January 19

Today in British History

Events in History

Historic Event

1746 "Bonnie Prince Charlie", Prince Charles Edward Stuart's troops occupy Stirling, Scotland [OS=Jan 8]

1806 United Kingdom re-occupies the Cape of Good Hope following victory in the Battle of Blaauwberg over French vassal, the Batavian Republic. Establishes British rule in South Africa.

Historic Siege

1812 Peninsular War: After a ten day siege, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, orders British soldiers of the Light and third divisions to storm Ciudad Rodrigo

1839 Aden conquered by British East India Company
1885 Battle of Abu Kru (Battle of Gubat), Sudan: British Desert Column defeat Mahdist forces: 121 British and untold Mahdists killed
1903 1st regular transatlantic radio broadcast between US & England

First Air Raid on Britain

1915 World War I: 4 people in Norfolk are killed in the 1st German Zeppelin air raid attack on the United Kingdom

British wartime recruitment poster from 1915 referencing the air raids that started that year

Agreement of Interest

1923 UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Stanley Baldwin and US Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon agree to reschedule repayment of Britain's $4.5 billion war debt over 62 years

1927 British government decides to send troops to China
1941 British offensive in Eritrea
1941 British troops occupies Kassalaf, Sudan

Historic Event

1968 Northern Ireland Prime Minister Terence O'Neill calls for "a new endeavour by organisations in Northern Ireland to cross denominational barriers and advance the cause of better community relations"

2013 Four climbers are killed by an avalanche in Glen Coe, Scotland

More British History

Birthdays in History

1544 Francis II, King of France (1559-60) and husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, born in Château de Fontainebleau, France (d. 1560)

James Watt

1736 James Watt, Scottish inventor, mechanical engineer and chemist (steam engine), born in Greenock, Scotland (d. 1819)

1922 Ken Hughes, director (Casino Royale), born in Liverpool, England
1924 Henry Herbert, 7th earl of Carnarvon, English peer and racing manager to the Queen, born in London, England (d. 2001)
1925 Nina [Mary] Bawden, English author (Afternoon of a Good Woman), (d. 2012)
1941 Colin Gunton, British theologian (d. 2003)
1946 Julian Barnes, English writer (Before She Met Me, The Sense of an Ending), born in Leicester, England
1984 Euan Blair, eldest son of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, born in London, United Kingdom