Tag: This Day in History
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This Day in History | 1972 Chancellor orders pound flotation
The Chancellor, Anthony Barber, has announced his decision to temporarily float the pound. The news comes only a day after the bank lending rate was increased ... -
This Day in History | 1941 Hitler invades the Soviet Union
German forces have invaded the Soviet Union. In a pre-dawn offensive, German troops pushed into the USSR from the south and west, with a third force ... -
This Day in History | 1982 ‘God’s banker’ found hanged
The body of a top Italian banker has been found hanging from Blackfriars Bridge in London. Known as God’s banker for his links with the Vatican, ... -
This Day in History | 1965 Drink-drive limit to be introduced
The government has announced it will introduce a blood alcohol limit for drivers. Anyone found to be driving when over the set limit will be penalised ... -
This Day in History | 1980 Government announces missile sites
The locations for the first US nuclear cruise missiles to be stored on British soil have been revealed by the government. Secretary of State for Defence ... -
This Day in History | 1989 Hungary reburies fallen hero Imre Nagy
Former Communist prime minister Imre Nagy, the man who symbolises the 1956 Hungarian uprising, has been given a formal public funeral 31 years after he was ... -
This Day in History | 1974 Man dies in race rally clashes
A march through central London has left one person dead and many more injured as rival demonstrators clashed with police and each other. One man died ... -
This Day in History | 1964 Nelson Mandela jailed for life
The leader of the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa, Nelson Mandela, has been jailed for life for sabotage. Seven other defendants, including the former secretary-general of ... -
This Day in History | 1976 Mercenaries trial begins in Angola
The trial of 13 mercenaries – 10 of them British – has begun in Angola with the public still in the dark over the exact charges. ... -
This Day in History | 1967 Israel ends six-day war
Fighting in the Middle East has ended after Israel finally observed the UN ceasefire and halted her advance into Syria. Within the last six days Israeli ... -
This Day in History | 1983 Thatcher wins landslide victory
Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative Party has won a landslide second term election victory, taking 397 seats to Labour’s 209. The SDP Liberal Alliance, fighting its first national ... -
This Day in History | 1999 Liar Aitken jailed for 18 months
Disgraced ex-cabinet minister Jonathan Aitken has been jailed for 18 months after he admitted lying during a failed libel action. The former Conservative MP admitted both ... -
This Day in History | 1963 Profumo resigns over sex scandal
Secretary of State for War, John Profumo, has resigned from government, admitting he lied to Parliament about his relationship with a call girl. Prime Minister Harold ... -
This Day in History | 1968 Dover begins bird purge
It’s Seagull Week in Dover. This is not, as you might expect, a celebration of the bird whose cry evokes the fresh sea air, fish ‘n’ ... -
This Day in History | 1982 Israeli ambassador shot in London
The Israeli ambassador to Britain is critically ill in hospital after being shot on a London street. Shlomo Argov, 52, was leaving a diplomatic function at ... -
This Day in History | 1953 Queen Elizabeth takes coronation oath
Queen Elizabeth II has been crowned at a coronation ceremony in Westminster Abbey in London. In front of more than 8,000 guests, including prime ministers and ... -
This Day in History | 2001 Nepal royal family massacred
The King and Queen of Nepal have been shot dead after the heir to the throne went on the rampage with a gun before turning it ... -
This Day in History | 1953 Hillary and Tenzing conquer Everest
The New Zealander Edmund Hillary, and the Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, have become the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest on the Nepal-Tibet border. ... -
This Day in History | 1951 Glasgow powers up for the Festival
Her Royal Highness, Princess Elizabeth, has formally opened the Exhibition of Industrial Power in Glasgow, the latest show in the Festival of Britain. The exhibition tells ... -
This Day in History | 1964 Light goes out in India as Nehru dies
Jawaharlal Nehru, founder of modern India and its current prime minister, has died suddenly at the age of 74. He was taken ill in the early ... -
This Day in History | 1998 Veterans reject Japanese ‘sorrow’
Emperor Akihito of Japan has spoken of his “deep sorrow and pain” over the suffering inflicted by his country during World War II, but did not ... -
This Day in History | 1963 African states unite against white rule
Leaders of 32 African nations have set up an organisation that will give them a united voice for the first time in Africa’s history. The African ... -
This Day in History | 1972 President Nixon arrives in Moscow
America’s President Richard Nixon has arrived in Moscow for talks with Soviet leaders. He was given a modest welcome as he stepped off the plane at ... -
This Day in History | 1991 Bomb kills India’s former leader Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Gandhi, the 46-year-old former Indian prime minister, has been assassinated. He was campaigning for the Congress Party on the second day of voting in the ... -
This Day in History | 1965 British police to be issued with tear gas
Britain’s police are to be armed with tear gas guns and grenades to be used against armed criminals or dangerous individuals. The Home Secretary, Sir Frank ... -
This Day in History | 2004 Angry dads hit Blair with purple flour
Protesters have hurled condoms full of purple flour at British Prime Minister Tony Blair as he addressed MPs in the House of Commons, prompting an urgent ... -
This Day in History | 1950 US and Europe agree Nato aims
Almost exactly a year after signing the North Atlantic Treaty, 12 nations have agreed a permanent organisation for the defence of the United States and Europe. ... -
This Day in History | 1957 Britain drops its first H-bomb
Britain has exploded its first hydrogen bomb as part of a series of tests in the Pacific, the Ministry of Supply has announced. Details of the ... -
This Day in History | 1955 Communist states sign Warsaw Pact
The Soviet Union and its Eastern Bloc allies have signed a security pact in the Polish capital, Warsaw, after a three-day conference. Announcements in Warsaw and ... -
This Day in History | 1981 Thousands see Pope shot in Rome
The Pope has been shot four times as he blessed the crowds in St Peter’s Square in Rome. Surgeons have performed a five-hour operation and say ... -
This Day in History | 1967 Stansted to become London’s third airport
The British Government has given the green light to plans to convert Stansted into London’s third airport. President of the Board of Trade Douglas Jay told ... -
This Day in History | 1963 Moscow jails British ‘spy’
A British businessman accused of spying for the West has been sentenced to eight years’ detention by a Moscow tribunal. The President of the Court declared ... -
This Day in History | 1945 Rejoicing at end of war in Europe
The Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, has officially announced the end of the war with Germany. In a message broadcast to the nation from the Cabinet room ... -
This Day in History | 2001 Thousands greet Pope in Syrian visit
Thousands of people have turned out to greet Pope John Paul II on his historic visit to Syria. The pontiff drove in his popemobile through the ... -
This Day in History | 1997 Brown sets Bank of England free
The Chancellor, Gordon Brown, has given the Bank of England independence from political control. His surprise announcement – coming only four days after Labour’s landslide election ...
