On 5 July 1975 American tennis player Arthur Ashe became the first black man to win the Wimbledon singles’ championship. Ashe beat defending champion Jimmy Connors three sets to one on Centre Court. Ashe would use his profile protesting against apartheid in South Africa and US treatment of refugees arriving in the country from Haiti. He died in February 1993 after contracting Aids from tainted blood.
On 5 July 2012 The Shard, standing at 1,016ft, the tallest building in the European Union was inaugurated, three weeks before the London Olympics
It is illegal to die in the Palace of Westminster on the grounds that anyone who dies in a royal palace is technically entitled to a state funeral, unfortunately, this has been proved to be a myth
The world’s first underwater tunnel was the Thames Tunnel opened in 1834 between Wapping and Rotherhithe was until 1866 used by pedestrians
The Museum of London has in its collection 6,500 skeletons comprising for study every period in London’s 2,000-year history
Charles I, rather ungallantly it has to be said, after his own nuptials declared that “you can get used to anyone’s face in a week”
The figure of The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street on the facade of the Bank of England has a model of the bank on her lap
On 5 July 1969, the Rolling Stones gave a free concert in Hyde Park following Brian Jones’ death two days earlier
On 5 July 1957 the men’s final at Wimbledon was interrupted by a polite protester against the banking system
Before motorised vehicles, horses were involved in an average of 175 fatal accidents a year in London and eat over 1 million tons of fodder
The Press Association was formed from an idea hatched in the back of a Hansom Cab stuck in a London smog in 1868
On 5 July 1799 the first streaker was arrested when a man run naked from Cornhill to Cheapside for a wager
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.
