ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
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1 year ago… Scrooge ban
The Daily Star reports on a call from bin chiefs to cull Christmas crackers and festive wrapping paper because of the waste they cause.
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3 years ago… Robert Mugabe goes
The Zimbabwean tyrant resigns after more than 30 years in power.
7 years ago… Happy debuts
Pharrell Williams, left, releases the track Happy, which will reach top spot in the charts and become one of the most successful singles ever.
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13 years ago… Steve’s swansong
England fail to qualify for Euro 2008 after losing 3- 2 to Croatia. Manager Steve Mcclaren is sacked the following day.
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31 years ago…
TV in parliament
Television cameras are allowed to film in the House of Commons for the first time.
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40 years ago…
Who shot JR?
A whopping 350million people worldwide tune in to an episode of TV’S Dallas to finally find out who shot Larry Hagman’s soap villain. Kristin is revealed as the culprit.
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44 years ago… Rocky released
The classic boxing movie, starring Sylvester Stallone, right, as Rocky Balboa, opens in cinemas and becomes a box- office hit.
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46 years ago… Brum blasts
Two terrorist bombs explode in Birmingham pubs, killing 21 and injuring more than 180. Six men would be jailed for the atrocity but have their convictions overturned in 1991.
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London’s Natural History Museum announces the famous skull of Piltdown Man, found in 1912 and thought to be of an early human, is actually a forgery.
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104 years ago… Britannic sinks
The world’s largest liner, below, – sister of the Titanic – sinks after being torpedoed in the Aegean Sea while serving as a hospital ship in World War One. Most of those aboard are rescued.
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American inventor Thomas Edison reveals the phonograph, a new device that can record and play sounds.
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237 years ago… Balloon breakthrough
Frenchmen Jean- François Pilatre de Rozier and François Laurent d’arlandes make the first manned hot- air balloon flight, reaching 500ft and travelling five miles.
67 years ago… Hoax exposed 143 years ago… Sound idea