On 13 August 1985 an operation performed by Britain’s leading transplant specialist, Egyptian-born Magdi Yacoub, made history. A three-year-old boy from Dublin has became the world’s youngest heart and lung transplant patient. Jamie Gavin had a four-hour operation at Harefield Hospital in west London. He had been waiting for a donor since May, when doctors told his parents he had a congenital heart disease which was progressively weakening his heart and lungs.

On 13 August 1899 Alfred Joseph Hitchcok was born in Leytonstone, his father was a grocer. Hitchcock’s 10th film Blackmail is considered to be the first British talkie

Shoddy axeman Jack Ketch who bungled the execution of the Duke of Monmouth lives on today as the hangman in the Punch and Judy puppet shows

The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea is the most densely populated area in the UK-13,200 people per sq. kilometre (London average 5,000)

When Polly, resident parrot of Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, died in 1926 her obituary appeared in numerous Fleet Street papers

The British Legion introduced the first artificial poppies in 1921 raising £106k. The Poppy Factory has been at Richmond for almost 90 years

Billy Elliot rehearses dance moves at a youth centre not in the north-east but at Hanwell Community Centre, Hanwell

Kew Gardens is unique on the Underground being the only station with its own pub The Railway which has a door that leads out onto platform 1

West Ham home ground once formed part of Anne Boleyn’s grand manor house known as Green Street House, which was demolished in 1890

Edgware Road is London’s oldest road 2,000 years ago it was a grassy track, the Romans incorporated it into their major road, Watling Street

The Post Office Research Station, Dollis Hill, built the world’s first programmable computer known as Colossus Mk 1 the size of a small room

The Fairlop Oak one of England’s most famous trees was blown down in 1820, it was used to carve the pulpit in St. Pancras Church, Euston

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 6 August 1889 the first luxury hotel in Britain was opened. Built by Richard D’Oyly Carte, the Savoy Hotel was approached via a cul-de-sac where vehicles travelled on the right. Taking 5 years to build the hotel was the first to have electric lifts known as ascending rooms and electric lighting. Service could be summoned by a speaking tube. César Ritz was its first manager. Later the hotel would be the first to offer en-suite bathrooms with cascading showers.

On 6 August 1966 Mohammad Ali beat Brian London at London’s Earls Court Exhibition Hall in the 3rd round of a heavyweight contention match

In 1682 Duke of Monmouth was executed at Tower Hill, his family retrieved the body had his head sewn back on and had his portrait painted

Charles Holden’s Gants Hill Station was inspired by Moscow’s Metro features Russian styled barrel-vaulted concourse is nicknamed Moscow Hall

On 6 August 1937 Barbara Windsor was born her real surname was Deeks, her stage name was inspired by the Queen’s coronation: “it sounded posher”

Belsize Park was one of eight Underground stations converted into a deep-level air raid shelter during the Second World War

Nicholl’s Antique Arcade, 142 Portobello Road was used as the location for William’s (Hugh Grant) bookshop in the movie Notting Hill

Henry VIII hosted a grand party in St. Etheldreda’s Church crypt for 5 days menu: a feast of swans-stuffed with larks-stuffed with sparrows

Lord’s is surely the only sporting venue in the world where a steward’s duties include collecting champagne corks from the field of play

First fully automatic electric traffic lights were Piccadilly Circus in 1937 called ‘Robot Traffic Lights’, the first one was known as ‘Little Eva’

William Taynton was the first person to appear on television at the attic workshop of John Logie Baird at 22 Frith Street, Soho

Glaciologists believe the ice sheet that once covered much of Britain during the last Ice Age stopped where Finchley Road Station now stands

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 30 July 1966, playing West Germany at Wembley Stadium England won football’s World Cup for the first time since the tournament began in 1930 watched by 93,000 spectators including the Queen. Another 400 million people around the world watched the keenly fought match on television. In the final moments of extra time Geoff Hurst powered home his third goal to give England a 4-2 victory and to become the first man ever to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final.

On 30 July 1746 the last executed traitor to have their head displayed on a pike (his at Temple Bar) was Jacobite rebel Francis Towneley

It was outside the Lamb and Flag pub, Covent Garden in 1679 that poet John Dryden was set upon by thugs, being beaten very close to death

The Lamb and Flag, Rose Street, Covent Garden dates back to 1627 being a favourite watering hole of Charles Dickens

Victorian publisher Joshua Butterworth left money for a ceremony at St. Bartholomew’s, Smithfield to give alms and buns to poor London widows

It is thought that the ‘Window Tax’ brought about the phrase: “Daylight Robbery”, being robbed of daylight by taxation

Gieves (the name) of Gieves and Hawkes, 1 Savile Row was the inspiration for P. G. Wodehouse’s butler Jeeves, albeit spelt different

In 1251 a Polar Bear given to King Henry III by the King of Norway lived in the Tower of London and went fishing in the Thames

Cricketing legend W. G. Grace was a practising doctor who worked from his practice at 7 Lawrie Park Road, Sydenham

Early London and Greenwich Railway trains were made in the style of a Roman galley ship to fit in with the viaducts they travelled across

London’s oldest shop Twining’s in the Strand has been selling tea since 1706. Twining family home in Twickenham, Dial House is now a vicarage

One of the first (if not THE first) British suppliers of Doc Marten shoes and boots was Blackman’s, Cheshire Street, Bethnal Green

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 23 July 1863 Alexandra Park named after Queen Alexandra, the wife of King Edward VII officially opened with a flower and fruit show along with other entertainments. The Times described it as ‘The Bois de Boulogne of Holloway or Highgate’. Until September 1970, it hosted horse racing, including many evening meetings televised by the BBC. The racecourse was nicknamed ‘the Frying Pan’ owing to its shape, its most prestigious race was the London Cup.

On 23 July 1690 at aged 76 Richard Gibson, court dwarf to Charles I died. His wife Anne Shepherd dwarf to Queen Henrietta Maria suvvived him by 10 years

The London Silver Vaults subterranean strongrooms have never been broken into, they are surrounded by steel-lined walls over 1-metre thick

Staple Inn located next to Chancery Lane Station is the only surviving Inn of Chancery its lopsided timber-framed façade dating back to 1545

On 23 July 2011 the greatest singer of the generation, Amy Winehouse, the daughter of a London cabbie, was found dead in her Camden apartment

In 2008 a one ton bomb found at Bromley-by-Bow during railway work, the largest found in 30 years was detonated by controlled explosion after it started ticking

Tony Hancock, Harry Secombe, Peter Sellers, Bruce Forsyth and Tommy Cooper all had their first success at the Windmill Theatre

The London Silver Vaults have more than 40 subterranean shops which reputedly hold the largest collection of silver for sale in the world

The first Wimbledon Championships were suspended for the weekend so as not to clash with the annual Eton v Harrow cricket match at Lord’s

Heathrow was the world’s first airport connected to an underground railway when what was known as Heathrow Central opened in December 1977

Ealing Studios is the world’s oldest working film studios established in 1931 by the theatre producer Basil Dean

The Blind Beggar pub, Whitechapel est. 1654 takes its name from a ballad was reputedly built on the spot where Lord Montford used to beg

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 16 July 1910 the body of Thomas Atherston was found dead with gunshot wounds. Separated from his wife and their four children he had been living with actress Elizabeth Earles in Battersea. After an argument Earle threw him out and promptly started having an affair with one of his sons. Atherston was found dead in the adjoining apartment to his ex-lover, the police believed that he had been spying on the two lovers and disturbed a burglar.

On 16 July 1877 Spencer Gore won the first ever Wimbledon tennis tournament (men only) after a delay of three days due to rain

The Clink England’s first prison was notorious for its brutality, received its name from the clinking of prisoners’ manacles and chains

In 1110 Queen Matilda was crossing a ford at modern Bow, falling from her horse into the river the King Henry I ordered a bow-shaped bridge

A Black Death researcher claims the lack of rat corpses in London and the speed of contagion proves that it was spread by humans killing 40,000 in London

So many refugees arrived in the 1870/80s 150 synagogues were built and over 135,000 Jews were crammed into two square miles of the East End

In 1967 Finsbury Park was the setting for Jimi Hendrix’s first foray into his signature on stage guitar pyromania

18th century Fulham’s reputation for debauchery, gambling and prostitution echoes of which are used in gambling parlance, fulham means loaded dice

Steve Galloway was a 1980s semi-pro footballer who worked in the City – as part of his training NatWest let him run up their tower every day

At Heathrow the first aircraft to take off was a converted Lancaster bomber for Buenos Aires, passengers walked along duckboards over muddy airfield

In the early 20th century Great Portland Street earned the nickname Motor Row thanks to the 33 car showrooms that spanned its length

The Bank of England stores the country’s gold reserves in a subterranean crypt known as The Vault with a floor area over seven acres

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.