On 16 February 1978 after a long campaign in which ‘G. Davis Is Innocent, OK’ was daubed on every available wall in East London, mini-cab driver George Davis was cleared in the Crown Court after his wrongful conviction for an armed £47,000 robbery at the London Electricity Board offices in Ilford, for which he had been sent to prison. Two years later he was convicted of a £50,000 London bank raid at the Bank of Cyprus, Tottenham.

On 16 February 1824 John Wilson Croker established a ‘club for scientific and literary men and artists’ – the Athenaeum, he is also credited with coining the word Conservative for a political description

Cab drivers who drive too slowly can be charged with ‘loitering’, but are exempt from compulsorily wearing seat belts whilst working at whatever speed they are travelling

The circumference at the Gherkin’s widest point is 178 metres, which is only two metres less than its height of 180 metres

There were three assassination attempts on Queen Victoria at Constitution Hill a road under half a mile long and Princess Anne was shot at there

Josef Jakobs a German spy captured in World War II was the last person executed at the Tower of London, he was shot by firing squad

Sherlock Holmes fictional home 221b Baker Street is the Santander Building Society which has an office dealing with the detective’s fan mail

Museum of London tracing the capital’s history from Prehistoric times to the present day is the largest urban history museum in the world

Sudbury Hill’s Wood End Estate has 11 streets named after sports people: Mary Peters Drive; Lilian Board Way; Brasher Close; Bannister Close

The word ‘taxi’ originates from the name of the inventor of the taximeter in 1907, a German called Baron Von Thurn und Taxis

Vauxhall Cars take their name from its first factory on the site of Fawke’s Hall, beside the river near where Vauxhall Bridge now stands

Dr Johnson’s Memorial House in Gough Square contains a brick from the Great Wall of China donated to the museum in 1822

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.