ON THIS DAY
1819:
Troops broke up a meeting to demand Parliamentary reforms on St Peter’s Field, Manchester. Eleven died in what became known as the Peterloo Massacre.
TE Lawrence - Lawrence of Arabia - was born in Tremadoc.
Wembley Stadium was sold for use as a greyhound racing track.
Legendary baseball player George Herman “Babe” Ruth died in New York at the age of 53.
Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone With The Wind, died after being knocked down by a car two days earlier.
Bela Lugosi, the horror actor who became a drug addict later in his life, died. He was buried (as he had stipulated) in his famous Dracula cape.
Archbishop Makarios voted the first president of the future republic of Cyprus.
Pete Best, original drummer with The Beatles, was fired by Brian Epstein and replaced by Ringo Starr.
1888: 1927: 1948: 1949: 1956: 1959: 1962: 1977:
The king of rock ‘n’ roll Elvis Presley died in the bathroom of his home in Memphis, Tennessee, though he was actually pronounced dead at 3.30pm in the emergency room of the Baptist Hospital, Memphis.
The Boscastle flood hit Cornwall - 440 million gallons of water swept through the West Country town leaving millions of pounds worth of damage.
Usain Bolt set a new 100 metres dash world record of 9.69 seconds at the Beijing Summer Olympics.
2004: 2008: ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR:
A global ice age known as ‘Snowball Earth’ triggered the development of complex life 650 million years ago, new evidence suggested.
John Standing, actor, 84; Sir Trevor McDonald, newscasting legend, 79; Bruce Beresford, film director, 78; John Craven, TV presenter, 78; John Challis, actor (Only Fools And Horses), 76; Lesley Ann Warren, actress, 72; Katharine Hamnett, fashion designer, 71; James Cameron, director, 64; Madonna, pop singer, 60; Timothy Hutton, actor, 58; Barry Venison, footballer turned pundit, 54; Ulrika Jonsson, TV presenter, 51.
BIRTHDAYS: