Portal:United Kingdom/Did you know/2009

January 2009

... that Flora Drummond was known as "The General" for her habit of leading Women's Suffrage processions (lapel pin pictured) wearing an officer's cap and epaulettes whilst riding a large horse?
... that a design competition for a new Routemaster bus received 225 entries to the Design category, and 475 entries for the Imagine category?
... that lexicographer Henry Cockeram wrote the first known English language dictionary to contain "dictionary" in the title?
... that the Westminster Retable, a 13th-century panel painting at Westminster Abbey, is the oldest known altarpiece in England?
... that the Scotch Professors, a group of 19th-century Scottish footballers, are credited with inventing the passing style of the modern game and spreading the sport globally?

February 2009

... that the unusual layout of bays in the aisles of St Luke's Church, Brighton (pictured), was described by Sir Nikolaus Pevsner as "curious" and "disturbing"?
... that The Beatles appeared ten times on the BBC Radio programme Saturday Club in the early 1960s?
... that many modern legal commentators believe the decision in Stilk v Myrick was made at least partly due to public policy?
... that Oslac, the first ealdorman of southern Northumbria, is said to have escorted the Scottish king Cináed mac Maíl Coluim to the court of the English king Edgar the Peaceful?
... that Empire Athelstan was the first merchant ship built by Vickers-Armstrongs at Barrow in Furness after the Second World War?
... that protozoologist Leonard Goodwin claimed to have started the use of hamsters as pets in the United Kingdom?

March 2009

... that Sir Charles Knowles claimed that the theories on naval tactics expressed in his 1777 book were reflected in Lord Howe's victory in 1794 (pictured)?
... that in 1945, footballer Doug McGibbon scored six goals in one match, one of which was timed at under five seconds from the second half kick-off?
... that novelist Charlotte Turner Smith condemned her father for forcing her to marry and turning her into a "legal prostitute"?
... that Herbert Spencer, secretary of the Derby Philosophical Society, first suggested the term "survival of the fittest" after reading Charles Darwin's idea of evolution?
... that when Prince Philip first saw the stumpery at Highgrove House he asked his son, Charles, "when are you going to set fire to this lot?"?
... that English barrister Joseph Keble went to the Court of King's Bench every day from 1661 to 1710, but was never known to have a brief for a client?
... that on Stac an Armin, the highest stack in Scotland, the last great auk in the British Isles was clubbed to death in 1840 because it was thought to be a witch?
... that Dr Charles White, co-founder of the Manchester Royal Infirmary, kept the mummified body of one of his patients in a room of his house for 55 years?

April 2009

... that George Collier (pictured) was shipwrecked, rescued, and then taken prisoner when his rescuer was captured by a privateer?
... that in 1980, Eamonn Collins became the youngest player in a professional football match in England, when he played for Blackpool at the age of 14 years and 323 days?
... that St Mary the Virgin Church in Brighton, England, stands on the site of a former church—designed as a replica of the Greek Temple of Nemesis—which collapsed in 1876?
... that historian V. H. Galbraith considered the medieval English monk Hemming to be the first archivist in English history?
... that when Ted Hough was signed by Southampton Football Club, his "transfer fee" was a round of 52 pints of beer?

May 2009

... that Wandsworth Bridge (pictured) has been described as "probably the least noteworthy bridge in London"?
... that then Conservative party leader William Hague and former Eastenders actor Michael Cashman campaigned for the 1999 Lichfield Council election?
... that Kevin Walton and Richard Butson were the first to climb several Antarctic peaks, with both of them going on to receive the Albert Medal for heroism and the Polar Medal?
... that the Welbike was the smallest motorcycle ever used by the British Armed Forces?
... that the cross in the coat of arms of Colchester represents the True Cross, as discovered by Saint Helena, the patron saint?
... that The Magnet was the first film to give James Fox a starring role, at the age of 11?
... that British journalist and Liberal politician Colin Coote was an editor of the The Daily Telegraph for 14 years?

June 2009

... that Edward Riou (pictured) sailed with Cook, survived his ship hitting an iceberg, but died by being nearly cut in two aboard HMS Amazon at Copenhagen?
... that Christ Church, Rossett, Wrexham County Borough, Wales, was designed in 1886 but not built until 1891–92?
... that Scottish actress Rona Anderson married fellow actor Gordon Jackson after appearing with him in the romantic drama Floodtide?
... that the fine of £175,000 handed to Arsenal F.C. in 2003 after the Battle of Old Trafford was a record for English football?
... that 94% of Dartmoor kistvaens (pictured) have the longer axis of the tomb oriented NW/SE, apparently so that the deceased face the sun?
... that the BBC Radio 4 sitcom Newfangle has been described by different sources as being set in either 100,000 B.C. or two million years ago?
... that the Financial News competed with its rival the Financial Times by attacking companies which advertised there?

July 2009

... that the first patron of St Mary's Church, Mold (pictured) was Lady Margaret Beaufort, the mother of Henry VII?
... that HMS Lively won five battle honours during the Second World War, despite a career lasting less than a year from commissioning to being sunk?
... that the City of Carlisle is the largest city in England in terms of area, but is one of the smallest by population?
... that Centipede were an English jazz/progressive rock band with more than 50 members?
... that the British 21st Army Tank Brigade had so few tanks after the Battle of Dunkirk that two-thirds of the brigade was forced to serve as infantry?
... that former Olympic show jumper Marion Coakes won a silver medal on a pony and learned to ride on a donkey?

August 2009

... that when Captain Robert Corbet suggested that captains be allowed to flog lieutenants, Rear-Admiral Edward Buller (pictured) declared that admirals should therefore flog captains?
... that astronomer William Herschel was the first organist at the Octagon Chapel in Bath?
... that the Hunt-class destroyer HMS Badsworth was named after a fox-hunt in Yorkshire and adopted by the town of Batley, following a Warship Week campaign in March 1942?
... that Saint Ninian, the subject of Ailred of Rievaulx's Life of Saint Ninian, is an "unhistorical doppelgänger" of the real-life British churchman Finnian?
... that Gordon Brown's independent advisor on ministerial conduct, Sir Philip Mawer who was given a knighthood in 2002, has also been a dame?
... that in 1904, the whitewash was removed from the west wall of St. George's church, Trotton, leading to the discovery of an unprecedented 600-year-old wall painting?
... that John Ruskin's "wretched rant" influenced architects, artists and ecclesiologists?

September 2009

... that it was four years before the British government revealed that a Gazelle helicopter (example pictured) was shot down by friendly fire during the Falklands War?
... that Hitchcon, a convention celebrating the 30th anniversary of the publication of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, will feature a live commentary on Twitter given by Marvin the Paranoid Android?
... that with 665 Members taking part, the August 1892 vote of no confidence against the Marquess of Salisbury's government saw the most votes ever cast in Parliament ?
... that the Dagenham Roundhouse in East London featured acts including Genesis, Led Zeppelin, Thin Lizzy and Pink Floyd during the early 1970s?
... that the English herald Ralph Brooke tricked Sir William Segar into granting a coat of arms to a London hangman?
... that Art Attack is the longest running programme in the history of CITV?