This Week In London’s History
- Monday – 16th January 1599: Poet Laureate Edmund Spenser is buried in Westminster. His coffin is borne by other poets of the time, who cast poetry and pens into the grave.
- Tuesday – 17th January 1997: At the Old Bailey, a jury decides that Szymon Serafinowicz, the first man to be charged under the 1991 War Crimes Act, is medically unfit to stand trial.
- Wednesday – 18th January 1882: Alan Alexander Milne is born in Hampstead, north London. He would become known as successful author A. A. Milne, most notably for his Winnie-the-Pooh books.
- Thursday – 19th January 1917: A fire breaks out at a munitions factory in Silvertown, East London, igniting some 50 tonnes of TNT. The resulting explosion kills 73 people, injures some 400 more, and damages as many as 70,000 buildings (including, reportedly, the Savoy Hotel in the West End).
- Friday – 20th January 1265: The English parliament holds its first meeting, in Westminster Hall.
Random London Quote Of The Week
I'm leaving because the weather is too good. I hate London when it's not raining.
Groucho Marx
Picture by louisberk via the Londonist Flickr pool.
