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This Day in History - 28 April

 

1442www.beautifulbritain.co.ukEdward IV, King of England and son of Richard, Duke of York, was born. He was the first king of the House of York.

 

1603www.beautifulbritain.co.ukQueen Elizabeth I's funeral took place at Westminster Abbey.

 

1721www.beautifulbritain.co.ukThe death of the pirate Mary Read (also known as Mark Read). She began dressing as a boy at a young age, at first by her mother in order to receive inheritance money and then as a teenager in order to join the British military. She and her crew-mate Anne Bonny (also in male disguise) are two of the most famed female pirates of all time, and among the few women known to have been convicted of piracy during the early 18th century, a golden age for piracy. On their arrest, both delayed execution on the grounds of being pregnant, though Mary died the following year, in prison, of a violent fever.

 

1770www.beautifulbritain.co.ukEnglish navigator Captain James Cook and his crew, including the botanist Joseph Banks, landed in Australia, at Stingray Bay, which was later named Botany Bay.

 

1789www.beautifulbritain.co.ukThe crew of the Bounty, led by Fletcher Christian, mutinied against the harsh life at sea under Captain Bligh. They were on the return journey from Tahiti where they had spent six months gathering breadfruit trees. Bligh and 17 others were cast adrift in a small boat without a chart. While the mutineers eventually colonized Pitcairn Island, Bligh managed to sail the small craft 3,618 miles to Timor, near Java, arriving there on 14th June.

 

1795www.beautifulbritain.co.ukThe birth of Charles Sturt, English explorer who headed three major Australian expeditions. With Hume, he discovered the River Darling. He also charted the Murray to its source near Adelaide, suffering great hardships along the way. Another area he explored, the Sturt desert, is named after him.

 

1801www.beautifulbritain.co.ukAnthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury was born. He was one of the most effective social and industrial reformers in 19th-century England. He introduced the Coal Mines Act in 1842 which prohibited the employment of women and children underground and was also the acknowledged leader of the evangelical movement within the Church of England.

 

1910www.beautifulbritain.co.ukFrenchman Louis Paulhan won the London to Manchester air race and the £10,000 prize. It was the first long-distance aeroplane race in England and was first proposed by the Daily Mail newspaper in 1906.

 

1923www.beautifulbritain.co.ukThe first FA Cup Final was held at Wembley Stadium. 200,000 people arrived at a stadium which was only designed to hold 125,000 and when 60,000 irate fans rushed the turnstiles a human torrent swept onto the pitch. Players were engulfed by the crowd and 1,000 men, women and children were injured. Finals were made 'all ticket' after that. The game began one hour late and Bolton beat West Ham 2-0.

 

1999www.beautifulbritain.co.ukThe death of Sir Alfred Ernest 'Alf' Ramsey, manager of the English national football team from 1963 to 1974. His greatest achievement was winning the 1966 World Cup with England on 30th July 1966.

 

2010www.beautifulbritain.co.ukFormer Prime MInister, Gordon Brown, said that he was 'mortified' after being caught on microphone describing Rochdale pensioner, Gillian Duffy, as a bigoted woman after she had had challenged him on issues, including immigration.

 

2014www.beautifulbritain.co.ukPolice announced that they would investigate whether officials in Rochdale tried to cover up sexual abuse at Knowl View school by 11 people, including Rochdale's former MP Cyril Smith.

 

 


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