Happy Anniversary: Eruptions, west of Java
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Your support makes all the difference.SOME of the anniversaries of the coming week that you might have overlooked.
Today:
1928: The nomination of Alfred E Smith for the US presidency becomes the first televised news event.
1960: Two Russian dogs return to earth safely after three days in space.
Tuesday:
410: The Visigoths sack Rome to end the era of civilisation.
1977: Bryan Allen makes the first manpowered flight of over one mile.
Wednesday:
79: Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae are destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius.
1946: In Torquay, Maisie Dunn becomes the first woman to wear a bikini on a UK beach.
1975: Annabel Hunt, singing the opening aria of Ulysses at Glyndebourne, becomes the first actress to appear nude on British television.
Thursday:
325: The General Council of Nicaea makes the rules for deciding when Easter falls.
1875: Captain Matthew Wells becomes the first person to swim the Channel. It takes him just under 22 hours.
1928: Opening of Anfield's Kop terrace, named after the Battle of Spion Kop in the Boer War. On the same day, Ahmed Zog becomes the first King of Albania.
Friday:
1346: First use of the longbow in a war on the continent, at the Battle of Crecy. The two-finger rude gesture, demonstrating bow-drawing power, also dates from here.
1987: An elephant, desperate to find a mate, is shot after running amok, killing two people and flattening a radio centre in Bangkok.
Saturday:
1883: Krakatoa erupted. Despite the film Krakatoa, East of Java, it is west of Java.
1900: The first long-distance bus service starts in Britain, running from London to Leeds. The journey takes two days.
1913: Russian Lieutenant Peter Nesterov becomes the first pilot to loop the loop.
Sunday:
1207: Liverpool is created a borough by King John.
1922: New Yorkers hear the first radio commercial. It is for an apartment block.
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