16 th March 2012 Great North Exhibition Lego Sale 15 th April 2.30 -4.00

1. 16th March 2012Great North Exhibition Lego Sale 15th April 2.30 -4.00 Mic Porter

2. Events 1521 –Ferdinand Magellan (Portuguese) reaches the Philippines in his world tour of exploration and mapping, largely, funded by the Spanish Court. 1660 – The Long Parliament of England, established by Charles I in 1640 is dissolved so as to prepare for the new “elected” Convention Parliament. 1802 – The US Army Corps of Engineers is established to found and operate the Military Academy at West Point. Increasingly it is involved in sustainable “public works”. They also provided and fired the bronze, barrel loading canon manufactured in 1761 from Strasbourg used in the famous 1958 by Antal Dorati and the Minneapolis Symphony of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, Op. 49. Mic Porter

3. Events 1872 – The Wanderers F.C. (an ex Public School boys, later disbanded) won the first FA Cup, (?) oldest football competition when they beat the Royal Engineers A.F.C. 1-0 at The Kennington Oval. 1926 – Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket, in Auburn, Mass. Among 214 patents are the crucial “multi-stage rockets” and “ liquid-fuel propellant” (both 1914). Later he uses a three-axis control, gyroscopes and steerable thrust to allow rockets to be controlled in flight. During the 1930s he exchanges letters with Germans also working on rocketry (theirs is, at that time, predominately solid fueled. Mic Porter

4. Events 1935 – In GermanyAdolf Hitler rearms in violation of the Versailles Treaty and Conscription is reintroduced to create the Wehrmacht. This section of the army are, later, responsible for launching V-2s with 1000kg warheads. The first impacts in London are described as “gas main explosions” to avoid scaring the population. later 1942 –Wernher von Braun’s first launchable prototype V-2 rocket explodes at lift-off. Later 3,172 V-2s, armed with explosive are launched against mostly against Antwerp (1610) and London (1402). Overall the number of forced labourers killed during the production is far greater than the numbers killed on impact. (c12,000 –v- c7500) Mic Porter

5. Events 1958 – The Ford Motor Company produced its 50 millionth automobile, aThunderbird, thus averaging almost a million cars a year since foundation. 1966 – Launch of Gemini 8, the 12th manned American space flight and first space docking with the Agena Target Vehicle. 1968 – Vietnam War: In the My Lai (aka “Pinkville” massacre, between 350 and 500 Vietnamese villagers (mostly women, and children) are killed by American troops. Three servicemen who attempted to stop the “action” are vilified for 30 years until honoured for their efforts. Mic Porter

6. Events 1976 – British Prime Minister (1964- 1970) & (1974 – 1976) Harold Wilson resigned, citing personal reasons. (?)The last publically assessable PM. 1978 – Supertanker Amoco Cadiz splits in two! after running aground on the Portsall Rocks off Brittany resulting in the 5th-largest oil spill, so far! Mic Porter

7. Ins… 1750 – Caroline Herschel, German-born astronomer (Sister of William) whose limited stature 1295mm (4ft 3in) led people to believe she was destined for domestic service not a career in astronomy – especially in the field of comets. (d. 1848) 1751 – West Virginian and slave owning James Madison, 4th President of the United States.(d. 1836) 1774 – Captain Matthew Flinders, English explorer and cartographer who, at one time sailed with Bligh (of munity fame/infamy) (d. 1814) Mic Porter

8. Ins… 1789 – Georg Simon Ohm, German physicist (Ohms law – electrical and the “not quite true” acoustic law concerning human perception of sound) (d. 1854) 1839 – John Butler Yeats, Irish artist and father of William Butler Yeats. Excellent collection in the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin. (d. 1922). 1846 – Jurgis Bielinis, Lithuanian book-smuggler and distributor. Today is a national day in his memory (Lithuania – certainly not Russia !) (d. 1918) Mic Porter

9. Ins… 1916 – Tsutomu Yamaguchi, Businessman, and Survivor of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki Atomic Bombings. He worked in Nagasaki but “caught” the first bombing (6/8/45) during a business trip to Hiroshima. He then returned to Nagasaki in time for that “event” (9/8/45). (?)160 were in both bombing but apparently only TY survived. (d.2010) 1936 – Raymond Vahan Damadian, Armenian/ American medical physicist who invented the first MRI scanner. (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) 1954 – Benton born Jimmy Nail, actor, writer, musician and fanical Newcastle United supporter. 1960 – Jenny Eclair, comic, novelist & actress. Mic Porter

10. Outs… 37 – Tiberius Claudius Nero Caesar, Roman Emperor (b. 46 BC) 1037 – Robert I, Archbishop of Rouen. Not the Cathedral but the Memorial Church (1979, Architect Louis Arretche) in the “old market square” on the site of Joan of Arc’s martyrdom. (b.??) Mic Porter

11. Outs… 1559 – Anthony St. Leger, Lord Deputy of Ireland (b. 1496) 1898 – Aubrey Beardsley, British artist (b. 1872) 1912 – Lawrence Oates, a member of Robert Falcon Scott's South Pole expedition, who left the tent, saying: "I am just going outside and may be some time.“ His body is still to be found. 1926 – Sergeant Stubby, most decorated and only promoted WW I dog (American). • 1935 – John James Rickard Macleod, Scottish-born physician, physiologist, co-discover of insulin Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1876) Mic Porter

12. Outs… 1940 – James Isbister the first person killed in a German WW II bombing raid on the UK, Scapa Flow (Orkney Islands). (b. 1913) The “phoney war” continues until 10th May when German troops march into Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Chamberlain resigns. Operation Dynamo (the Dunkirk evacuation of 1/3 M troops sans equipment and ammunition, 30 - 40,000 French are left (the reverse of the original naval estimate) comes less than 3 weeks later (26/5 - 3/6), Paris is occupied on the 14th and on July 10th The Battle for/of Britain starts. But why did Hitler order the Panzers to halt as they approached Dunkirk? Mic Porter

13. Outs… 1971 – Thomas E. Dewey, New York Governor and twice Republican American presidential candidate (1944 & 1948). (b. 1902) 1984 – John Hoagland, American photographer/ photo-journalist who was shot while photographing Salvadorian soldiers. War journalism is a perilous profession but photographers must be very close to the action; their death rate is several times that of the solders and then there are the questions of access, censorship and sites that are just too unpleasant to be shown freely. (b. 1947) Mic Porter

14. Outs… 1992 – Yves Rocard, French (atomic bomb) physicist (b. 1903) 1998 – Derek Harold Richard Barton, British organic chemist who also worked in the US, who in 1969 shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Odd Hassel for "contributions to the development of the concept of conformation and its application in chemistry”. (b. 1918) 2000 – Thomas Ferebee, Hiroshima bombardier aboard the B-29 Super-fortress, Enola Gay, that dropped "Little Boy“. (b. 1918) Mic Porter

15. Outs… 2003 – Ronald Ferguson, polio playing father of Sarah, Duchess of York (b. 1931) 2008 – Ola Brunkert, Swedish session drummer often playing for ABBA (b. 1946) Mic Porter

16. Rosie the Riveter Sheet music cover, original use, artist unknown (‘42) Westinghouse poster, not RtR ,J Howard Miller ‘43) Rosie the Riveter, Cover, “Saturday evening Post”, Norman Rockwell . Mic Porter