Interesting Facts

13th May 1958 – The trade mark Velcro was registered. 1981 – Pope John Paul II survived an assasination attempt after emergency surgery. 1989 – Large groups of students occupied Tiananmen Square in China and began a hunger strike. 1995 – British mother of two, Alison Hargreaves, conquered Everest.

5th May 1215 – Rebel barons in England renounced their allegiance to King John — part of a chain of events leading to the signing of the Magna Carta. 1494 – Christopher Columbus landed on the island of Jamaica and claimed it for Spain. I think I'll try that next time I'm in Spain. 1821 – Emperor Napoleon I died in exile on the island of Saint Helena. 1921 - Coco Chanel introduced their famous perfume Chanel No. 5. 1925 – John T. Scopes was served with an arrest warrant for teaching evolution in violation of the Butler Act. 1949 – The Treaty of London established the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. 1955 – West Germany regained full sovereignty. 1964 – The Council of Europe declared May 5 as Europe Day. 1980 - The siege of the Iranian embassy in London came to an end after a raid by SAS commandos. 1981 - Bobby Sands died in the Maze prison 66 days after first refusing to eat. 2005 - British Prime Minister Tony Blair was elected to a third term.

11th April 1945 – The Buchenwald concentration camp, one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps on German soil, was liberated. 1951 – The Stone of Scone, the stone upon which Scottish monarchs were traditionally crowned, was found on the site of the altar of Arbroath Abbey. It had been taken by Scottish nationalists from its place in Westminster Abbey. 1957 - Britain agreed to self-rule in Singapore. 1968 – President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968, prohibiting discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing. One week after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. 1968 – German student leader Rudi Dutschke is shot in Berlin. 1976 – The Apple I was created. 1979 – Ugandan dictator Idi Amin was deposed. 1981 – A huge riot in Brixton, South London, resulted in almost 300 police injuries and 65 serious civilian injuries. 1987 – Primo Levi, Italian chemist and author died. 2001 – Harry Secombe, Welsh actor and co...

1st April 1318 - Berwick-upon-Tweed was captured by the Scottish from the English. 1826 - Samuel Morey patented the internal combustion engine. 1867 - Singapore became a British crown colony. 1873 - The British steamer RMS Atlantic sank off Nova Scotia, 547 people died. 1891 - The Wrigley Company was founded in Chicago, Illinois. 1918 - The Royal Air Force was created by the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service. 1924 - Adolf Hitler was sentenced to five years in jail for his participation in the "Beer Hall Putsch". However, he spent only nine months in jail, during which time he wrote the book Mein Kampf. (Just shows you prison is no deterrent.) 1949 - The twenty-six counties of the Irish Free State became the Republic of Ireland. 1976 - Apple Computer was formed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. 1979 - Iran became an Islamic Republic by a 98% vote, officially overthrowing the Shah. 1981 - Daylight saving time was introduced ...

20th January 2001 - George W. Bush was sworn in as the 43rd president of the United States. 1993 - Bill Clinton was sworn in as the 42nd president of the United States. 1987 – Church of England envoy Terry Waite was kidnapped in Lebanon. 1986 - Soviets launched the space station Mir. 1981 - Ronald Reagan was sworn in as the 40th president of the United States. 1962 - John Glenn became the first American to orbit the earth. 1961 - John F. Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th president of the United States. 1958 - The UK government announced the naval dockyards at Sheerness were to close. 1936 - Britain's King George V died and Edward VIII became King of the United Kingdom. 1841 – The island of Hong Kong was occupied by the British. 1783 - Great Britain signed a peace treaty with France and Spain. Officially ending hostilities between the countries in the American War of Independence. 1649 - Charles I of England went on trial for treason and other "high cri...