On 30 April 1907 for 20 days history was in the making. At the Brotherhood Church, which once stood on the corner of Southgate Road and Balmes Road, the 5th Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Workers Party was held. Attendees included Joseph Stalin, Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, Rosa Luxembourg and Maxim Gorky. The rest is history. The site is now occupied by a mixed-use residential and business building, with the exact site of the church now a Tesco Express.

On 30 April 1980 gunmen took over the Iranian embassy at Prince’s Gate, under the full glare of the media the SAS stormed the building on 5 May killing 5 and releasing the hostages

In 1906 Messrs Spillberg, Nabian and Aaroris of Nelson Street, Stepney were convicted of smuggling saccharin which then was considered a drug

Liverpool Street’s Great Eastern Hotel (now the Andaz) opened in 1884 and was at one time the only hotel in the City

Builders working on the Builders working on the Bakerloo Line are reported to have suffered from the bends while tunnelling under the Thames

During World War II and the Nazi occupation of Holland Queen Wilhelmina moved her Dutch government into her London home at 77 Chester Square, Belgravia

The Cliff Richard musical Summer Holiday had a bus bound for ‘London to the South of France via Dover Paris’ most was shot in LT’s bus works Aldenham

Museum of London tracing the capital’s history from Prehistoric times to the present day is the largest urban history museum in the world

In 1966 actor, bodybuilder and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger lived at 335 Romford Road Ilford as a guest of bodybuilder Charles Bennett

The first section of the Underground ran between Paddington and Farringdon Street. The same section now forms part of the Circle, Hammersmith & City, and Metropolitan lines

Miles Coverdale who supervised the production of the first complete bible in English in 1535 was once Rector of St Magnus the Martyr

When the Millennium Dome was built, a Blue Peter capsule was buried containing amongst other items a spice girls cd, a tamagotchi and a Blue Peter badge!

Trivial Matter: London in 140 characters is taken from the daily Twitter feed @cabbieblog.
A guide to the symbols used here and source material can be found on the Trivial Matter page.

On 23 April 1390 (St. George’s Day) a joust was held between Lord Welles, Ambassador to Scotland, and Sir David de Lindsay, a Scot, on London Bridge. This was a result of an argument as to the valour of the two nations. On the third run Lindsay unhorsed Welles so easily that the crowd began yelling that he had nailed himself to his saddle. To prove he had not, Lindsay jumped off his horse and then back on, while still wearing his full suit of armour.

On 23 April 1702 gout ridden Queen Anne became the first monarch to be carried to her coronation and wore a £12 wig to improve her demeanour

Reggie Kray and Frances Shea’s photographer at their wedding at St James the Great, Bethnal Green Road in April 1965 was David Bailey

Dr Samuel Johnson once owned 17 properties in London, only one of which survives – Dr Johnson’s Memorial House in Gough Square

18th century Hampstead was a spa resort where people came to take the waters which reputedly had health giving properties

In April 1905 Vladimir Lenin lived at 16 Percy Circus, since demolished and replaced with the rear of Kings Cross Royal Scot Travelodge hotel

Actor, dancer, comedian and clown Joseph Grimaldi lived at 56 Exmouth Market, Islington from 1818 to 1828, there is now a park off Pentonville Road named after him

Coram’s Fields park and playground in Bloomsbury is unique in that adults are only allowed to enter if accompanied by a child

The sport of golf, which originated in Scotland, was first played in England on Blackheath in 1608. The Royal Blackheath Golf Club was one of the first golf associations established (1766) outside Scotland

London’s heavily congested streets mean that a taxi’s average speed of 17mph is slower than that attained by Hansom cabs over 100 years ago

The ‘porter’ style of beer was officially invented at the Bell Brewhouse in Shoreditch by Ralph Hardwood in 1722

Marc Isambard Brunel came up with his idea on how to dig the Thames’ Tunnel whilst in debtors’ prison watching a shipworm bore through wood

Trivial Matter: London in 140 characters is taken from the daily Twitter feed @cabbieblog.
A guide to the symbols used here and source material can be found on the Trivial Matter page.