19th February 2012

1600 – The stratovolcano Huaynaputina explodes in the most violent eruption in recorded South American history.

1674 – New Amsterdam is renamed New York in a treaty that ends the Third Anglo-Dutch war.

1847 – The first group of rescuers reach the Donner Party, a group who set out to California and got trapped, resorting to cannibalism to keep them alive.

1878 – Thomas Edison patents the phonograph.

1959 – The UK grants Cyprus independence, but it is not formally proclaimed until August 1960.

1985 – William J. Schroeder becomes the first artificial heart recipient to leave hospital.

2002 – NASA’s Mars Odyssey space probe begins to map the surface of Mars using a thermal emission imaging system.

Births

Nicolaus Copernicus – Mathematician/Astronomer (1473), Smokey Robinson – Singer (1940), Ray Winstone – Actor (1957), Prince Andrew – Prince (1960)

Deaths

Bon Scott – Singer (d. 1980, choked on vomit after a night of drinking, aged 33)

Number 1s

Tab Hunter with Billy Vaughn’s Orchestra & Chorus – Young Love (1957) (The links are not working so here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRr5nwXUYhU )

Frank Ifield with Norris Paramor & His Orchestra – The Wayward Wind (1963) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwbMldf6KS8

Suzi Quatro – Devil Gate Drive (1974) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXok94y3nLg

Kenny Rodgers – Coward Of The County (1980) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yK543f0_UKc

Elaine Paige & Barbara Dickson – I Know Him So Well (1985) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeMk7B46xg8

Simple Minds – Belfast Child (1989) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFIMJxV2tjI

Celine Dion – Think Twice (1995) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rriGtwl1oGE

Meck featuring Leo Sayer – Thunder In My Heart Again (2006) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGVuqOzG-TM

Quiz

Q1: What does a phonograph do?

Q2: Prince Andrew is Duke of where?

Q3: Which band was Bon Scott the front man of until his unfortunate death?

Q4: Huaynaputina is in which country?

18th February 2012

1906 – Edouard de Laveleye forms the Belgian Olympic Committee.

1930 – While studying photographs taken in January, Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto.

1930 – Elm Farm Ollie becomes the first cow to fly in a fixed wing aircraft. He also becomes the first cow to be milked in a fixed wing aircraft.

1943 – The Nazi’s arrest members of the White Rose movement, a protest by students against the Nazi regime.

1954 – The first Church of Scientology is established in LA.

1957 – Walter James Bolton becomes the last person to be legally executed in New Zealand.

1979 – Snow falls in the Sahara desert. It is the only time in recorded history.

1991 – An IRA bomb explodes in Paddington station and Victoria station.

Births

Queen Mary I – Queen (1516), Enzo Ferrari – Founder of Ferrari (1898), Sir Bobby Robson – Footballer/Manager (1933), John Travolta – Actor (1954), Dr. Dre – Music Producer (1965)

Deaths

John Batterson Stetson – Hat Manufacturer (d. 1906, aged 75), Dale Earnhardt – Rally Car Driver (d. 2001, car crash, aged 49)

Number 1s

Michael Holliday – The Story Of My Life (1958)

Bachelors – Diane (1964)

Amen Corner – (If Paradise Is) Half As Nice (1969)

Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel – Make Me Smile (1975)

Billy Ocean – When The Going Gets Tough (1986)

Sinead O Connor – Nothing Compares 2 U (1990)

Babylon Zoo – Spaceman (1996)

Atomic Kitten – Whole Again (2001)

Mika – Grace Kelly (2007)

Quiz

Q1: Who founded Scientology?

Q2: Dr Dre produces which famous white rapper?

Q3: John Stetson invented a hat for which group of people?

Q4: In which country is it that snow falls in the Sahara Desert in 1979?

13th February 2012

1542 – Catherine Howard is executed for adultery by her husband Henry VIII.

1633 – Galileo arrives in Rome ahead of his trial before the Inquisition.

1880 – Thomas Edison first observes the Edison effect – the emission of electrons from a hot metal cathode into a vacuum.

1931 – New Delhi becomes the capital of India.

1945 – The siege of Budapest ends in German and Hungarian forces unconditionally surrendering to the Red Army.

1945 – The RAF dispatches bombers to destroy Dresden, Germany.

1955 – Israel obtains 4 of the 7 Dead Sea scrolls.

1961 – A 500,000 year old rock is found and it anachronistically contains a spark plug. For Amy, anachronistically means the rock formed naturally around an object.

1971 – South Vietnamese troops invade Laos.

1975 – A fire breaks out at The World Trade Centre in New York.

2000 – The last original Peanuts comic strip appears in newspapers.

2004 – Harvard -Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics announces the discovery of the Universe’s largest diamond, white dwarf star BPM 37093.

Births

Tennessee Ernie Ford – Singer (1919), Chuck Yeager – American Pilot (1923), Jerry Springer – TV Host (1944), Robbie Williams – Singer (1974)

Number 1s

Cliff Richard & The Shadows – The Young Ones (1962)

Manfred Mann – Mighty Quinn (1968)

Sweet! – Blockbuster (1973)

Blondie – Heart Of Glass (1979)

Mariah Carey – Without You (1994)

Oasis – Go Let It Out (2000)

U2 – Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own (2005)

Quiz

Q1: What was Galileo on trial for?

Q2: What was the capital of India before New Delhi?

Q3: What is BPM 37093 better known as?

Q4: Who created Peanuts?

12th February 2012

1554 – A year after claiming the throne of England for 9 days, Lady Jane Grey is executed.

1851 – Edward Hargraves announces he has found gold in Bathurst, Australia.

1912 – The Xuantong Emperor abdicates. He is the last Emperor of China.

1935 – USS Macon, one of two of the largest airships ever made, crashes into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.

1947 – A meteor creates an impact crater in Russia.

1994 – Four men break into the National Gallery of Norway and steal the famous painting ‘The Scream’.

2001 – NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft touches down on 433 Eros becoming the first craft to land on an asteroid.

2004 – The city of San Francisco begins issuing marriage licences to same-sex couples.

2010 – The opening ceremony of the 201o Winter Olympics was held.

Births

Charles Darwin – Naturalist (1809), Abraham Lincoln – Former US President (1809), Annette Crosbie – Actress (1934)

Deaths

Immanuel Kant – Philosopher (d. 1804, aged 79)

Special Days

Darwin Day

Number 1s

Frankie Vaughn with Wally Stott & His Orchestra – The Garden of Eden (1957)

Jet Harris & Tony Meehan – Diamonds (1963)

Mud – Tiger Feet (1974)

Kenny Rogers – Coward Of The Country (1980)

Elaine Paige & Barbara Dickson – I Know Him So Well (1985)

Marc Almond with Gene Pitney – Something’s Gotten Hold Of My Heart (1989)

Celine Dion – Think Twice (1995)

Meck featuring Leo Sayer – Thunder In My Heart Again (2006)

Quiz

Q1: How was Lady Jane Grey executed?

Q2: In 1994, ‘The Scream’ was stolen. Who was the artist who painted it?

Q3: Where was the 2010 Winter Olympics held?

Q4: Annette Crosbie played the character Margaret for ten years in which TV sitcom?

11th February 2012

1531 – Henry VIII is recognised as the Supreme Head of the Church of England.

1752 – Pennsylvania Hospital is opened. It is the first hospital in the US.

1826 – The University of London is founded.

1916 – Emma Goldman is arrested in the US for lecturing on birth control.

1938 – BBC Television produces the first Sci-Fi television programme.

1941 – The first gold record is presented to Glenn Miller for Chattanooga Choo Choo.

1990 – Nelson Mandela is released from Victor Verser Prison, just outside Cape Town.

1990 – James Douglas, a 42/1 underdog, defeats Mike Tyson dealing the first professional loss with the largest upset in boxing history.

2011 – The first wave of the Egyptian revolution culminates in the resignation of Hosni Mubarak.

Births

Leslie Nielsen – Comedian (1926), Burt Reynolds – Actor (1936), Bobby ‘Boris’ Pickett – Singer/Songwriter (1938), Sarah Palin – American Politician (1964), Jennifer Aniston – Actress  (1969), Steve McManaman – Footballer (1972), Neil Robertson – Snooker Player (1982)

Deaths

Rene Descartes – Philosopher (1650, pneumonia, aged 53)

Special Day

National Inventors Day (US)

Number 1s

Michael Holiday – The Story Of My Life (1958)

Searchers – Needles & Pins (1964)

Amen Corner – (If Paradise Is) Half As Nice (1969)

Pilot – January (1975)

Billy Ocean – When The Going Gets Tough (1986)

Sinead O Connor – Nothing Compares 2 U (1990)

Babylon Zoo – Spaceman (1996)

Atomic Kitten – Whole Again (2001)

Mika – Grace Kelly (2007)

Quiz

Q1: What is The University Of London now known as?

Q2: How many years had Nelson Mandela been imprisoned for before his release in 1990?

Q3: Leslie Nielsen starred as Frank Drebin in which comedy trilogy?