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13th August

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1961: Berlin Wall goes up


Communist authorities seal off all roads between East and West Berlin, erecting a barrier of barbed wire and cinder blocks. The division of post-war Germany into four occupation zones left Berlin within the Soviet zone, and internally divided into East and West Berlin. For East Germans unhappy with life under communism, West Berlin became a gateway to the democratic West. By August 1961, approximately 2,000 East German refugees were streaming into the West every day, leading communist authorities to halt access to West Berlin. A high wall of concrete replaced barbed wire and cinder blocks, and East German border guards were ordered to shoot anyone crossing the wall. For the next 28 years, the Berlin Wall stood as the most tangible symbol of the Cold War--an iron curtain dividing Europe. Berlin remained divided until 1989, when East Germany opened its borders and the Berlin Wall was torn down.

1997

Following worldwide press speculation, Diana, Princess of Wales issues a statement insisting she had no plans to marry Dodi Al Fayed.

1991

Britain introduces the Dangerous Dog Act in which aggressive dogs must be muzzled and held on a leash in public.

1977

In London, at least 350 people are injured during a National Front rally in Lewisham.

1964

Britain carries out its last executions before the abolition of capital punishment - Peter Allen is hanged at Walton Prison, Liverpool, and John Walby at Strangeways Prison, Manchester - both convicted murderers.

1961

East German border guards stop vehicles passing between east and west Berlin via the Brandenburg Gate. Barbed wire is strewn across the road - to be replaced later by the Berlin Wall.

1941

World War II: German spy Josef Jakobs is the last person to be executed at the Tower of London.

1923

Kemal Attaturk is elected the first president of Turkey.

1915

In Britain, the 'Brides In The Bath' murderer George Joseph Smith - who drowned his brides in a zinc bath after ensuring their finances were in his favour is hanged on Friday the 13th.

1889

The coin-operated telephone is patented in the United States by William Gray of Hartford, Connecticut.

1814

Cape of Good Hope becomes a British colony - sold to Britain by the Dutch for £6 million.

1792

French revolutionairies imprison the French Royal Family including the wife of King Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette.

1704

English commander, the Duke of Marlborough, wins the Battle of Blenheim in Germany, in which Anglo-Austrian forces under Marlborough and Prince Eugene defeat a combined French and Bavarian army.

1930

English comedian Bernard Manning.

1926

Cuban President Fidel Castro.

1913

Cypriot religious leader Archbishop Makarios III.

1907

British architect Sir Basil Spence.

1899

American film director Alfred Hitchcock.

1888

Scottish inventor and television pioneer John Logie Baird.

1860

American pioneer Annie Oakley, markswoman for Buffalo Bill's 'Wild Wild West Show'

1977

English writer Henry Williamson.

1946

English writer and novelist H.G Wells, aged 80.

1910

British nurse Florence Nightingale aged 90.