This Week In London’s History
- Monday – 1 July 1858: Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection is presented at the Linnean Society at Burlington House, Piccadilly.
- Tuesday – 2 July 1865: One-time Methodist minister William Booth preaches to a large crowd at an open-air ‘mission’ in Whitechapel, founding the ‘East London Christian Mission’, which would later be renamed ‘The Salvation Army’.
- Wednesday – 3 July 1981: A punk concert at the Hamborough Tavern in Southall leads to fighting between skinheads and Asian youths. The riot is just one of many violent ‘uprisings’ to take place that year.
- Thursday – 4 July 1829: London’s first scheduled bus service is introduced by coach-maker George Shillibeer, inspired by his work on a fleet of coaches in Paris. The ‘omnibus’ service runs between Paddington and the Bank of England, providing four daily services in each direction, each of which capable of “accommodating 16 or 18 persons, all inside”.
- Friday – 5 July 1975: Arthur Ashe defeats defending champion Jimmy Connors at Wimbledon, becoming the first black man to win the tournament’s singles title.
Random London Quote Of The Week
Cities give us collision. 'Tis said, London and New York take the nonsense out of a man.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Conduct of Life
Photo by Where The Art Is via the Londonist Flickr Pool.