Interesting Facts

26th March 1812 - An earthquake destroyed Caracas, Venezuela. 1827 - German composer Ludwig van Beethoven died in Vienna. 1934 - The driving test was introduced in the United Kingdom. 1973 - The London Stock Exchange allowed women on to the trading floor for the first time in the institution's 200 year history. 1979 - President Anwar el-Sadat of Egypt and Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel ended 30 years of fighting with a handshake, after the signing of the Egypt-Israel peace treaty.  Mr. Begin said, "No more war, no more bloodshed, no more bereavement, peace unto you, shalom, saalam, forever."  ("Shalom" and "salaam" are the Hebrew and Arabic words for "peace.") 1995 - The Schengen Treaty went into effect, creating a borderless zone between many European countries.  (But not the UK - never the UK. Pull up the drawbridge!)

Tests carried out in 2006 show that Beethoven died of severe lead poisoning. (He had suffered ill health much of his life and visited many doctors in search of a cure. He wrote a letter to a friend before he died urging researchers to examine his body, so that other people would not have to suffer as he did.)