On 6 January 1792 The Anacreontic Society whose membership was dedicated to wit, harmony, and the god of wine published their last notice in The Times. The club’s anthem, ‘To Anacreon in Heaven’, sung at all venues as they promoted their interest to music to the wider public, was adopted by American rebels for the ‘Star-Spangled Banner’. The later was made the United States National Anthem by congressional resolution on 3 March 1931.
On 6 January 1540 Henry VIII married Anne of Cleves at the Royal Palace of Placentia, Greenwich. He was later to call her his Flanders’ Mare
The Magpie and Stump opposite Newgate Prison (on site of modern Old Bailey) served ‘hanging breakfasts’ to those watching public executions
In 1726 at No. 4 Church (now Fournier) Street, Spitalfields carpenter Marmaduke Smith built his home and England’s first mahogany staircase
On 6 January 1928 a storm surge travelled up the Thames submerging the Tate Gallery’s ground floor and drowning 14 Londoners
At the beginning of World War II Broadcasting House, home of the BBC, was painted battleship grey to avoid German bombers, it was still hit
The Highbury scenes for the movie Fever Pitch were shot at Craven Cottage. It still had terraces, which by then Highbury didn’t
The viewing plinth at the top of the Monument was caged in 1842 due to a high number of suicides some were bakers
William Webb Ellis, who invented rugby football, was rector of St Clement Danes, the church claimed to be featured in the nursery rhyme Oranges and Lemons
The busiest Underground station is by far Oxford Circus, it was used by around 98 million passengers in 2014
Carrier pigeons on an Evening Standard van in 1936 were used to quickly take photo negatives to the paper’s HQ
In the early 70s David Bowie lived at 89 Oakley Street, Chelsea where he painted EVERYTHING in the house black to simulate a coal mine
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.
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