Scott Allsop's Blog, page 84

11th January 1569: First recorded lottery drawn in England under Elizabeth I

The concept of a lottery, in which lots were drawn to determine a winner, had been around for centuries before Queen Elizabeth I chartered a prize draw to raise money for the “reparation of the havens and strength of the Realme, and towardes such other publique good ...

10th January 1920: Treaty of Versailles comes into effect and League of Nations is established

Although the Treaty had been signed in June the previous year, the terms weren’t activated until 10 January which meant that the League of Nations was officially founded as the Covenant of the League was now in ...

9th January 1349: Jews massacred in Basel during the Black Death persecutions

The Jewish population of Basel were massacred amidst accusations that they were responsible for causing the Black ...

8th January 1918: United States President Woodrow Wilson outlines his principles for world peace, known as the Fourteen Points

Keen to distance the United States from nationalistic disputes that fuelled European rivalries, Wilson's 14 Points sought a lasting peace by securing terms that avoided selfish ambitions of the ...

7th January 1979: Pol Pot of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (Cambodia) overthrown when Vietnamese forces capture the capital city Phnom Penh

After the Vietnamese forces captured Phnom Penh on 7 January 1979, Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge forces fled into the ...

6th January 1975: Led Zeppelin banned from Boston after fans run riot at Boston Garden arena

Fans of the rock band Led Zeppelin rampaged through the Boston Garden arena, causing thousands of dollars of ...

5th January 1066: Death of Edward the Confessor sparks a succession crisis

A succession crisis was sparked following the death of Edward the Confessor, the last Anglo-Saxon king of ...

4th January 1642: Charles I of England attempts to arrest the Five Members of Parliament, prompting the English Civil War

Charles I himself entered the House of Commons chamber – an act that was a huge violation of Parliamentary privilege – and sat in the Speaker’s chair to demand the Five Members be handed over to ...

3rd January 1961: United States of America severs its diplomatic relationship with Cuba and closes its embassy in Havana

Fidel Castro's nationalisation of American-owned businesses and private property led the Eisenhower administration to cut all diplomatic ties with ...

2nd January 1980: Jimmy Carter instigates the end of détente after the USSR invades Afghanistan

In response to Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan, Jimmy Carter brought the period of détente to an ...