On 1 February 1971 Karpal Kaur Aandhu became the Metropolitan Police’s first female Asian police officer. In Cressida Dick the Met might have recently got its first female Commissioner but for Karpal she didn’t rise up through the ranks. Born in Zanzibar and of Indian parentage, her husband murdered her in 1973 believing her career was not Asian nor ladylike. Today there are 280 Asian women police officers in London alone.

On 1 February 1952 the first TV detector van was demonstrated to Postmaster-General Lord De La Warr at Post Office Laboratories, Dollis Hill

The building of Holloway Prison was completed in 1852 at the grand cost of £91,547 10s 8d, there were 436 cells, 283 for males, 60 for females, 62 for juveniles, 18 refractory cells and 14 reception cells

London used to be the largest and most influential city in the world. With a population of 12 million, it is still the world’s largest financial centre and Europe’s largest city

The world’s first underground public lavatory opened in 1855 under the pavement next to the Bank of England

The Prime Minister who created the most peers was Tony Blair at 357. The second-most created was 201 by Margaret Thatcher

19th-century historian Thomas Carlyle and his wife chose to live in Chelsea because it was ‘at once cheap and excellent’

On 1 February 1814 the last Thames Frost Fair commenced lasting 4 days, the ice supported an elephant led across under Blackfriars Bridge

The Royal Tennis Court at Hampton Court Palace is the oldest functioning sports building in England and still used regularly

Angel has the Underground’s longest escalator at 60m/197ft with a vertical rise of 27.5m its shortest is Stratford a vertical rise of 4.1m

The largest ox sold in England was from the Isle of Dogs. It weighed 236 stone and was sold at Leadenhall Market in 1720 for 100 guineas

Every 3 years a quill pen in the hand of Historian John Stow’s effigy is replaced at a ceremony in St Andrew Undershaft Church

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.