Happy Anniversary: Raking in the muck
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Your support makes all the difference.HERE are some of the more curious anniversaries that fall in the coming week, traditionally a good time for the colours pink and green, for innovation in cartoon strips, and for aviatrices.
11 April
1855: The first pillar boxes appear in London - painted green.
1929: Popeye makes his first appearance, as a minor character, in an American cartoon strip.
1930: American scientists confidently predict that a man will land on the Moon by the year 2050.
1939: Glasgow bans the playing of darts in pubs as too dangerous.
12 April
1606: The Union Jack is adopted as the official flag of England, Scotland and Wales.
1930: At the age of 52 years and 165 days, Wilfred Rhodes becomes the oldest man to play Test cricket, for England against the West Indies.
1954: Bill Haley and the Comets record 'Rock Around the Clock'.
13 April
1742: A Dublin audience attends the first performance of Handel's Messiah.
1925: A gastronomic survey concludes that Americans are primarily 'steak-eaters'.
1964: Sydney Poitier becomes the first black actor to win an Oscar.
14 April
1906: Theodore Roosevelt introduces the word 'muck- raking' into the language, quoting John Bunyan: '. . . never looking at the stars, but steadily plied his rake in the muck'.
1931: The Highway Code is issued by the Ministry of Transport.
1934: In Italy, Mussolini increases the tax on bachelors by 50 per cent.
1950: Dan Dare, drawn by Frank Hampson, makes his appearance in the first edition of the Eagle.
1983: The cordless telephone is introduced in Britain.
1989: A study conducted by the police in Huddersfield claims that violent prisoners can be calmed by being kept in pink cells.
15 April
1755: After eight years' work, Dr Johnson publishes his Dictionary.
1793: The Bank of England issues the first pounds 5 notes.
1901: A funeral in Coventry sees the first use of a motor hearse, a 6 hp Daimler.
1912: The Titanic sinks on its maiden voyage.
1929: Tea duty is abolished after 325 years, only to be replaced by a new tea tax in 1930.
1942: The government bans embroidery on women's undergarments and nightwear.
1955: McDonald's hamburgers founded by Ray Kroc in Chicago.
16 April
1900: The US Post Office issues the world's first book of stamps.
1921: Harriet Quimby becomes the first woman to fly across the English Channel.
1964: Geraldine Monk becomes the first woman to fly solo around the world.
17 April
1860: The first Anglo-
American boxing match takes place with John Heenan (US) and Tom Sayers (UK) drawing a bare-knuckle contest of 42 rounds.
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