In 1875 the king of Fiji brought back measles from a state visit to Australia and wiped out 25% of his own people.
Fact of the Day
Quote of the Day
"I love argument, I love debate. I don't expect anyone just to sit there and agree with me, that's not their job.
"
~ Margaret Thatcher
On This Day
1066 Harold defeated Norwegian king Harald Hardrada at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, only to be defeated by William three weeks later.
1237 The Treaty of York between England and Scotland was sealed. It established an agreed boundary between the two countries and affirmed that Northumberland, Cumberland, and Westmorland were subject to English sovereignty.
1818 The first successful human blood transfusion took place at St Guy's Hospital when James Blundell used the blood of the patient's husband to treat a postpartum haemorrhage.
1944 The British withdrew the trapped remnants of the 1st Airborne Division from Arnhem, effectively ending Operation Market Garden, the Allied plan to end the Second World War in 1944.
1972 In a two-day referendum, the people of Norway rejected membership of the European Union. They would do the same in 1994.
1983 Thirty-eight republican prisoners escaped from the Maze prison in Northern Ireland. It was the biggest ever British prison escape.
1996 The last Magdalene Asylum for 'fallen women' closed in Ireland. Inmates could suffer horrendous abuse there.
