Swindon

1951: THE relevance of the Methodist Church to the problems faced by human beings in the modern world was to be discussed by speakers at the Central Hall in Swindon.

The speakers announced included Bishop J Watson Picket of the Methodist Church in Southern Asia. A choir assembled from the Methodist congregations of Swindon was being assembled to provide devotional music.

1951: Geography classes at the Ferndale Road and Westcott Secondary Modern schools were livened up by the British Ship Adoption Society. Thanks to regular letters from the commanders of merchant vessels, classes were able to track their progress throughout the globe and learn about the features and exports of locations including Buenos Aires, Lagos, Barbados and Hull.

1961: Eric Chick, the chairman of Highworth Angling Club, spoke of his bewilderment at what he called the disastrous mass death of fish in the Thames at Castle Eaton. Scores of dead fish were lying on the banks or floating down the river, and Mr Chick said the mystery would affect about 500 anglers from his club and those of Pressed Steel and the Haydon Street Working Men’s Club.

1961: A portable tape recorder weighing 20 pounds and priced at 35 guineas - £36.75 in decimal currency - was stolen from a display at the Carter Brothers radio and electrical goods shop in Commercial Road. The proprietor, Mr EWJ Carter, saw two men looking at the machine as he served another customer, but when he next looked they and the recorder had gone. Stolen on the same day were two vices from the Princess Margaret Hospital building site.

1971: Of all the ticket sellers for Aldbourne Carnival, Elizabeth Barnes, 18, sold the most - 3,578. Her reward was to be crowned carnival queen by actress Damaris Hayman, whose credits included the locally-filmed Doctor Who serial The Daemons. Elizabeth said her hobbies included driving, dancing and reading.

1971: The great summer “suicide” holiday had begun, according to the unnamed manager of a leading Swindon tyre depot. He described tyres as being as vital as lifebelts on a ship, and lamented the fact that so many motorists failed to ensure their tyres were in good condition.

The world

1782: The 100-ton battleship HMS Royal George sank off Spithead with the loss of more than 900 lives.

1831: Michael Faraday demonstrated the production of electricity from magnetism with the first transformer.

1842: The Treaty of Nanking was signed, ending the Opium War (1839-42) between China and Britain, and ceding Hong Kong to Britain.

1882: England cricketers lost to Australia in England for the first time, and from an epitaph that appeared in the Sporting Times the word ‘’Ashes’’ came into being.

1885: The first motorcycle was patented by Gottlieb Daimler in Germany.

1895: The Rugby League was formed at a meeting in the George Hotel in Huddersfield, with 21 representatives of the leading Lancashire and Yorkshire Rugby Union clubs - the present title of ‘’Rugby League’’ was adopted in 1922.

1897: ‘’Chop-suey’’ (meaning ‘various things’), the most famous Chinese dish, was devised by a New York chef to appeal to Chinese and American tastes.

1930: The Rev William Spooner, who gave the world spoonerisms, died.

1966: The Beatles gave their last live concert performance in Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

2005: Michael Schumacher won his 5th consecutive Formula One Drivers Championship.

2012: The London 2012 Paralympic Games started with a spectacular opening ceremony.

2016: Beyonce won top honours at MTV’s Video Music Awards in New York, where rapper Drake professed his ‘’love’’ for Rihanna as she collected a lifetime achievement award.

BIRTHDAYS Elliott Gould, actor, 79; Joel Schumacher, film director, 78; Chris Copping, musician, 72; Lenny Henry, actor/comedian, 59; Joe Swail, snooker player, 48; Lea Michele, actress 31.