On 4 February 1748 social reformer Jeremy Bentham was born at Church Lane, Houndsditch. On his death Bentham left instructions for his body to be first dissected, and then to be permanently preserved as an ‘auto-icon’, which would be his memorial. This was done and occasionally Bentham is taken into meetings of the UCL College Council and that it is recorded in the minutes that Mr Bentham is present, but not voting.

On 4 February 1962 printed at its Gray’s Inn works the Sunday Times published Britain’s first newspaper colour supplement

During World War One a baker on Chapman Street, Shadwell was jailed for three days after being caught selling fresh bread

There’s an extensive military citadel beneath the streets of Whitehall one entrance via a lift is in the telephone exchange in Craig’s Court

Patrick Fraher and William Cummins died plunging from Barrington House cutting a hole in a concrete block forgetting they were standing in the middle, they’d been due to take part in a safety course next day

In February 1894 in Greenwich Park anarchist Martial Bourdin accidentally blew himself on route to blow up the Royal Observatory

Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club on Frith Street was the site of Jimi Hendrix’s last public performance in 1970, he would die on 18 September of that year

The rhyme Pop Goes the Weasel refers to the pawning of a suit to pay for drink; ‘Up and down the City Road, in and out the Eagle’ the public house

Oscar winning movie Chariots of Fire was filmed in Hurlingham Park, Fulham, the title was inspired by the line, “Bring me my chariot of fire,” from the William Blake poem

Farringdon underground station is the only station from which passengers exited en masse on their way to a public hanging

Until 1910 you could walk across the walkway at the top of Tower Bridge it was shut because it started to become popular with prostitutes

Diarist Samuel Pepys buried his parmesan cheese and wine in his garden to protect them from the Great Fire of London in 1666

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 28th January 1807 German Friedrick Albert Winzer who had patented coal-gas lighting in 1804 moved to a house in Pall Mall setting up gas lamps, lighting them on this day, making Pall Mall the first gas-lit street in the world. Later with a special exhibition on 4 June, 1807, in honor of the birthday of King George III, using gaslight to superimpose images against the walls of the buildings along his street.

On 28 January 1953 Derek Bentley was executed at Wandsworth Prison for his part in the murder of PC Sidney Miles. The 19-year-old was hanged after last-minute appeals for clemency were rejected

The hanging beam from Newgate gaol was taken to Pentonville prison and used for executions there. Now bricked up in the prison’s synagogue

The IMAX cinema roundabout is the capital’s only winner of the Roundabout Appreciation Society’s prestigious Roundabout of the Year award

The Sebastopol bell at Westminster Abbey is rung only on the occasion of a sovereign’s death, tolling once for each year of their life

George VI Reservoir left empty during World War II allegedly a mock Clapham Junction Railway Station was built inside to confuse Luftwaffe bombers

When Madame Tussaud first brought her waxworks to London they were exhibited at the Lyceum where Lion King now shows

One of the ‘original’ Disney Herbie cars in red, white and blue-striped with number 53 can be seen in Volkswagen’s west London showroom close to M4

London Marathon’s youngest male winner was 22-year-old Kenyan Sammy Wanjiru in 2009, he died two years later after falling from a balcony

The Jubilee Extension was hewn out by two tunnel boring machines called Sharon and Tracy, named after the characters in Birds of a Feather

Londoner Captain Edward Vernon invented grog-a concoction made from rum, water and lemon juice-the preferred tipple of pirates and old salts

Named after Samuel Pepys: Street EC3; Road SE14; Crescent E16; Court SE18 ; a Walk; several pubs and . . . A Launderette 1 Grove Street SE8

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.