On This Day - 16th June
1722
English general, John
Churchill, the first Duke of Marlborough, died.
1779Spain declared war on Britain,
and the Great Siege of Gibraltar began. In February 1783 the siege was
lifted and the French and Spanish troops retired, disheartened and
defeated, after three years and seven months' conflict. The final peace
treaty left Gibraltar with the British, but the victorious British garrison
sustained a loss of 1,231 men, and expended 8,000 barrels of gunpowder.
1824The RSPCA Royal Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was founded.
1880The distinctive Salvation Army
ladies' bonnets were worn for the first time when they marched in
procession in London.
1883The Victoria Hall theatre panic
in Sunderland killed 183 children. At the end of the show an announcement
was made that children with certain numbered tickets would be presented
with a prize upon exit. Worried about missing out on the treats, many of
the estimated 1,100 children in the gallery stampeded toward the staircase
leading downstairs. Those at the front became trapped, and were crushed by
the weight of the crowd behind them.
1890Stan Laurel, (Arthur Jefferson)
English born comedy actor of Laurel and Hardy fame, was born, at Ulverston.
See the 
statue of Laurel and Hardy outside the Coronation Hall theatre in
Uverston, Cumbria.
1912Enoch Powell, British
politician was born.
1915The foundation of the Women's
Institute, regularly referred to as simply the WI. Its two aims were to
revitalise rural communities and to encourage women to become more involved
in producing food during the First World War. It is now the largest
women’s voluntary organisation in the UK.
1930Mixed bathing was permitted for
the first time in Hyde Park, London.
1958Yellow ‘No Waiting’
lines were introduced to British streets.
1971Death of the broadcaster and
former Director General of the BBC, John Reith.
1982South Wales Coalfield came to a
standstill as miners went on strike in support of health workers who were
demanding a 12% pay rise.
1982England international Bryan
Robson scored a goal against France in Bilbao after just 27 seconds of the
game. It was the quickest World Cup goal in history.
1992An explosive new book about the
Princess of Wales, including claims that she attempted suicide, was
published by author Andrew Morton.
1998Judges in America upheld the
decision to convict British au pair Louise Woodward of manslaughter and the
passing of a reduced sentence for the killing of Matthew Eappen - the young
boy left in her care in Massachusetts.
2016 Jo Cox, the Labour MP for Batley and Spen, died after being shot and stabbed multiple times in Birstall, West Yorkshire. On 23rd November 2016 local man Thomas Mair was found guilty of murder and other offences connected to the killing. Mair was sentenced to life imprisonment with a whole life order.