King John used the fat from 40 pigs to blow up the southern wall of Rochester Castle during a siege in 1215
Fact of the Day
Quote of the Day
"I have no words to describe Bonaparte's merit: much technical skill, an equal degree of intelligence, and too much gallantry
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~ General Jacques François Dugommier, at the Siege of Toulon
On This Day
1169 The Normans landed at Bannow Bay, Leinster, starting the Norman invasion of Ireland.
1328 Parliament ratified the Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton, which recognised Scotland as an independent country and brought to an end the First War of Scottish Independence.
1707 Exactly 379 years after Scotland was confirmed in its independence, the Acts of Union came into force, joining Scotland with England.
1840 The world's first adhesive postage stamp, the Penny Black, was first issued.
1851 Queen Victoria opened the much-anticipated Great Exhibition in Hyde Park, showcasing the best on offer in industry and culture.
1873 The explorer and missionary David Livingstone died in Zambia aged 60, from malaria and internal bleeding caused by dysentery.
1915 The luxury Cunard liner RMS Lusitania departed from New York City, bound for Liverpool, on what would be her final journey. She was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat on 7 May.
1931 The then world's tallest building, the Empire State Building in New York, opened.
1967 Musician and heart-throb Elvis Presley married Priscilla Beaulieu.
1997 The Labour Party, led by Tony Blair, won 418 seats in a landslide victory over the John Major's Tories.