died.

1801 Britain's first National Census. A census has taken place every ten years since 1801, with the exception of the 1941 census, cancelled because of World War II.

1850 The birth of Spencer Gore, tennis player and cricketer for Surrey. He won the first Wimbledon Championships in 1877.

1886 Cruft's Dog Show was held in London for the first time. Previously it had been held in Newcastle. The organizer was Charles Cruft, general manager of a dog biscuit firm.

1914 Suffragette Mary Richardson slashed Velazquez's painting - 'Rokeby Venus' at London's National Gallery with a meat cleaver as a protest against the Government's treatment of Emmeline Pankhurst.

1919 The British Government decided in favour of building a tunnel linking England to France.

1922 Mahatma Gandhi was arrested by the British governors of India and sentenced to six years in prison.

1956 Peter Twiss, former Brooke Bond tea taster and later a test pilot, became the first man to fly at more than 1,000 mph.

1964 Prince Edward, youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II was born.

1967 Singer Sandy Shaw released her record 'Puppet on a String' which won the Eurovision Song Contest for Britain.

1988 Prince Charles narrowly escaped death in an avalanche at Kloisters (Switzerland). His friend Hugh Lindsay was killed.

1997 The Spice Girls made pop music history by becoming the first group to top the charts with every one of their first four singles.

2003 Former world motorcycle champion Barry Sheene died after a long battle against cancer.

2003 MP Clare Short threatened to resign from the Cabinet if Tony Blair led the country to war against Iraq without approval from the UN ..... and she did, on 12th May.

2015 The Queen officially named the new cruise superliner 'Britannia'. The 3,600 P&O passenger vessel is the largest cruise ship designed for the British holiday market. Its home port will be Southampton for the summer months, after being built in Italy at a cost of almost £0.5bn.

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[annie]

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