On 15 September 1964 the Sun newspaper, printed on Fleet Street, was published for the first time, replacing the Daily Herald promising to follow a ‘radical’ and ‘independent’ agenda – unlike its predecessor the Daily Herald which had strong ties to the Labour party. The TUC sold its 49 per cent stake in the paper in 1960. It hit the streets on the day an announcement of a general election by Prime Minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home.
On 15 September 1928 Scottish bacteriologist Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin while studying influenza at St Mary’s Hospital Medical School, the University of London
Garnet Street was the scene of four victims from the famous Radcliff Murders of 1811, Johnny Speight used the name for his character Alf Garnet
London’s oldest statue King Alfred in Trinity Church Square with an estimated date of 1395 originally stood in the old Palace of Westminster
Europe’s largest crypt is under St. Paul’s Cathedral and the first person to be interred was its architect Sir Christopher Wren
During the First World War Alexandra Palace was used to detain German civilians living in Britain in what was called a concentration camp
The lions of Trafalgar Square were sculpted from life. The artist Landseer used dead lions supplied by London Zoo until neighbours complained of the smell
Gordons Wine Bar is London’s oldest wine bar founded at its present location in 1890 by Arthur Gordon. Current owners are unrelated Gordons
On 15 September 1930, the first international bridge match was held in London United States team defeated England
With 207,000 items handed into Transport for London’s Lost Property Office in Baker Street last year made it the highest total in its 77-year history
N, S, E, and West Tenter Street surrounded a ground where tenters- wooden frames used to stretch woven cloth- were; hence “on tender hooks”
On 15 September 1784 Vincenzo Lunardi commenced England’s 1st hydrogen balloon flight from the Honourable Artillery Company area, Moorfields
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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