On this day

1797 - During the battle off Santa Cruz in the Canary Islands Admiral Nelson was wounded in the right arm by grapeshot and had it amputated later that afternoon.

1876 - Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer and his Seventh Cavalry were killed by Sioux Indians in the Battle of the Little Bighorn in Montana.

1891 - The first episode of an Arthur Conan Doyle novel involving the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes was printed in the Strand Magazine in London.

1938 – Dr. Douglas Hyde is inaugurated as the first President of Ireland.

1950 – The Korean War begins with the invasion of South Korea by North Korea.

1978 – The rainbow flag representing gay pride is flown for the first time in the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade.

1993 – Kim Campbell is chosen as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada and becomes the first female Prime Minister of Canada.

1997 – The Soufrière Hills volcano in Montserrat erupts resulting in the death of 19 people.

1483 - Richard, Duke of Gloucester, began to rule England as Richard III, having deposed his nephew, Edward V. Edward and his brother, Richard, Duke of York, were soon afterwards murdered in the Tower of London.

1819 - The bicycle was patented by W.K. Clarkson, Jr. of New York City.

1857 - The first investiture ceremony for Victoria Cross awards took place in Hyde Park, London. Queen Victoria presented 62 servicemen with Britain's highest military honour.

1909 – The Science Museum in London comes into existence as an independent entity.

1917 – The first U.S. troops arrive in France to fight alongside Britain and France against Germany in World War I.

1937 - Britain's Duke of Windsor married American divorcee Wallis Simpson in France following his abdication as King Edward VIII.

1939 - Britain's first National Serviceman, Private Rupert Alexander, signed up for the Middlesex Regiment. His service number was 10000001.

1945 - Delegates from nations around the world signed the United Nations Charter, designed to help ensure future world peace. The first meeting of the U.N. General Assembly occurred in London early the following year.

1974 – The Universal Product Code is scanned for the first time to sell a package of Wrigley's chewing gum at the Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio

1977 - Peter Sutcliffe (the Yorkshire Ripper) killed 16 year old Jayne MacDonald in Leeds. She was the fifth of his 13 victims. Her murder changed public perception of the killer, as she was the first victim who was not a prostitute.

1996 – Irish Journalist Veronica Guerin is shot in her car while in traffic in the outskirts of Dublin

1746 - In Scotland, Flora MacDonald helped Bonnie Prince Charlie escape to the Isle of Skye dressed as an Irish maid, following his defeat by the English at the Battle of Culloden.

1829 - English scientist James Smithson died after a long illness, leaving behind a will which established the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. It provided for a museum, a library, and a program of research, publication, and collection in the sciences, arts, and history.

1871 - The yen became the new form of currency in Japan.

1898 – The first solo circumnavigation of the globe is completed by Joshua Slocum from Briar Island, Nova Scotia.

1899 – A. E. J. Collins scores 628 runs not out, the highest-ever recorded score in cricket.

1939 - The first scheduled airline service of Boeing 314 flying boats was operated by Pan Am between Newfoundland and Southampton.

1941 – Romanian governmental forces, allies of Nazi Germany, launch one of the most violent pogroms in Jewish history in the city of Iaşi, (Romania), resulting in the murder of at least 13,266 Jews.

1954 – The world's first nuclear power station opens in Obninsk, near Moscow.

1967 - Barclays Bank (Enfield branch) opened Britain's first cash dispenser.

1968 - Maggie Wright, playing Helen of Troy in the Royal Shakespeare Company production in London, became the first actress in Britain to appear nude on the ‘legitimate’ stage.

1982 – Space Shuttle Columbia launched from the Kennedy Space Center on the final research and development flight mission, STS-4.

2008 – In a highly-scrutizined election President of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe is re-elected in a landslide after his opponent Morgan Tsvangirai had withdrawn a week earlier, citing violence against his party's supporters.

1461 - Edward IV was crowned King of England. He was the first Yorkist King and the first half of his rule was marred by the violence associated with the Wars of the Roses.

1838 - Queen Victoria was crowned at Westminster Abbey in London. She was just 19 years old.

1846 – The saxophone is patented by Adolphe Sax in Paris, France.

1880 – The Australian bushranger Ned Kelly is captured at Glenrowan.

1914 - Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife, Sofia, were assassinated in Sarajevo by a Serb nationalist, it was the event which triggered World War I.

1919 - The Allies and a reluctant Germany signed the Peace Treaty of Versailles, officially ending the First World War. The financial demands made by the Allies on the defeated Germans of 20 billion gold marks dragged the nation down and allowed the Nazis to appear as saviours.

1942 – Nazi Germany started its strategic summer offensive against the Soviet Union, codenamed Case Blue.

1964 – Malcolm X forms the Organization of Afro-American Unity.

1969 - A police raid of the Stonewall Inn (a gay club located on New York City's Christopher Street) turned violent. This incident is regarded as the spark for the gay liberation movement.

1973 – Elections are held for the Northern Ireland Assembly, which will lead to power-sharing between unionists and nationalists in Northern Ireland for the first time.

1987 – For the first time in military history, a civilian population was targeted for chemical attack when Iraqi warplanes bombed the Iranian town of Sardasht.

1997 – Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield II – Tyson is disqualified in the 3rd round for biting a piece off Holyfield's ear.

2004 – Sovereign power is handed to the interim government of Iraq by the Coalition Provisional Authority, ending the U.S.-led rule of that nation.

(28-06-2012 10:39 )skully Wrote:  1997 – Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield II – Tyson is disqualified in the 3rd round for biting a piece off Holyfield's ear.

This rematch fight took place in the MGM Arena in Las Vegas. The mutual hatred between the two fighters at the top of their generation and the controversy arising from both this fight and the original encounter earned it the nickname "The Sound & The Fury".

Background and original fight

In their original fight, seven months earlier in November 1996, also at the MGM Arena, Holyfield scored a TKO victory in the 11th round when referee Mitch Halpern stopped the encounter.

Holyfield was the underdog going in to the original fight aswell as in the rematch. Tyson was the defending WBA Heavyweight Champion and Holyfield was competing in his fourth fight of a comeback, having originally retired in 1994 after a majority points decision loss to Michael Moorer. Holyfield had also struggled in his previous fight, a win against former middleweight Bobby Czyz and preceded that with an eighth round knockout loss to Riddick Bowe.

A first fight between Holyfield and Tyson had originally been planned to take place in 1990. However Tyson's tenth round stoppage defeat to James 'Buster' Douglas where he lost the undisputed championship and subsequent conviction and prison term served for rape and two counts of criminal deviate conduct made a meet impossible.

Holyfield-Tyson II

Mills Lane was the late referee replacement, brought in when Tyson's camp complained about the first choice of Mitch Halpern.

The rematch began similar to the first, with Holyfield dominating. En route to winning the first two rounds, Holyfield scored with an overhand right in the first and ducked a Tyson right in the second. While ducking the right, Holyfield caught Tyson with a headbutt producing a cut above the right eye. Tyson had repeatedly complained about suspected headbutting in the first fight.

As the third round was set to begin, Tyson came out of the corner without a mouthpiece. Referee Lane ordered Tyson back to the corner to insert it. When it got underway, Tyson began to get on top, scoring multiple times with a vicious flurry of punches as the round reached the last forty seconds, until Holyfield was able to hold Tyson in a clinch. Tyson then rolled his head above Holyfield's shoulder and bit him on his right ear. A one inch piece of cartilage was bitten off the ear which the crowd saw Tyson spit out on to the mat. Referee Lane called a timeout, and wanted to disqualify Tyson immediately. However after a delay of several minutes while Lane debated what to do, the ringside doctor inspected Holyfield's ear and decided he was able to continue. Lane then decided to penalise Tyson two points and said the fight would continue.

Bobby Czyz, at ringside summarising the fight with commentator Steve Albert for Showtime TV, said "I wonder how this would have played in Mitch Halpern's eyes," and Albert told Czyz, "Oh my goodness, that's a thought, Bobby." As Lane was explaining the decision to Tyson and his corner team, Tyson insisted the ear damage was because of a punch. Lane was heard to retort "Bullshit!" The fight then restarted.

During another clinch, Tyson bit Holyfield again, this time on the left ear. Holyfield jumped out of the clinch, but the round continued until time expired. The fight was then stopped after both fighters had returned to their corners. Tyson then went on a rampage, attacking Holyfield and his trainer while still in the corner and brawling with several officials before security dragged him back to his corner. The decision was then announced by Jimmy Lennon Jnr -"referee Mills Lane has disqualified Mike Tyson for biting Evander Holyfield on both of his ears".

Later on, Tyson was walking back to the locker room when a fan threw a bottle of water at him. Tyson climbed over the railings and made obscene gestures at the crowd, before continuing up the side of the stairway.

Aftermath

As a result of biting Holyfield on both ears and other behavior, Tyson's boxing license was revoked by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and he was fined USD $3 million plus legal costs. The revocation was not permanent; a little more than a year later on October 18, 1998, the commission voted 4–1 to restore Tyson's boxing license.

One of Tyson's former trainers, Teddy Atlas, predicted before the fight that Tyson, unable to cope with fighting a man whom he could not intimidate, would deliberately get himself disqualified.

In the documentary Tyson he claimed he did it as retaliation for the headbutting.

On October 16, 2009 on the Oprah Winfrey Show Tyson apologized to Holyfield. Holyfield accepted his apology and forgave Tyson.

Wikipedia links for both fights below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyson-Holyfield_I
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holyfield-Tyson_II

1613 - The original Globe Theatre in London burned down after a cannon was fired during a performance of a Shakespearean play and set fire to the straw roof.

1620 - After denouncing smoking as a health hazard, King James I of England banned the growing of tobacco in Britain.

1801 - Britain held its first population census - producing a population figure of 8,800,000.

1855 - Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper was first published, a result of the publisher's anger over the Crimean War and a desire to express it.

1905 - The Automobile Association was set up by motorists angered by police harassment and to warn drivers of speed traps.

1914 – Jina Guseva attempts to assassinate Grigori Rasputin at his home town in Siberia.

1966 - Barclays Bank introduced the Barclaycard, the UK's first credit card.

1974 – Isabel Peron is sworn in as the first female President of Argentina. Her husband, President Juan Peron, had delegated responsibility due to weak health and died two days later.

1986 - Richard Branson smashed the world record for the fastest powerboat crossing of the Atlantic.

1995 - The space shuttle Atlantis and the Russian space station Mir docked, forming the largest manmade satellite ever to orbit the Earth.

1520 – Spanish conquistadors led by Hernan Cortes fight their way out of Tenochtitlan.

1837 - Punishment by pillory was finally abolished in Britain.

1859 - A French acrobat (Jean-Francois Gravelet) became the first daredevil to walk across Niagara Falls on a tightrope.

1894 - London's Tower Bridge was officially opened to traffic by the Prince of Wales. After the ceremony the bascules were raised to allow a flotilla of ships and boats to sail down the Thames.

1905 – Albert Einstein publishes the article On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies, in which he introduces special relativity.

1908 - One of the most powerful, natural explosions in recorded history occurred, in Central Siberia (Tunguska event), devastating 70 miles in diameter.

1934 - Nazi leader Adolf Hitler ordered a purge (Night of the Long Knives) of his own political party, assassinating hundreds of Nazis whom he believed had the potential to become political enemies in the future.

1937 - The world's first emergency telephone number, 999, was introduced in London. 999 was chosen was because it could be dialled on the old rotary dial telephones by placing a finger against the dial stop and rotating the dial to the full extent three times, even in the dark or in dense smoke. This enabled all users, including the visually impaired, to easily dial the emergency number.

1957 - The British Egg Marketing Board stamped a crowned lion on British eggs as a sign of freshness. In the first week 80% of all eggs sold carried the stamp.

1971 – The crew of the Soviet Soyuz 11 spacecraft are killed when their air supply escapes through a faulty valve.

1987 – The Royal Canadian Mint introduces the $1 coin, known as the Loonie.

1997 – The United Kingdom transfers sovereignty over Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China.

2007 - A blazing vehicle, packed with gas canisters, was driven into the front of the Glasgow airport's Terminal One building in a suspected terror attack. The failed terror attacks were to prove a serious first test for new Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who had taken over at Number 10 and unveiled his first Cabinet revamp only the day before.

1770 – Lexell's Comet passed closer to the Earth than any other comet in recorded history, approaching to a distance of 0.0146 a.u.

1837 - Compulsory registration of births, marriages and deaths came into effect in England and Wales.

1838 - Charles Darwin presented a paper on his theory of evolution to the Linnean Society in London.

1874 - The first zoo in the United States opened, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1908 – SOS is adopted as the international distress signal.

1911 - The introduction of the British Copyright Act - protecting an author's works for 50 years after their death.

1916 - World War I: At least 20,000 British soldiers were killed and a further 40,000 were injured on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. It was the greatest number of British casualties in a single day's fighting in modern history.

1943 – Tokyo City merges with Tokyo Prefecture and is dissolved. Since then, no city in Japan has had the name "Tokyo" (present-day Tokyo is not officially a city).

1949 – The merger of two princely states of India, Cochin and Travancore, into the state of Thiru-Kochi (later re-organized as Kerala) in the Indian Union ends more than 1,000 years of princely rule by the Cochin Royal Family.

1967 - Colour television came to Europe with a seven hour transmission on BBC 2 from the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships.

1967 – The European Community is formally created out of a merger with the Common Market, the European Coal and Steel Community, and the European Atomic Energy Commission.

1968 – The Nuclear non-proliferation treaty is signed in Washington, D.C., London and Moscow by sixty-two countries.

1969 - Prince Charles was invested Prince of Wales by his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, at Caernarfon Castle in north Wales.

1979 - The Sony Walkman was introduced.

1990 – German re-unification: East Germany accepts the Deutsche Mark as its currency, thus uniting the economies of East and West Germany.

1996 - In addition to a practical exam, learner drivers in Britain had to pass a written exam for the first time.

1997 – China resumes sovereignty over the city-state of Hong Kong, ending 156 years of British colonial rule.

2002 – The International Criminal Court is established to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.

2007 – Smoking in England is banned in all public indoor spaces.

(01-07-2012 11:50 )skully Wrote:  1996 - In addition to a practical exam, learner drivers in Britain had to pass a written exam for the first time.

The driving test in the UK, first introduced in 1934, has seen many changes over the years. It is processed by the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) in mainland Britain (England, Scotland, Wales and localised island territories such as Anglesey, Isle of Wight, Isles of Scilly, Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland but not the Isle of Man or Channel Islands) and by the Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) in Northern Ireland. A pass is compulsory for UK citizens to obtain a full driving licence.

Learner drivers must be at least 17 years of age in order to take the test for a full car licence. Although drivers wishing to learn to ride a 50cc motorcycle or moped can do this at 16 years of age, a minimum of 17 years is required to drive a car. Moped learners must also take the Compulsory Basic Training exam but this is not required for car learner drivers. A driver must renew their licence when they reach the age of 70, and a condition of obtaining a full UK driving licence is that the DVLA must be informed immediately of any changes to the driver's health, such as eyesight and hearing.

DVLA statistics show that out of the 1.6 million people that take the test each year, only 43% are successful in the practical exam. The theory / written exam currently has a pass rate of 65%.

Theory Test

The theory test must be passed before learner drivers can apply to take the practical test. This comes in two parts - a multiple choice question exam and a hazard perception exam. Generally, both must be taken and completed in the same session to obtain the certificate required to apply for the practical. A practical exam must be applied for within two years of passing the theory, otherwise it becomes invalid and the candidate will have to do the theory again.

Originally, candidates were presented with a single written paper consisting of 50 multiple choice questions. At least 43 questions had to be answered correctly in order to obtain the pass. The candidate would shade in the corresponding box to their chosen answer(s) with a pencil. The pencil marks would then be scanned by a computer to produce the result which was then posted to the candidate. Since 2000, technology has allowed the multiple choice questions to be completed directly on the computer system. Different variations exist for lorry and bus learner drivers with more questions, up to a hundred with at least 85 correct answers required to pass. There are 1000 possible questions all stored in the memory bank, and any can be randomly selected for the test. Therefore no test is the same.

Candidates will now also complete the hazard perception test as part of their theory which was introduced in November of 2002. This consists of a series of short video clips played on the computer where the candidate must identify by either the mouse or touch screen a possible hazard. There are 14 clips for car drivers and 19 for bus and lorry drivers. Reaction time is tested aswell where the candidate will score more points the quicker the hazard is identified.

Phew, sounds like a lot to get through and a lot to bamboozle learner drivers these days - when I sat my theory test in 1997, it was just the written multiple choice paper. I still failed both my theory and practical tests the first time around! Passed with flying colours on both the second times though. My instructor said I'd "returned with a vengeance"!

Wikipedia link below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_Driving_...rrent_test

1819 - The first Factory Act was passed in Britain. This banned the employment of children younger than 9 from working in textile factories, whilst those under 16 were allowed to work for 'only' 12 hours a day!

1839 - Africans on the Cuban schooner Amistad rose up against their captors, killing two crewmembers and seizing control of the ship, which had been transporting them to a life of slavery on a sugar plantation at Puerto Príncipe, Cuba.

1850 - The gas mask was patented by B.J. Lane of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

1865 - At a revivalist meeting at Whitechapel, London, William Booth formed the Salvation Army.

1937 - Aviator Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first round-the-world flight at the equator.

1940 - World War II: Adolf Hitler ordered German military commanders to draw up plans for the invasion of England.

1947 - A purported Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) crashed near Roswell, New Mexico. This report has been the subject of controversy ever since.

1962 – The first Wal-Mart store opens for business in Rogers, Arkansas.

1966 – The French military explodes a nuclear test bomb codenamed Aldebaran in Mururoa, their first nuclear test in the Pacific.

1987 - Moors murderer Ian Brady offered to assist police searches of Saddleworth Moor for the first time since his conviction.

1996 -Weather experts predicted that global warming would have the effect of moving Britain 100 miles south in the next 25 years, bringing summer droughts and winter rainstorms.

2002 – Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly solo around the world nonstop in a balloon.

2005 - The world's biggest music stars united in Live8 concerts around the globe to press political leaders to tackle poverty in Africa.