1841 The birth of Edward VII, the eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. He married Princess Alexandra of Denmark in 1863 and they had three sons and three daughters. This statue (see picture) of King Edward VII was unveiled by his son King George V in 1912 during a visit to Huddersfield with Queen Mary.

1847 In Edinburgh, Dr James Young Simpson delivered Wilhelmina Carstairs while chloroform was administered to her mother, the first child to be born with the aid of anaesthetics.

1888 At 3:30 a.m. in London's Whitechapel, 25-year-old Mary Kelly became Jack the Ripper's last known victim. The 'Ripper' was never caught, but the nature of the murders and of the victims drew attention to the poor living conditions in the East End of London and galvanised public opinion against the overcrowded, unsanitary slums. In the two decades after the murders, the worst of the slums were cleared and demolished.

1907 The Cullinan Diamond, the largest rough gem-quality diamond yet found, was presented by the Transvaal to King Edward VII, on his birthday. The largest polished gem from the stone is named Cullinan I or the Great Star of Africa. It was the largest polished diamond in the world until 1985. Cullinan I is now mounted in the head of the Royal Sceptre which was originally made for the coronation of King Charles II in 1661, but was redesigned after the discovery of the Cullinan Diamond.

1908 Britain's first woman mayor, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, was elected at Aldeburgh. She died on17th December, 1917 and was buried in Aldeburgh churchyard, Suffolk. See picture.

1915 The first Women's Institute (WI) meeting in England was held in the main bar of 'The Fox Goes Free' public house at Singleton in West Sussex.

1940 The death of Neville Chamberlain, Prime Minister at the outbreak of World War II.

1953 Dylan Thomas, Welsh poet, died in New York, aged 39. His heavy drinking and wild living contributed to his early demise. He had a long affinity with Laugharne, (Carmarthenshire) spending the last four years of his life in the Boathouse. See picture. He is buried in the over-spill graveyard of St. Martin's Church, Laugharne and his grave (see picture) is marked with a white cross. His wife, Caitlin, is buried in the same grave and her name appears on the reverse side of the cross.

1961 Brian Epstein went to a lunchtime session at The Cavern in Liverpool to see for himself why his record shop was receiving so many requests for records by a group (the Beatles) that had apparently made none. He later became their manager.

1979 The UK release of the controversial comedy film Monty Python's "Life of Brian". The film tells the story of Brian Cohen, a young Jewish man who is born on the same day as, and next door to, Jesus Christ and is subsequently mistaken for the Messiah. EMI Films withdrew funding just days before production was scheduled to begin and financing was arranged by George Harrison, former member of the Beatles and a long time Monty Python fan. Thirty-nine local authorities in the UK imposed an outright ban and some countries banned its showing for decades.

1979 Four men were found guilty of killing paperboy Carl Bridgewater. Eighteen years later their convictions were quashed.

1992 Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Dr Michael Stroud set out on their unassisted crossing of the Antarctic. For 97 days they fought pain, starvation and snow blindness until they were eventually airlifted out after completing the first and the longest, unsupported journey in Polar history. They walked more than 1,350 miles across some of the most hostile terrain in the world, averaging more than 14 miles a day at temperatures as low as -45°C.

1992 The opening of the Victoria Shopping Centre in Harrogate. Described by Bill Bryson, in his book Notes from a Small Island as “heartbreakingly awful, the worst kind of pastiche architecture – a sort of Bath Crescent meets Crystal Palace with a roof by B&Q. The figures perched along the top look as if two dozen citizens of various ages are about to commit mass suicide." See picture.

1999 Pop singer Gary Glitter was charged with seducing and sexually humiliating a 14-year-old girl. He was cleared on those charges but was jailed for downloading thousands of items of child pornography. 7 years later a Vietnamese court found him guilty of committing obscene acts with minors and he was sentenced to 3 years in prison. In October 2012, Glitter was taken from his London home into custody for questioning about the paedophile allegations surrounding the late Jimmy Savile and was released on bail.

2012 The death of the 71 year old actor Bill Tarmey, who played Jack Duckworth in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street for more than 30 years.

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