The countries once part of the British Empire; the interregnum in Britain; or the welfare of the public.
Commonwealth
Fact of the Day
In 1794, women in a village on the Loire responded to a revolutionary talk on divinity by giving the speaker a mass moonie.
Quote of the Day
"This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.
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~ Winston Churchill on the Battle of Egypt
On This Day
1536 The trial of four of Anne Boleyn's 'lovers'. Only one confessed (under torture), which he maintained up to the point of his death.
1689 William III went to war with France. It was the start of more than a century of titanic clashes for global hegemony.
1789 William Wilberforce made his first speech to the Commons on the abolition of slavery.
1926 Limited power of unions shown as TUC calls off General Strike without consulting miners, who went back to work in November on reduced pay.
1937 In a ceremony that had originally been scheduled for his brother, Edward VIII (who had abdicated in December 1936), George VI was crowned at Westminster Abbey.
1969 The minimum voting age in Britain was reduced from 21 to 18.
1994 The popular Labour leader John Smith died of a heart attack. He was replaced as leader by Tony Blair.