This Week In London’s History
- Monday – 27th June 1967: The UK’s (and arguably the world's) first electronic automated teller machine (ATM) is installed by Barclays Bank in Enfield, North London. Reg Varney (of On The Buses fame) becomes the first person to make a withdrawal.
- Tuesday – 28th June 1461: Edward IV is crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey. Queen Victoria is crowned on the same date, 377 years later.
- Wednesday – 29th June 1761: The City Road is opened, running between Finsbury Square in the City and the Angel.
- Thursday – 30th June 1894: Tower Bridge is opened by the Prince of Wales. It would become an iconic symbol of London, and arguably the most well-recognised ‘bascule bridge’ in the world (even if tourists do sometime mistake it for London Bridge).
- Friday – 1st July 1858: Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection is presented at the Linnean Society at Burlington House, Piccadilly.
Random London Fact
What do Hyde Park Corner, Wimbledon Common and Ham Common (near Richmond) have in common? Well, probably quite a few things. But specifically, they are all home to equestrian crossings (a.k.a 'Pegasus Crossings') – similar to the familiar Pelican/Puffin/Toucan crossings, but featuring additional activation buttons located two metres above the ground, so that they can be used by horse-riders. Their lights also use pictograms of a horse and rider, instead of the usual standing/walking man.
Picture by Crystian Cruz, used under a Creative Commons licence.
