On 24 November 1991 Farrokh Bulsara better known as Freddie Mercury died at his home at 1 Logan Place. The Queen lead singer died from bronchial pneumonia from AIDS. Mercury was diagnosed with HIV in 1987 but kept his condition private until he released a public statement just a little over 24 hours before he passed away just 45 years old. The outer walls of his house have become a shrine to Mercury.

On 24 November 1434 a severe frost began continuing until 10 February. During the freeze the Thames froze over

On 24 November 1740 William Duell was hanged at Tyburn, bought to Surgeon’ Hall, he recovered before dissection and was transported for life

Having the world’s first failsafe system, raised 1,000 times a year taking 90 secs Tower Bridge has to give precedence to shipping over road

According to The Secret History of London Clubs from 1709, a Mr. Crumpton invited those in the final stage of syphilis, which destroys bone and tissue, to join the ‘No-Nose’d Club’ in the Dog Tavern

Ships surmounting lamposts on The Mall depict Nelson’s fleet who defeated the French and his statue faces towards his fleet in Portsmouth

On 24 November 1952 Agatha Christie’s story The Mousetrap reached the West End, it is still running and is now the world’s longest continual play

The Grade II listed chapel at Claybury Hospital, Woodford Green, a former asylum, has been converted into Virgin Active’s swimming pool

In June 1939 92,000 watched the greyhound racing Derby at White City, only football and cinema drew larger audiences during the 1930s

The Tube is the world’s oldest underground with 290 miles of track and 275 stations were each visited in 16 hours, 20 minutes and 27 seconds by Geoff Marshall and Anthony Smith in 2013

After the Wall Street Crash Buckingham Palace ordered five Daimler Double-Six limousines to help unemployment in the Midlands

The Constable of The Tower of London is entitled to 4p for an animal falling into the moat and all livestock which fall from London Bridge

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 17 November 1558 England’s first Queen, Mary I died. She is best known for her aggressive attempt to reverse the English Reformation. During her five-year reign, Mary had over 280 religious dissenters burned at the stake in the Marian persecutions, in her pursuit of the restoration of Roman Catholicism in England and Ireland which led to her denunciation as ‘Bloody Mary’ by her Protestant opponents.

On 17 November 1750 at midnight Westminster Bridge opened to pedestrians and horses to the sound of drums, cannons and trumpets

In 1961 after crashing his Rolls-Royce in London Lord Derby successfully escaped prosecution claiming the long bonnet obstructed his view

The last thatched cottage in inner London survived in the Paddington area until 1890s when it was demolished for St. David’s Welsh Church

Captain Thomas Coram appalled by the number of abandoned babies set up the world’s first incorporated charity in 1739 the Foundling Hospital

The world’s oldest military corps is the Queen’s Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard officially founded in 1485

The Cranbrook Estate, Bethnal Green was used as a location for Lew and Andy’s flat on TV show Little Britain

Peach Melba created at the Savoy for soprano Nellie Melba used her favourite ingredients to reduce the cold of ice cream on her vocal cords

Wembley London’s largest stadium’s roof covers 90,000 spectators during match days, at other times remain open giving sunlight for the turf

On 17 November 1876 Aldgate tube station opened, the station features in the Sherlock Holmes’ mystery The Adventure of Bruce-Partington Plans

Cabbies face a daily £1 fine should he take two consecutive days off ‘without just cause’ according to The London Hackney Carriages Act 1853

Fleet Street hack Woodrow Wyatt when asked by a French hotelier to spell his name replied Waterloo-Ypes-Agincourt-Trafalgar-Trafalgar

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.