Scott Allsop's Blog, page 265
February 8, 2017
9th February 1969: First test flight of Boeing 747 ‘Jumbo Jet’
On the 9th February 1969, the first test flight of the Boeing 747 ‘Jumbo Jet’ took place. The 747 went on to hold the record for the largest passenger capacity for 37 years before being...
February 7, 2017
8th February 1587: Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots
On the 8th February 1587 Mary Stuart, more commonly known as Mary, Queen of Scots, was executed in the great hall of Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire. Having been imprisoned for 19 years in a variety...
February 6, 2017
7th February 1964: The Beatles’ first visit to the USA
On the 7th February 1964, the Beatles visited the United States for the first time. Their welcome at New York’s Kennedy Airport by 3,000 screaming fans was unprecedented, even for a band that had already...
February 5, 2017
6th February 1958: Munich air disaster kills Manchester Utd players
On the 6th February 1958, British European Airways flight 609 crashed at Munich-Riem Airport while carrying the Manchester United football team, supporters and journalists. Of the 44 passengers on board the plane, 23 died as...
February 4, 2017
5th February 1924: The BBC ‘pips’ first broadcast to mark the time
On the 5th February 1924 the BBC ‘pips’ were broadcast for the first time. Five short pips signal the five seconds leading up to the hour, with a slightly longer pip marking the start of...
February 3, 2017
4th February 1945: Yalta Conference between Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin begins
On the 4th February 1945 the Yalta Conference began. Attended by the “Big Three” Allied leaders, the conference saw United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin...
February 2, 2017
3rd February 1959: The Day the Music Died
The 3rd February 1959 was the Day The Music Died, when rock and roll pioneers Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper were killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa. The disaster...
February 1, 2017
2nd February 1852: First modern public toilets open in London
On the 2nd February 1852, the world’s first modern public toilets opened in London. Sited at 95 Fleet Street, next to the Society of Arts, the toilets were exclusively for gents. However, a public toilet...
January 31, 2017
1st February 1968: Viet Cong Captain Bảy Lốp executed by General Loan
On the 1st February 1968, American photojournalist Eddie Adams took a photograph of South Vietnamese National Police Chief General Nguyễn Ngọc Loan executing Viet Cong officer Nguyễn Văn Lém in Saigon. The photograph’s publication in...
January 30, 2017
31st January 1990: First McDonald’s opens in the USSR
On the 31st January 1990, fast food chain McDonald’s opened its first restaurant in the Soviet Union on Moscow’s Pushkin Square. Rather than the expected 1,000 customers on the first day, some news outlets estimated...
