In 1252 Henry III was given a polar bear by King Haakon of Norway. He kept it in the Tower of London on a long chain so it could swim in the Thames.
Quote of the Day
"A revolution is a struggle to the death between the past and the future.
"
~ Fidel Castro
On This Day
1135Henry I died, quite possibly of lamprey (horrible, often parasitic, jawless fish) poisoning
1851Edmund Campion, Jesuit priest, was hanged, drawn and quartered
1887Sherlock Holmes was introduced to the world when Arthur Conan Doyle's A Study in Scarlet was published in the Beeton's Christmas annual.
1942The Beveridge Report was published. This landmark document became the blueprint for the modern British welfare system.
1955Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat so white people could sit down in Montgomery, Alabama. Although her actions sparked protests and eventually the integration of the bus system, she was also jailed for that initial refusal.
1990The last rock separating Britain and France was removed in the Channel Tunnel, connecting the two countries for the first time since waters had rushed over the connecting land-bridge thousands of years previously.