This Week In London’s History
- Monday – 2nd 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’.
- Tuesday – 3rd July 1981: A punk concert at the Hamborough Tavern in Southall, West London, leads to fighting between skinheads and Asian youths. The riot is just one of many violent ‘uprisings’ to take place that year.
- Wednesday – 4th 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 to the Bank of England, providing four daily services in each direction, each of which capable of “accommodating 16 or 18 persons, all inside”.
- Thursday – 5th July 1975: Arthur Ashe defeats defending champion Jimmy Connors at Wimbledon, becoming the first black man to win the tournament’s singles title.
- Friday – 6th July 2005: London wins its bid to host the 2012 Olympics, beating Paris by 54 votes to 50 in the International Olympic Committee’s final round of voting. The announcement, made at 12:49 BST, sparks hours of celebrations in Trafalgar Square.
Random London Quote Of The Week
The problem is that many MPs never see the London that exists beyond the wine bars and brothels of Westminster.
Ken Livingstone
Picture by bill bold II via the Londonist Flickr Pool.
