NOW & THEN
NOVEMBER 25
1491: The Siege of Granada, the last moorish stronghold in Spain, began.
1681: Commission from Charles II to Sir Thomas Dalyell of the Binns to form a regiment of horse, the Royal Regiment of Scots Dragoons, later the Royal Scots Greys, originally for the suppression of the Covenanters.
1758: British forces captured Senegal.
1823: The first pleasure pier, The Chain Pier, at Brighton, opened.
1839: The port city of Coringa in India was destroyed by a cyclone, which also claimed an estimated 300,000 lives.
1875: Britain bought 176,602 shares in Suez Canal from Khedive of Egypt.
1882: To beat copyright pirates, Iolanthe, by Gilbert and Sullivan, was premiered in London and the United States, the first show to open simultaneously in both countries.
1911: Britain’s first successful seaplane fight was made, over Lake Windermere.
1920: Government announced plans for a Severn Barrage to generate electricity.
1922: Japanese crown prince Hirohito was appointed prince regent.
1923: The first transatlantic wireless broadcast to the United States was made.
1932: Actors’ union Equity decided to operate a closed shop.
1940: The cartoon character Woody Woodpecker made his debut in the short animated film Knock, Knock.
1941: The battleship HMS Barham was sunk by a U-boat off Sollum, with 868 lives lost.
1953: Hungary defeated England 6-3 at Wembley, the first time England had lost at home to an overseas nation.
1955: Race segregation was forbidden on trains and buses between states in USA.
1963: The funeral of US president John F Kennedy took place in Washington.
1969: John Lennon returned his MBE in protest against Britain’s support of USA in the Vietnam war.
1973: Greece’s president, George Papadopoulos, was ousted after military coup and succeeded by General Phaidon Gizikis.
1975: Surinam, South American republic which was previously called Dutch Guiana, became
fully independent.
1984: Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas? was recorded by a galaxy of superstars brought together to raise money for the starving in Ethiopia.
1985: Habitat and British Home Stores announced a merger deal worth £1.5 billion.
1989: Entrepreneur Richard Branson’s attempt to balloon across the Pacific was scrapped 30 minutes before launch after damage was discovered in the balloon.
1991: Winston Silcott, one of the “Tottenham Three” jailed for life after the murder of PC Keith Blakelock in 1985, was cleared by the Appeal Court after evidence that police fabricated part of a statement attributed to him.
1995: The Republic of Ireland voted in a referendum to end its constitutional ban on couples divorcing.
BIRTHDAYS
Blythe Duff, actress, 58; John Allan, Scottish rugby player, 57; Christina Applegate, actress, 49; Jim Bett, Scottish footballer, 61; Jill Hennessy, actress, 52; Yvonne Kenny, Australian soprano, 70; Paul Murphy, Baron Murphy of Torfaen, Labour politician, 72; Bev Bevan, rock musician (The Move, Electric Light Orchestra), 76; Bruno Tonioli, choreographer, dancer and TV personality, 65; Xabi Alonso, Spanish footballer, 39; Johnny Rep, Dutch footballer, 69; Anthony Nesty, swimmer, first Olympic gold medallist from Surinam, 53; Kirsty Crawford, Glasgow-born singer, 37; Steve Rothery, musician (Marillion), 61.
ANNIVERSARIES
Births: 1835 Andrew Carnegie, Dunfermline-born US industrialist and philanthropist; 1844 Karl Benz, inventor of first car powered by internal combustion engine; 1881 Pope John XXIII; 1940 Percy Sledge,soul singer; 1959 Charles Kennedy, MP, leader, Lib Dems 1999-2006, 55. Deaths: 1949 Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, tap dancer; 1973 Laurence Harvey, actor; 1974 Nick Drake, rock musician; 2005 George Best, footballer; 2012 Dinah Sheridan, actress; 2016 Fidel Castro, president of Cuba 1959-2008