On 21 May 1966 Henry Cooper lost to world champ Cassius Clay in the sixth round of a fight to retain the world heavyweight championship. Cooper’s hopes were dashed in the sixth round when the referee stopped the fight – a deep gash over his left eye forced him to concede victory to 24-year-old Clay. 40,000 spectators watched at Arsenal’s football ground as Cooper, aged 32, fought bravely with his big left hooks to battle against Clay’s quick footwork and fast punches.

On 21 May 1827 the Standard was founded, it became the dominant evening newspaper for London and is now the only one published a that time of day

Thief-Taker General Jonathan Wild sent more than 120 men to the gallows but was hanged at Tyburn for running gangs of thieves and highwaymen

When Camden’s Egyptian style cigarette factory opened in 1927 the road was filled with sand and opera singers performed Aida

In 1907 William Whiteley was shot dead in his Bayswater store by a young man claiming to be his illegitimate son

When Napoleon was thinking of invading England his failed attempt was mocked by an unusual ale house sign: ‘My Arse in a Bandbox’

The Grapes, Limehouse was the inspiration for Charles Dickens’ ‘Six Jolly Fellowship Porters’ in Our Mutual Friend

The Chelsea Flower Show (The May Flower Show of the Royal Horticulture Society) has been held at the Royal Hospital since 1913

Queen Victoria’s husband, Albert, saved the Oval cricket ground from closure only six years after it opened, desperate for funds they had considered adding poultry shows to the venue’s activities

Before CrossRail was named the Elizabeth line, Belsize Park was the only part of the London Underground to use a Z in its name

Wall’s Sausages used to be located at 113 Jermyn Street, where the meat for their products was ground by a donkey operating a treadmill

‘Hobson’s Choice’ comes from the livery stable owner Thomas Hobson who would drive from Cambridge to the Bull Inn, Bishopsgate Street

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 May 1856 the Old Bailey heard that Dr. William Palmer had poisoned with strychnine his friend John Cook. Heavily in debt to the tune of £4,000 due to his love of gambling on the horses he had taken out insurance policies one many of his victims. His mother-in-law, wife, four of his children, his creditor, brother and housekeeper had all met with premature deaths. Convicted he was hanged at Stafford prison on 14 June 1856. Stepping out on the gallows he asked “Are you sure it’s safe?”.

On 14 May 1932 the BBC made their last transmission from their Savoy Hill headquarters transferring to the new Langham Place Broadcasting House

Serial killer Dennis Nilsen once lived at 195 Melrose Avenue, Cricklewood the scene of 13 murders. Nilsen was sentenced to 6 life sentences

The GDP of London is significantly larger than that of several European countries, including Belgium and Sweden

Swedish mystic Emanuel Swedenborg who lived off Farringdon Road predicted there would be a special part in heaven reserved for the English

A white spike at the south end of London Bridge commemorates a practice of displaying traitors heads dipped in pitch on the original bridge

Kenneth Grahame author of The Wind in The Willows and Secretary of the Bank of England was shot at at the bank by a deranged George Robinson

6ft 5in circus strongman Carl Dane in 1926 was the first to pull a London bus with 12 passengers inside using only his teeth

When he was Prime Minister the Duke of Wellington held indoor races along Downing Street corridors with men pulling women seated on rugs

In 2014, not a single 07.29am Brighton–London Victoria train reached its destination on time after failing to roll in at its scheduled time of 8.35am on a single occasion

When Selfridges opened in 1909 their information bureau answered queries on subjects from crossword clues to government stats

The City’s Square Mile is now an imperfect 1.16 square miles following 1990s boundary changes incorporating an area north of London Wall

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.