On 12th December…

On 13th December…

On 14th December…

1799 - George Washington the first president of the U.S.A. died.

1878 - Princess Alice, the third child and second daughter of Queen Victoria died of an infection called diphtheria, she was 35 years old. Today there are not many cases of diphtheria because babies are routinely vaccinated against it when they are very young.

1896 - The Glasgow Underground Railway was opened. It is a circular subway system that has 15 stations. It is the 3rd oldest underground railway system in the world.

On 15th December…

37CE - Emperor Nero, the fifth emperor of the Roman Empire was born in Italy.

1832 - Gustav Eiffel, the architect and designer of France’s most famous building, the Eiffel Tower, was born in Dijon, France. Did you know that he also designed the framework for the Statue of Liberty in New York?

1906 - The Piccadilly Line on the London Underground opened. At the time it was the longest underground line in the world running from Finsbury to Hammersmith at 14.5 km long; today it is 71 km long and has 53 stations along its line. and runs from Cockfosters in North London to either Heathrow or Uxbridge in West London. Do you know what colour represents the Piccadilly Line on the London Underground map?

2015 - Major Tim Peake, became the first British astronaut to serve a mission on the International Space Station. He remained in space for 186 days before returning to Earth.

On 16th December…

1689 - The Bill of Rights was given Royal assent, or royal approval by King William III and Queen Mary II who had been asked by Parliament to take the throne from Mary’s father King James II. The Bill limited the powers of the Crown by giving more power to Parliament.  It also ensured that only Protestant monarchs would sit on the throne.

1775 - The famous English author, Jane Austen, was born in Hampshire, England. One of her most famous novels is Pride and Prejudice.

On 17th December…

1903 - Orville and Wilbur Wright, two brothers, made the first flight by a motorised aircraft at 10:35am in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in the U.S.A. Orville Wright flew 36 metres in 12 seconds on the first attempt; Wilbur flew 53 metres in 12 seconds on the second attempt; then Orville flew again this time for 60 metres in 15 seconds and finally on the last flight of the day Wilbur flew the airplane 259 metres in 59 seconds. Their plane is on display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C.

On 18th December…

1778 - Joseph Grimaldi was born in London into a family of dancers and entertainers. He was performing on stage at the age of four with the Sadler’s Wells Theatre and became famous for his clown performance in the pantomime ‘Harlequin Mother Goose’. In this production his clown had a white painted face and united the combination of criminal with innocent fool. His portrayal of the clown was adopted by many others and has become the norm for clowns ever since.