April 4th - 10th
“A week of tragedy, disaster and death, but also new beginnings...”
On 4th April…
Martin Luther King Jr
1968 - Martin Luther King Jr was shot and killed. He was an American civil rights leader who highlighted and fought peacefully against the inequalities between blacks and whites in America.
On 5th April…
1614 - Pocahontas, the daughter of an Indian Chief, married John Rolfe, a tobacco planter, in Jamestown, Virginia USA. Their marriage ensured peace between the settlers and the native Americans. The story of Pocahontas was turned into a Disney film in 1995.
1902 - Disaster struck at Ibrox Park, the home of Scotland’s Glasgow Rangers football team. Scotland were playing England when a stand collapsed, killing 25 people and injuring over 500. At the time the match was brought to a halt but was soon allowed to continue as it was feared that stopping the game would see all of the spectators rushing for the exits. If this were to happen, it was thought it would slow down the efforts of the rescue workers. Most supporters didn’t even realise that anything had happened, and some even moved to the now dangerous and abandoned area to continue watching the football match. This wasn’t the only time that tragedy has struck at Ibrox Park: in 1961 two people were crushed to death on a stairway and in 1971 another 66 people died in another crush on stairways. Since then, the stadium has gone under several changes including improvements and expansions. It is now an all-seating stadium.
On 6th April…
King Richard I
1199 - King Richard I of England, better known as Richard the Lionheart, was killed in France whilst besieging a castle in Châlus, Aquitaine.
Did you know that he is buried in the same chapel in France as his parents, King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine?
1896 - The first modern Olympic Games took place in Athens, Greece. Fourteen nations, including Great Britain, competed in front of about 60,000 spectators. The original games were banned by the Roman Emperor Theodosius I in 393.
1917 - The USA entered World War I after several passenger ships, including the British ship Lusitania, were torpedoed killing American citizens.
On 7th April…
1739 - The highwayman Dick Turpin was executed by hanging in the city of York. Turpin had not always been a highwayman; he had spent most of his criminal time as part of a gang called the Gregory Gang, a group of men who terrorised Essex and other home counties by invading isolated farmhouses and torturing the occupants until they handed over their valuables. He fled to Yorkshire and took on the name of John Palmer after killing a man. Dick Turpin was eventually caught after his handwriting was recognised on a letter sent asking his brother for help - his brother had refused to pay the sixpence postage (you had to pay on receipt of a letter before the introduction of the stamp in 1840) and when the letter was returned to the post office his former school teacher recognised the writing. John Palmer in prison for sheep stealing was identified as Dick Turpin, the man on the run for murder and subsequently hanged for murder.
On 8th April…
563BCE - Buddha was born. Japanese Buddhists around the world celebrate this as the birthday of Buddha with parades, flowers and white elephants.
1973 - Pablo Picasso, the influential and renowned Spanish artist died.
Margaret Thatcher
2013 - Margaret Thatcher died. She was the first female to become a British Prime Minister and also the only Prime Minister to be voted in three consecutive times in the 20th century.
On 9th April…
King Henry V
1413 – King Henry V was crowned at Westminster Abbey. Did you know that it snowed on the day of his coronation? This was taken as a sign to mean that there were hard times ahead.
King Edward IV
1483 – King Edward IV died. He was King of England from 1461 – 1470 and again from 1471 – 1483. Edward was one of the two kings fighting over the crown of England during the Wars of the Roses, the other was King Henry VI. Edward IV’s son, also called Edward became, King Edward V for a short time before being deposed by his uncle Richard.
1806 - Isambard Kingdom Brunel the famous Victorian engineer was born. He is responsible for designing many bridges including the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol; the Great Western Railway form London to Bristol; and iron steam ships (Great Western, Great Britain and Great Eastern) which made travelling to America a lot quicker. Instead of taking 6 weeks to sail to America it now took 15 days.
1830 - Eadweard Muybridge was born. He is famous for his pioneering photography of moving objects - his images proved that when a horse is trotting there is a moment when all four hooves are off the ground.
2005 - Prince Charles married Camilla Parker-Bowles in a small ceremony at Windsor Guildhall. Prince Charles is the oldest of Queen Elizabeth’s children and heir to the throne. Camilla Parker-Bowles is his second wife, Prince Charles was divorced from his first wife Princess Diana who was mother to their two sons Prince William and Prince Harry.
On 10th April…
1912 - The luxury ocean liner Titanic set off on her maiden voyage (her very first trip) from Southampton to New York City. The ship never reached its destination. It hit an iceberg five days later 740 km south of Newfoundland, Canada. Only about 700 people were rescued in lifeboats whilst over 1,500 people were killed in the tragedy.