June 20th in History
TheSirfurryanimalWales · 61-69, M
June 20th
1567
The Casket Letters—which directly implicated Mary, Queen of Scots, in a plot with James Hepburn, 4th earl of Bothwell, to murder Mary’s husband, Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley—were said to have been discovered.
The Kidwelly and Llanelli Canal and Tramroad Company came into being on 20th June 1812.
Thomas Kymer, who had started mining coal in the Gwendraeth valley in 1760, was granted approval by Act of Parliament in 1766, to construct a canal and tramroad from his coal mine at Pwll y Llygod to a dock that he built at Ythyn Frenig, close to Cidweli (Kidwelly). The Act also allowed him to divert the course of the Gwendraeth Fawr River to avoid the Kidwelly to Llanelli turnpike road that crossed the river at Pont Spwdwr.
However navigation into the dock became dangerously affected by silting and it was decided to extend the canal to Llanelli via Pembrey, with the creation of the Kidwelly and Llanelli Canal and Tramroad Company by Act of Parliament on 20th June 1812.
There are two notable features on Kymer's canal, a stone tramroad bridge over the Gwendraeth River, and the low arched Glastony aqueduct
1837 Queen Victoria at 18 ascends British throne following death of uncle King William IV. She rules for 63 years till 1901.
1840 American inventor Samuel Morse receives a patent for his telegraph.
On this day in 1893, one of the most sensational murder trials in American history came to a shocking conclusion when a Massachusetts jury acquitted Lizzie Borden of murder—after just over an hour of deliberation.
The 32-year-old was accused of killing her 70-year-old father and 64-year-old stepmother, Andrew and Abby Borden, in the home they shared. While the trial was full of gruesome details, the prosecution was unable to provide concrete evidence of Lizzie Borden’s guilt, and the murders remain officially unsolved.
1949 Tennis star Gussie Moran shocks Wimbledon by wearing a short dress "to look good and move more freely on the court".
1963 – Moscow-Washington Hotline Established
Following the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Soviet Union and United States signed a crucial agreement establishing the “red telephone” link between their capitals. This direct communication channel aimed to prevent nuclear miscalculation during future international crises.
1966 Pilot Sheila Scott, 43, completes the first solo round-the-world flight by a British woman, returning to London Heathrow Airport in her Piper Comanche after a 34-day journey.
1966: The public outcry over the cover of The Beatles American album Yesterday and Today LP causes Capitol records to recall 750,000 copies from distributors. The 'butchers' cover depicts the group dressed in white smocks covered with decapitated baby dolls and pieces of meat.
1969: David Bowie records 'Space Oddity' at Trident Studios London. The song, about the mission of fictional astronaut Major Tom, is destined to appear on his second album David Bowie. Taking part in the session is 20 year old in-house player Rick Wakeman on mellotron.
61-69, M
