On 21 March 1829 started the tradition of Duel Day when Wellington duelled with the Earl of Winchilsea at Battersea Fields over Wellington’s support of Catholics. The two drew their arms on the asparagus fields that would later become Battersea Park. Both took care not to hurt their opponent Winchilsea, deliberately firing a wide shot, perhaps with the sudden realisation that shooting the prime minister wouldn’t be a good move.

On 21 March 1853 Alfred Cops, zookeeper at the Tower of London, died at the Tower of London 18 years after his menagerie closed

Hanway Street (links Oxford St and Tottenham Court Road) – named after Jonas Hanway (1712-86), the first man in London to be arrested for carrying an umbrella

Spencer Street and Percival Street in Clerkenwell are named after Spencer Percival, the only British Prime Minister ever to be assassinated

In 1803, Chalk Farm: Lt-Col Montgomery and Capt Macnamara duelled because the dog of one snarled at the dog of the other Montgomery died Macnamara was severely injured

Now luxury flats, Tower House in Whitechapel, once a lodging house for homeless men, played host to Stalin and George Orwell

Announcements in Royal Court Theatre’s lifts are the voices of actors: Richard Wilson, Lindsay Duncan, Ray Winstone and Harriet Walter

The original plan for the Barbican’s cinema was to have the screen on the ceiling and the audience lying on their backs on the floor

Wisden were one of the original tenants above Leicester Square station – their bat, ball and wicket emblem are still there in the terracotta tiling

On 21 March 1922 Waterloo Station was formally opened by Queen Mary. The rebuilding had started in 1909, but World War I interrupted construction

St Bride’s Church steeple in Fleet Street was the inspiration for the bridal cake design by local baker Mr Rich, his design made him rich

London cabbies’ slang for Harley Street is ‘The Resistance’ because doctors opposed the creation of the NHS. Parliament is nicknamed ‘The Gasworks’

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.

On 14 March 2008, The Queen officially opened Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 5, in her speech she described it as “a 21st Century gateway to Britain”. The opening followed a major security alert after a man with a rucksack scaled the perimeter fence and ran into the path of an aircraft. Ketheeswaran Uthayakumar, of no fixed abode, was charged with endangering aircraft security, not to mention himself.

On 14 March 1885 Gilbert and Sullivan’s operetta The Mikado premiered at the Savoy Theatre running for 672 performances

It’s against the law to roll or carry a cask, tub, hoop, wheel, ladder, pole, showboard or placard upon any footway unless loading a cart

Southwark Street laid out in 1862 by Sir Joseph Bazalgette was the first street in London with water and gas pipes in the middle of the road

Accused of murder John Williams committed suicide, his body was buried with a stake through his heart at New Road/Cannon Street Road

The American Declaration of Independence was printed in Caslon typeface designed in Chiswell Street by William Caslon, it’s now a Tesco

On 14 March 1805 fourteen-year-old William Betty played Hamlet on the London stage. The House of Commons was adjourned to enable Members to watch the performance

Opening in 1910 with 2,286 seats the London Palladium had its own telephone system, so patrons could talk to each other

In the 18th century at the Cat & Mutton, Broadway Market hosted the Soapy Pig Swinging Contest, drovers lathered a pig’s tail and hurled it

Sir Christopher Wren sat on the Parliamentary Commission regulating hackney cabs knowing nothing about them, nothing has changed then

The last executioners were Harry Allen and Robert Stewart. A scaffold is reputed to exist at Wandsworth Prison and still used for practice

Twice the Channel Tunnel’s length, deeper and wider than the Tube the Water Ring Main’s could fill The Royal Albert Hall in under 3 hours

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.