This Week In London’s History
- Monday – 28th April 1801: Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, is born at 24 Grosvenor Square. He would become a noted politician and philanthropist, whose works would be commemorated by the construction of the Shaftesbury Memorial (a.k.a. ‘The Angel of Christian Charity’, a.k.a. ‘Eros’) in Piccadilly Circus.
- Tuesday – 29 April 1745: Cowper Thornhill, keeper of the Bell Inn in Stilton, Cambridgeshire, rides from the inn to Shoreditch Church and back. He then turns around and rides back to London again, covering a total of 213 miles in 12 hours and 17 minutes, to the awe of many spectators lining the route.
- Wednesday – 30 April 1999: ‘London nailbomber’ David Copeland plants his last bomb, in the Admiral Duncan pub in Soho. Three people are killed and dozens are injured.
- Thursday – 1 May 2000: The May Day anti-capitalism protests bring mass violence and vandalism to central London. On the same day one year later, police detain thousands of protesters and unwitting bystanders in Oxford Circus for about six hours.
- Friday – 2 May 1536: Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII, is arrested on charges of adultery and taken to the Tower of London.
Random London Quote Of The Week
I once reminded him that when Dr Adam Smith was expatiating on the beauty of Glasgow he had cut him short by saying, "Pray, Sir, have you ever seen Brentford?" and I took the liberty to add, "My dear Sir, surely that was shocking." "Why then Sir," he replied, "YOU have never seen Brentford."
James Boswell, Life of Johnson
Photo by Kathy Archbold (a.k.a. 'buckaroo kid') via the Londonist Flickr Pool.
