Today's the Day

Due to pressure of other work, the Today's the Day posts are taking a rest for the time being. Many thanks for reading.

Uncle Tatty will return with other articles soon - watch this space.

Today's the Day - 21st August

• 250 years ago: King William IV was born on this day in 1765. Born at Buckingham Palace, he ascended the throne in 1830 at the age of 64 – the oldest person ever to assume the throne. He was unassuming, disliking pomp and ceremony and was known throughout his early reign to walk unaccompanied through London and Brighton, making him very popular with his subjects. His reign lasted 6 days short of 7 years when he passed away from heart failure at Windsor Castle.

• 80 years ago: John Hartley, the no.1 tennis player in the world during 1879-1880, died on this day in 1935. Winning Wimbledon in both those years and runner-up in 1881, he has the distinction of being the only clergyman to ever be successful at the tournament. He passed away in Knaresborough, Yorkshire at the age of 86.

• 75 years ago: Marxist revolutionary and Soviet politician Leon Trotsky was assassinated on this day in 1940. Killed in Mexico City, where he had been living for 4 years, he was attacked by Ramón Mercader who used a mountaineer’s ice axe as a weapon. It didn’t kill him instantly, he was taken to hospital where they operated, but he passed away from excessive blood loss and shock. He was 60.

Today's the Day - 20th August

• 125 years ago: On this day in 1890, HP Lovecraft was born. Howard Phillips Lovecraft achieved fame posthumously through his influential horror writing and is now regarded as one of the most influential 20^th century writers in this genre. Gaunt with dark eyes and a very pale face, he was very reclusive and lived very frugally. He died, aged 46 in 1937 from cancer.

• 75 years ago: In 1940, British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill paid tribute to the Royal Air Force in his famous House of Commons speech, saying “ Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed, by so many, to so few.”

Bobby Moore statue at Wembley

• 45 years ago: On this day in 1970, England football captain Bobby Moore was finally cleared of stealing an emerald bracelet in Columbia after being set-up. On 18^th May, Moore and fellow England player Bobby Charlton went into a store in Bogota, looking for a present for Charlton’s wife. Upon leaving the store, the owner called the Police, accusing the star of stealing the bracelet, worth £600. A week later Moore was charged and after initially being placed under house arrest, he was freed 3 days later so that he could play in the World Cup tournament in Mexico.

Today's the Day - 19th August

The lovely Clementia

• 700 years ago: On this day in 1315, Louis X of France married Clementia of Hungary. Louis X, often known by the names of the Quarreller, the Headstrong and the Stubborn, took Clementia as his second wife, after his first marriage ended when his spouse, Margaret of Burgundy was convicted of adultery and conveniently strangled in prison. Louis died in June 1316, leaving Clementia 7 months pregnant.

• 115 years ago: The only ever cricket match at an Olympic Games started on this day in 1900 at the Paris games, when France took on Great Britain. The match, at the Vélodrome de Vincennes was contested by the Devon and Somerset Wanderers representing GB (they were touring France at the time) and a French team comprised mainly from British expatriates living in Paris. At the end of the 2-day match, GB were the victors by 158 runs, but they managed to cut it fine as there was only 5 minutes of allotted time remaining.

• 10 years ago: Mo Mowlam, British Labour Party politician, MP for Redcar and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (between 1997-1999), died on this day. She played a key part in the successful peace negotiations which concluded in the Good Friday Agreement.

Today's the Day - 18th August

• 95 years ago: American actress Shelley Winters was born on this day in 1920. Born Shirley Schrift in St Louis, Missouri, she was a widely respected actress who won 2 Oscars for The Diary of Anne Frank and A Patch of Blue. Married 4 times, she died aged 85, of heart failure in early 2006, after suffering a heart attack 3 months previously.

Mardale Green Church before the service

• 80 years ago: On this day in 1935, the last church service at Mardale Green took place before the village was demolished and flooded, to create the giant Haweswater Reservoir in the English Lake District. For my in depth article on the service and project please click on the following link:

                          The Underwater Village

• 75 years ago: Walter P Chrysler, the founder of the Chrysler Motor Corporation died on this day in 1940 of a cerebral hemmorage.

Today's the Day - 17th August

• 75 years ago: On 17^th August 1940, American RAF pilot and 1928 (5 man) & 1932 (4 man) Olympic champion bobsleigh pilot Billy Fiske, was killed in action in WW2. He was one of 11 American pilots who flew with RAF Fighter Command between 10 July and 31 October 1940 and was one of the first US servicemen to lose his life in the war. Flying a Hawker Hurricane and only 15 minutes into his mission, a German gunner put a bullet through his fuel tank. Rather than baling out, Fiske successfully managed to nurse his aircraft back, but shortly after landing it exploded. He was taken to the Royal West Sussex Hospital in Chichester, but died 48 hours later from surgical shock. He was just 29 years old.

• 25 years ago: Pearl Bailey, award winning American stage, film and TV actress, singer, entertainer and writer died on this day in 1990. The winner of a Tony Award for playing the title role in an all-black version of Hello Dolly, she died of heart disease in Philadelphia at the age of 72.

• 20 years ago: A bomb exploded at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, injuring 17 people. The Algerian Armed Islamic Group (GIA) claimed responsibility for the attack and followed it up with 3 further bombs in the next 3 weeks. Only one of which actually exploded, causing 14 further casualties at a Jewish school in Lyon.

Today's the Day - 16th August

• 100 years ago: American blind R&B singer Al Hibbler was born. Remembered for his work with the Duke Ellington Band, he also had many solo hits. Known as “Hib” and famous for his version of Unchained Melody, believed by many to be the best version of the song ever recorded (you decide by clicking on the video above). He died in 2001 at the grand age of 85.

Desgrange in 1892

• 75 years ago: This day saw the death of Henri Desgrange, the man who is credited with founding the Tour de France. He was a French bicycle racer and journalist who set 12 world track cycling records during a distinguished career. Desgrange died aged 75, at his home on the Mediterranean coast, on 16 August 1940.

• 30 years ago: On this day, US singing star Madonna married pugnacious movie star Sean Penn. The groom wanted an open air wedding and chose the Malibu home of friend Kurt Unger as the venue. Penn was insistent on privacy and became enraged at the media helicopters circling above during the short service. So much so, that after the vows had been taken, he went back inside to get a gun and started firing at the overhead paparazzi contingent. Meanwhile, during Penn’s moments of madness, Madonna was screaming at him to stop, insisting he left them alone. The marriage ended in divorce after 4 years.