On this day 1496, John Cabot received the letter of authority from Henry VII to make a voyage of discovery to North America. It has been suggested that the name, 'America' was derived from the name of Richard ap Meryk, anglicised to Richard Amerike, a wealthy Bristol merchant of Welsh descent who was the principal owner of the 'Matthew', the ship sailed by John Cabot the Italian navigator during his voyage of exploration to North America in 1497.However, the more widely held view is that America is the named after the Italian explorer, Amerigo Vespucci.
On March 5, 1814, one of the strangest disasters in British history occurred. A massive vat of beer ruptured at the Meux Brewery in London, unleashing a flood of over 320,000 gallons of beer into the surrounding area. The flood destroyed homes, caused extensive damage, and tragically led to the deaths of eight people.
The Britannia Bridge connecting Ynys Mon (Anglesey) with the rest of Wales was opened on 5th March 1850. The tubular wrought iron box section bridge was designed and built by Robert Stephenson for carrying rail traffic but was rebuilt as a steel truss arch bridge to carry both road and rail traffic following a fire in 1970.
1857James Townsend Saward, alias ‘Jim the Penman’, the most notorious forger of his age, was convicted of forging cheques. Saward was a respected solicitor with chambers in the Temple. He and his accomplices were sentenced to transportation to Australia.
1900The British Government was offered peace proposals to end the Boer War, but rejected them.
1971 Led Zeppelin begins their "Thank You" tour of small clubs that supported them when they started out, charging the same prices they charged in 1968.
2007: Records by the Rolling Stones and Paul Simon are amongst those chosen for preservation by the US Library of Congress. The Stones' song "Satisfaction" and Paul Simon's Graceland album are entered in the National Recordings Registry, which preserves historic works for future generations.
