
You don't have Javascript enabled. To view this site requires Javascript to be enabled.
If you can't access speech audio, click here to get Real Player
1933: Loch Ness Monster sighted
Although accounts of an aquatic beast living in Scotland's Loch Ness date back 1,500 years, the modern legend of the Loch Ness Monster is born when a sighting makes local news on May 2, 1933. Several London newspapers sent correspondents to Scotland, and a circus offered a £20,000 reward for capture of the beast. A famous 1934 photograph showed a dinosaur-like creature with a long neck emerging out of the murky waters, leading some to speculate that Nessie was a solitary survivor of the long-extinct plesiosaurs. Since then, a succession of investigators have employed devices from sonar to underwater video trying to find definitive proof of the Loch Ness Monster's existence. Revelations in 1994 that the famous 1934 photo was a hoax hardly dampened the enthusiasm of tourists to Loch Ness.

1989
China imposes Martial Law as the government takes a firm stand against pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square.1982
The Argentine cruiser General Belgrano is sunk by the British submarine HMS Conqueror in the South Atlantic following the Argentinean invasion of the Falkland Islands.1969
Britain's latest cruise liner, the Queen Elizabeth II (QE2), the last of the Cunard liners built for transatlantic service, sails on her maiden voyage from Southampton.1968
In Spain, General Franco orders the closing of the frontier between Spain and Gibraltar.1965
Britain's Early Bird satellite begins transmitting TV programmes to more than 300 million viewers. The first programme: 'Out Of This World'.1953
King Hussein becomes King of Jordan.1953
Football legend Sir Stanley Matthews, at the age of 38, wins an FA Cup winners' medal as Blackpool come back from trailing 3-1 to beat Bolton 4-3. In recognition of the impact he had on the match, it has become known as the 'Matthews Final'.1952
First jet passenger service begins between London and Johannesburg in South Africa.1942
World War II: HMS Edinburgh is sunk in the Barents Sea off the Norwegian coast. Its cargo of gold bars lay in 800 feet of water until salvaged in 1981.1611
First publication of the new Authorised King James Version of the Bible.1536
In England, Queen Anne Boleyn, wife of Henry VIII of England, is imprisoned in the Tower of London.1944
Internationally acclaimed Led Zepplin guitar player Jimmy Page.
1944
Internationally acclaimed Led Zepplin guitar player Jimmy Page.
1941
American singer songwriter, political activist and sometime companion of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez.1909
American politician Barry Goldwater.1908
French feminist writer and life partner of Jean-Paul Satre, Simone de Beauvoir.





