On 5 January 1827 Frederick, second son of George III, died at Rutland House in Arlington Street. The Duke of York’s Column in Waterloo Place commemorating his life and paid for by British troops, each forced to donate a day’s pay was said to be so high to escape his creditors for his £2 million debts. After an ineffectual campaign against the Dutch Frederick was mocked producing the rhyme: “The Grand Old Duke of York”.

On 5 January 1944, the Daily Mail became the first ‘transoceanic newspaper’ launching the Transatlantic Daily Mail a digest of London’s paper

In January 1965 Freddie Foreman abducted Ginger Marks outside Repton Boxing Club, Cheshire Street, Bethnal Green, he then murdered him

Etched into the frosted windows of the Albert Tavern in Victoria Street is an image of Prince Albert’s penis. Grade II listed it was built in 1862 and is the only remaining building from the original phase

The tomb of Lord Nelson stands in the crypt of St Paul’s Cathedral directly below the centre of the dome. His sarcophagus had been commissioned by Cardinal Wolsey in around 1524 before he fell from favour

Immediately before and two months into World War II Bank of England Governor, Montagu Norman supported transfers of Czech gold to Hitler’s Germany

The cover for Oasis’ second studio album (What’s The Story) Morning Glory was shot in Berwick Street, Soho

Fortnum and Mason was the first store in England to sell Heinz’s tinned foods in 1886. In 1901 Heinz Baked Beans were first sold at in their food hall

Whilst a pupil at Rugby School, William Webb Ellis is thought to have invented rugby football. He became the rector of St Clement Danes church in Strand

On 5 January 1964 Stamford Brook was the first tube station on the network to have an automatic ticket barrier installed

Before Anthony Trollope started work at the General Post Office, St Martin’s-Le-Grand each morning he would rise at 5:30am and pen 1,000 words

In his time, founder of Sutton’s Hospital in Charterhouse Square, Sir Thomas Sutton (1532-1611) was the richest commoner in England

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 29 December 1940, the largest area of continuous Blitz destruction anywhere in Briain took place. The Luftwaffe dropped over 24,000 high-explosive bombs, times to coincide with a very low tide, making it difficult for firefighters to get water. The famous picture of the church surrounded by smoke and fire was taken by photographer Herbert Mason from the roof of Northcliffe House, the Daily Mail building on Tudor Street.

On 29 December 1860 HMS Warrior an armour-plated warship, the biggest in the Navy was launched and froze on the slipway, six tugs were need to pull her off into the Thames

The term ‘clink’ is derived from the Clink Prison in Southwark a private lock-up owned by the Bishops of Winchester

Under Cleopatra’s Needle, a Victorian time capsule contains railway timetables, bibles, newspapers and photos of beauties of the day

Great Ormond Street was the first hospital in England exclusively for children when it opened in 1851 42 per cent of deaths were children under 10

Queen Victoria’s Coronation Ring was jammed on to the wrong finger by the Archbishop of Canterbury and as a result got stuck

Carving Handel’s statue for Westminster Abbey the artist objected to the size of the maestro’s own ears and modelled them on a young lady’s

Opened in 1881 the Savoy Theatre was the first public building in the world to be lit throughout by electricity, fitted out with 1,200 incandescent light bulbs

To make balls more visible early tennis courts were painted red using lampblack and oxblood the animal being slaughtered on the floor itself

Daimler made the first petrol-driven cab in 1887 but it was 17 years before the vehicle was licensed to ply for hire in London

When escalators were first installed at Earls Court Bumper Harris a one-legged man was employed to demonstrate their safety and ease of use

When weddings take place at Bevis Marks, London’s oldest synagogue, the building is lit by candlelight as it would have been in 1701

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.