On This Day 30th November
30th November is St Andrew’s Day. He is the patron saint of Scotland, also of golfers
and fishermen.
See 
picture of Saint Andrew's stained glass window at Innerwick Church, Perth and Kinross.
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1016 Cnut the Great (Canute), King of Denmark, claimed the English throne after the death of Edmund II, often known as Edmund Ironside. The cognomen 'Ironside' was given to Edmund because of his valour in resisting the Danish invasion led by Cnut the Great.
1872 The first football match between England and Scotland took place, at Hamilton Crescent Glasgow. It ended in a 0-0 draw.
1874 Birth of Sir Winston Leonard Churchill, British statesman, journalist,
historian and Nobel prize-winner for literature. He was a descendant of the
great Duke of Marlborough, and was born born in Blenheim Palace (see 
picture). The great
wartime Prime Minister, with his highly quotable speeches, was considered by
many as ‘the
greatest living Englishman’.
1913 Charlie Chaplin made his film debut without the moustache and cane in 'Making a Living'.
1934 The steam locomotive Flying Scotsman (Engine No. 4472) became the first to officially exceed 100mph. She recently underwent went major restoration at the National Railway Museum in York. See 
picture and at Riley & Sons (Ltd) in Bury. There was a series of test runs in January 2016 on the East Lancashire Railway, ahead of an official launch at King’s Cross railway station in London.
1936 The Crystal Palace was destroyed by fire. The spectacular blaze was seen miles away. Designed by Sir Joseph Paxton, it was originally erected in Hyde Park for the Great Exhibition in 1851.
1944 HMS Vanguard, Britain’s largest, and last ever battleship, was launched at Clydebank.
1955 Floodlights were used for the first time at Wembley Stadium, during an international game with Spain.
1960 Gary Lineker, footballer, and former England captain, was born. Despite his long career, Lineker was never cautioned by a referee for foul play, a feat equalled only by Billy Wright, John Charles and Sir Stanley Matthews.
1968 The Trade Descriptions Act came into force making it a crime for a trader to knowingly sell an item with a misleading label or description.
1982 A letter bomb exploded inside No. 10, Downing Street, injuring a member of staff. The package was sent by animal rights activists. Margaret Thatcher was at home when the device exploded but she was not hurt in the blast.
1983 Seaweed contaminated by heavy radioactivity was discovered in Cumbria, near the Sellafield nuclear plant.
1987 At Christie's auctioneers in London, a painting by Edgar Degas, 'The Laundry Maids', was sold for £7.48 million.
1999 British Aerospace and Marconi Electronic Systems merged to form BAE Systems, Europe's largest defence contractor and the fourth largest aerospace company in the world.
2011 Up to two million public sector workers from 30 trade unions went on strike over reforms to their pensions, hitting public services as diverse as health, refuse and tax collection. Thousands of schools were closed and ports and airports were affected as border control staff walked out. It was the biggest day of strike action in more than 30 years, with warning of more stoppages to follow if ministers refused to negotiate on the dispute.
2013 Dr. David Hessayon, the author, who sold more than 50 million of his 'Gardening Expert' guidebooks (see 
picture) announced his retirement at the age of 85. He has three honorary doctorates and was made an OBE in 2007.
2013 The Hon. Edward Charles d'Olier Gibson, who appealed his conviction for assaulting a police officer, claiming that he did not know what a modern policeman looked like, had his case thrown out by a judge who ordered him to pay prosecution costs of £620. Gibson was also disqualified from driving for 12 months for drink-driving and was fined a total of £2,350 for the offences.