This month in January

This month sees glowing lamps, a famous diary and the moment that America struck gold

On 1st January 1660 Samuel Pepys started his diary. He kept a record of his daily life for almost 10 years and provided eyewitness accounts of the plague and Great Fire of London. On 24th January 1848 James Wilson Marshall found flakes of gold in the American River near Coloma, California. This was the beginning of the California Gold Rush. On 28th January 1807 London’s Pall Mall became the first street to be lit by gas lights. These are now looked after by British Gas engineers.