What happened this week in history
1698 - Samuel Clinton awoke – after 151 days asleep.
1756 - Composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg.
1778 - Joseph Bramah patented the valved flush toilet.
1868 - E D Young reported to the Geographical Society that explorer Dr Livngstone was still alive in ‘darkest Africa’.
1879 - Thomas Edison patented the electric lamp.
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Hide Ad1906 - The River Thames caught fire as oil on the surface ignited.
1913 - American athlete Jim Thorpe was stripped of his Olympic decathlon and pentathlon gold medals after it was ruled he was a professional athlete. He had been playing baseball for £25 per week.
1926 - John Logie Baird gave the first public demonstration of television at his London workshop.
1930 - Women civil servants voted for the compulsory retirement of women on marriage.
1931 - Sunday opening of cinemas was declared illegal.
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Hide Ad1943 - The American Air Force carried out its first bombing raids on Germany.
1945 - The Red Army liberated the Nazi’s biggest concentration camp at Auschwitz.
1951 - The U S Air Force started atomic testing in the Nevada desert.
1967 - Three American astronauts died when fire engulfed the ‘Apollo 1’ capsule on its launch pad at Cape Kennedy.
1968 - The first edition of Twinkle hit the shelves.
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Hide Ad1973 - The Vietnam ceasefire agreement was signed between North Vietnam and America.
1974 - The Brisbane River breached its banks causing the largest flood to affect the city of Brisbane in the 20th century.
1984 - Singer Michael Jackson was rushed to hospital with burn injuries to his head after a stunt for a Pepsi commercial went wrong.
2001 - High street store C&A closed the doors on many of its UK shops for the final time.
2010 - Steve Jobs unveiled the Apple iPad.