In this week: 24th to 30th May

This week we see the anniversary of the first episode of a long running soap opera and the capture of a traitor, while legendary singers Bob Dylan and Gladys Knight celebrate birthdays. 

Read on for further details....

24^th May

90 years ago: in 1930, British aviator Amy Johnson became the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia.

 

25 years ago: in 1995, Former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson (1964–70, 1974–76) died aged 79 from colon cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

Birthdays

Bob Dylan - American singer-songwriter, 79.

Gary Burghoff - American actor (Radar O’Reilly in M*A*S*H), 77.

25^th May

75 years ago: in 1945, British science fiction writer Arthur C. Clark privately circulated a document in which he proposed using geostationary satellites as telecommunications relays. The idea was made public in the October 1945 issue of Wireless World magazine. The first commercial geostationary communications satellite, Intelsat I, was launched in April 1965.

65 years ago: in 1955, the first successful ascent of Kangchenjunga, the world’s third-highest mountain was achieved by British climbers Joe Brown and George Band.

Birthdays

Alastair Campbell – Political aide, 63.

Paul Weller – English singer–songwriter, 62

26^th May

100 years ago: in 1920, Peggy Lee, American pop and jazz singer, songwriter and actress was born. Born Norma Delores Egstrom, she died in January 2002 from diabetes complications and heart failure.

25 years ago:, in 1995, American cartoon animator, director and producer Friz Freleng died. He was best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series and created or developed characters including Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Sylvester and Tweety Pie, Yosemite Sam and Speedy Gonzales.

Birthdays

Glenn Turner – New Zealand cricketer, 73

Stevie Nicks – US singer-songwriter, 72

27^th May

90 years ago: in 1930, the Chrysler Building in New York City, USA was officially opened. It was the tallest man‐made structure in the world at the time, at 1,046 feet (319 meters), but it held the record for less than a year.

25 years ago: in 1995, American actor Christopher Reeve, star of the Superman films, was paralyzed from the neck down when he was thrown from his horse during an equestrian competition in Virginia, USA.

Birthdays

John Conteh – English boxer, 69.

Pat Cash – Australian tennis player, 55.

28^th May

75 years ago: in 1945, British-born Nazi propaganda broadcaster Lord Haw-Haw (William Joyce) was captured by the British Army near the Danish border and taken to Britain to face trial. He was eventually convicted of treason and sentenced to death on 19th September, and hanged on 3rd January 1946.

25 years ago: in 1995, an earthquake destroyed the town of Neftegorsk on Sakhalin Island, eastern Russia. 2,000 people were killed

Birthdays

Gladys Knight – US soul singer, 76.

Kylie Minogue – Australian singer, actress, 52

29^th May

70 years ago: in 1950, the first (pilot) episode of the British radio soap opera The Archers was broadcast on the BBC Home Service (Midlands region only). It was broadcast nationally from 1st January 1951 and is still running.

30 years ago: in 1990, Boris Yeltsin was elected President of Russia.

Birthdays

Martin Pipe – former English horse racing trainer, 75.

Carol Kirkwood – BBC Breakfast weather guru, 58

30^th May

60 years ago: in 1960, Russian writer and poet Boris Pasternak died. Best known for his novel Doctor Zhivago, he was awarded the 1958 Nobel Prize in Literature, but he refused it because of opposition from the Soviet Union.

30 years ago: in 1990, because of the outbreak of “mad cow disease,” France banned the importation of British beef and live cattle.

Birthdays

Anders Michanek – Swedish speedway rider, 77.

Colm Meaney – Irish actor, 67.