ON THIS DAY
323BC:
Alexander the Great, King of Macedonia, died after a prolonged period of feasting.
1381:
Wat Tyler led the first popular rebellion - against unpopular taxes - in English history. It has become known as the Peasants’ Revolt.
1842:
Queen Victoria travelled by train for the first time, from Slough to Paddington, accompanied by Prince Albert. She was the first British monarch to use the train.
1893:
Dorothy L Sayers, writer of detective stories featuring Lord Peter Wimsey, was born in Oxford.
1900:
The Boxer Rebellion began in China to end the domination and exploitation of the country by foreigners. The Boxers were a secret society, originally formed to practice martial arts.
1944:
The first V1 flying bomb, or “doodlebug”, landed in England. Hitler’s “secret weapon” hit a house in Southampton, killing three people.
1956:
Real Madrid won the first European Cup, beating Stade de Reims 4-3 in Paris.
1981:
Blanks were fired at the Queen during the Trooping the Colour ceremony.
1989:
The wreck of the German ship Bismarck, which was sunk in 1941, was found 600 miles west of Brest.
1990:
The official demolition of the Berlin Wall began.