ON THIS SUNDAY
1782: The 100-ton battleship HMS Royal George sank off Spithead with the loss of more than 900 lives. 1831: Michael Faraday demonstrated the production of electricity from magnetism with the first transformer.
1842: The Treaty of Nanking was signed, ending the Opium War (183942) between China and Britain, and ceding Hong Kong to Britain. 1882: England cricketers lost to Australia in England for the first time, and from an epitaph that appeared in the Sporting Times the word “Ashes” came into being. 1895: The Rugby League was formed at a meeting in the George Hotel in
Huddersfield, with 21 representatives of the leading Lancashire and Yorkshire Rugby Union clubs – the present title of “Rugby League” was adopted in 1922.
1897: “Chop-suey” (meaning ‘various things’), the most famous Chinese dish, was devised by a New York chef to appeal to Chinese and American tastes.
1930: The Rev William Spooner, who gave the world spoonerisms, died. 1966: The Beatles gave their last live concert performance in Candlestick Park in San Francisco.
2005: Michael Schumacher won his 5th consecutive Formula One Drivers Championship.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: The Duke of Sussex surprised rugby league players to help celebrate the sport’s 125th birthday