On 22 November 1990 at 9.30 in the morning, Downing Street issued a statement after Mrs. Thatcher had informed her Cabinet and the Queen of her intention to stand down as Prime Minister, after her Cabinet refused to back her in the second round of leadership elections. She did not continue to fight Michael Heseltine for the Conservative Party leadership after a string of serious disputes over Britain’s involvement in the Europe.

On 22 November 1774 General Robert Clive known as ‘Clive of India’, died at his Berkeley Square house from ‘an excessively large dose of opium’.

In 1597 Ben Jonson was charged with ‘Leude and mutynous behavior’ and jailed in Marshalsea Prison for co-writing the play The Isle of Dogs

The Fire of London destroyed: 87 churches; Guildhall Royal Exchange; Customs House; 52 company halls; 4 prisons; 3 City gates; 4 bridges; and 13,000 houses

William Cowle died in the upstairs room of the Carlisle Arms, Soho in 1893, by placing a billiard ball in his mouth for a bet

The Ayrton Light atop Parliament’s Elizabeth Tower, popularly known as Big Ben, shines to show that the House is sitting

The ships surmounting flagpoles on The Mall depict Nelson’s fleet who defeated the French at The Battle of Trafalgar

Millwall (Rovers) were formed in the summer of 1885 by workers at Morton’s Jam Factory on the Isle of Dogs

On 22 November 2009 Jermain Defoe gained the record for the most goals (5) in one half of a Premiership game when Spurs beat Wigan 9-0

Clapham Junction Station is the busiest terminal in Britain once having 2,500 trains per day passing through

The majority of workers at Mortons Jam factory were of Scottish origin, this is the origin of Millwall’s famous blue & white colours

The definition of a Londoner: one who has never been to Madame Tussaud’s; Harrods once claimed to be able to supply elephants

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.