Scott Allsop's Blog, page 15

7th April 1739: Legendary British highwayman Dick Turpin executed in York after being convicted of horse theft

Turpin committed numerous highway robberies and soon became one of the most notorious criminals of his time, though he was ultimately executed for horse ...

6th April 1917: The USA declares war on Germany in WW1

The United States entered the First World War after Congress declared war on the German ...

4th April 1841: US President William Henry Harrison dies 32 days after taking office, ending the shortest presidency in US history

Shortly after his inauguration, Harrison developed a cold that worsened into pneumonia from which he died. As well as becoming the first U.S. president to die in office this also marked the shortest presidency in US ...

2nd April 1877: Zazel performs the first recorded human cannonball act at the Royal Aquarium in London

The human cannonball act was developed by "The Great Farini" and performed by 17-year-old Rossa Matilda Richter, who was propelled over 6 metres at a show in the theatre of London’s Royal ...

1st April 1918: Royal Air Force formally established in the United Kingdom by merging the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service

At the time of its formation, the RAF had around 20,000 aircraft and more than 300,000 personnel with its primary mission being to provide air support to ground and naval operations, conduct strategic bombing, and defend Britain from aerial ...

31st March 1889: The Eiffel Tower officially completed and inaugurated in Paris for the Exposition Universelle

The tower’s construction began on 28 January 1887 and took just over two years to complete, after which Gustave Eiffel led a group of government officials and members of the press to the top where he raised the French tricolour ...

28th March 1979: British Prime Minister James Callaghan loses a vote of no confidence by a single vote

By early 1979 Callaghan’s government had lost its majority in the House of Commons and, with the government weakened, the Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher, tabled a motion of no ...

25th March 1969: John Lennon and Yoko Ono begin their first “Bed-In for Peace” at the Hilton Hotel in Amsterdam

For a week, Lennon and Ono remained in bed, dressed in white pyjamas, while allowing journalists and photographers into their room to spread their anti-war ...

24th March 1944: The ‘Great Escape’ takes place from Stalag Luft III, a German prisoner-of-war camp in Lower Silesia

Prisoners had worked in shifts to dig a tunnel known as "Harry" that was over 100 metres long and equipped with ventilation systems and ...

21st March 1871: Otto von Bismarck formally appointed first Chancellor of the German Empire

Under Bismarck’s leadership, domestic policies sought to consolidate German unity and reduce opposition to the new state while foreign policy focused on maintaining stability in Europe and preventing conflicts that could threaten the new empire, by establishing a system of alliances that isolated ...