NOW & THEN
8MAY
1660: Restoration of the British monarchy.
1701: “Captain” William Kidd was tried at London’s Old Bailey for piracy – he was hanged on 23 May.
1886: Coca-cola was invented by Doctor John Pemberton in Atlanta, Georgia.
1902: Mount Pelée erupted on the Caribbean island of Martinique. In three minutes, molten lava obliterated the town of St Pierre, incinerated ten square miles of countryside and killed more than 30,000 people.
1921: Sweden abolished capital punishment.
1927: Speedway racing took place in Britain for the first time, at Camberley Heath.
1931: A group of leaders from Scottish industry, commerce, trade unions and local authorities convened a meeting in Edinburgh which resulted in the formation of the Scottish National Development Council.
1933: The secret of the treasure ship of Sutton Hoo began to be revealed when the owner of the land, near Ipswich, Suffolk, suggested experts excavate a curiously shaped burial mound. Inside was found an 89ft-long Anglo-saxon open ship with a burial chamber on deck full of magnificent treasure.
1945: VE-DAY. Victory came to Europe at one minute past midnight with the unconditional surrender of Germany.
1954: BBC banned Johnny Ray’s song Such a Night, and the publicity sent it to Number One. 1955: The European Cup for the football league champions of the respective nations was approved by Fifa.
1961: George Blake, British naval intelligence officer and Soviet spy, was jailed for 42 years. 1962: Trolley-buses ran for the last time in London.
1981: Ken Livingstone, Labour left-winger, was elected leader of the Greater London Council. 1984: The Thames Barrier at Woolwich was officially opened. 1989: United States space shuttle Atlantis glided out of orbit into safe landing in California’s Mojave Desert after four-day mission.
1990: Estonia declared itself a republic, dropped the words “Soviet Socialist” from its name, and restored its pre-war coatof-arms.
1990: Ferranti, now GEC Ferranti, clinched contract to supply radar system for European fighter project.
1991: Scientists said they had discovered the gene which determined the difference between the sexes.
1992: The government announced that MI5 would take over responsibility for intelligence against the IRA in mainland Britain.
1993: British boxer Lennox Lewis became WBC world heavyweight champion, beating Tony Tucker.
1995: Two-thousand beacons blazed out across the UK in a climax of celebrations to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Allied victory in Europe.
1997: A China Southern Airlines Boeing 737 crashed on approach into Bao’an International Airport, killing 35 people.
2009: British politics was rocked by controversy after the Daily Telegraph gave details of MPS’ expenses claims.
BIRTHDAYS
Sir David Attenborough CBE, broadcaster, 95; Pat Barker CBE, British novelist, 78; Viviana Durante, ballerina, 54; Lucius Edward William Plantagenet Cary, 15th Viscount Falkland, premier viscount of Scotland, 86; Melissa Gilbert, US actress, 57; Enrique Iglesias, singer, 46; Keith Jarrett, US jazz musician, 76; Lord Lamont of Lerwick, chancellor of the Exchequer 1990-3, 79; Dame Felicity Lott DBE, British soprano, 74; Thomas Pynchon, US author, 83; John Reid, Baron Reid of Cardowan, MP 1987-2010, home secretary 2006-7, 74; David Sole OBE, Scotland Grand Slam rugby captain, 59
ANNIVERSARIES
Births: 1932 Sonny Liston, heavyweight boxing champion; 1935 Jack Charlton OBE, football player and manager; 1940 Peter Benchley, author (Jaws); 1940 Ricky Nelson, singer.
Deaths: 1873 John Stuart Mill, philosopher; 1903 Paul Gauguin, painter; 1986 Lord “Manny” Shinwell, Labour politician; 1988 Robert Heinlein, sci-fi writer; 1999 Sir Dirk Bogarde, actor; 2000 Douglas Fairbanks Jr, actor; 2012 Maurice Sendak, US author and book illustrator; 2013 Bryan Forbes CBE, British actor, director and writer