Disaster
Calamity
Fact of the Day
The artillery used by the British in the run-up to the Somme offensive in 1916 was so loud it could be heard in England.
Quote of the Day
"This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.
"
~ Winston Churchill on the Battle of Egypt
On This Day
1701 The deposed James II (or VII of Scotland) died in exile from a brain haemorrhage. He was the last Catholic king of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
1982 The massacre of hundreds of Palestinian men, women and children began in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Lebanon. It continued for two days.
1992 The British government was forced to withdraw the pound from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) on what became known as 'Black Wednesday'.
1994 The BBC lifted a ban on the voices of Sinn Fein and other Irish republican and loyalist representatives being broadcast.
