1724 The highwayman Joseph Blake, alias Blueskin, was hanged in London. He had attracted attention for attacking the nation's leading policeman and 'Thief Taker' Jonathan Wild with a pocket knife. The policeman was also a successful gang leader and became the most infamous criminal in Britain during the 18th century. The attack by Blake left Wild incapacitated for weeks, and his grip over his criminal empire started to slip during his recuperation. Like Blake, he too was later hanged for his crimes.
On 11th November 1282, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd sent his final letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury, John Peckham, who had been sent by Edward I of England to negotiate a settlement. In the letter, Llywelyn refused Edward's offer of lands in England to give up his rule in Gwynedd. Llywelyn stated that he would not abandon the Welsh people who would be defenceless against the harshness of Edward’s rule.
On 11th November 1294, Madog ap Llywelyn defeated the forces of the earl of Lincoln in a pitched battle near Denbigh during the Welsh uprising of 1294-95 against English rule. After the death of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd in 1282, Edward I hoped that Wales would be pacified. He had introduced the English shire system and English laws in The Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284 and poured an enormous amount of money and effort into both the rebuilding of damaged castles and the construction of new ones. The Welsh, however, resented English rule and rebelled unsuccessfully in 1287 and 1288. Welsh resentment formented in 1294 when the demand for an unpopular tax was coupled with the conscription of Welsh troops for Edward's campaign in Gascony.
1620 Mayflower Compact is signed by Pilgrims at Cape Cod, establishing the first framework of government in the territory that is now the USA.
1880 Australian bushranger, gang leader and outlaw legend Ned Kelly is hanged at Melbourne Gaol.
Able Seaman Richard Morgan died on Armistice Day, 11th November 1918 while serving on the destroyer HMS Garland. He was 26 years old and was probably the last British Serviceman to die in the First World War. He is buried in the village of Defauden in Monmouthshire and is one of 40,000 Welsh servicemen to be killed during the conflict.
1953 The BBC television programme Panorama was first broadcast.
11 Nov 1957 20-year-old Welsh singer Shirley Bassey was held hostage at gunpoint in her fifth-floor suite at the Cumberland Hotel near Marble Arch in London. The gunman was identified as 19-year-old Terence C. Davis, an obsessed fan who forced his way into the room while Bassey was reviewing costumes for an upcoming Australian tour. Davis locked and barricaded the door, holding Bassey and others at gun point for roughly four hours while expressing obsessive declarations of love for the singer. Armed police surrounded the hotel floor, eventually overpowering Davis and snatching the weapon from his hand to end the siege safely.
On 11th November 1978, Graham Mourie's New Zealand side beat Wales 13-12 at Cardiff Arms Park following a controversial last-minute penalty kicked by Brian McKechnie.
Wales were leading by two points with seconds left to play when New Zealand's Andy Haden threw himself out of the line out in a bid to gain a penalty. The Kiwi captain later admitted to overhearing Haden and Oliver discussing it in the dressing room before the match and stayed silent on the matter for years.
11 Nov 1986 Pink Floyd issued a press statement stating that they intend to continue using the name without Roger Waters and were recording their next album. Waters left Pink Floyd in December 1985 after a period of intense creative control disputes and personal friction with David Gilmour and Nick Mason. The legal dispute was settled out of court in 1987, allowing Gilmour and Mason to continue performing and recording as Pink Floyd while Waters retained rights to specific conceptual works like The Wall.
The first time I heard her sing was watching her on PBS as a child. My father loved her voice, and when they introduced her, I remember saying, “Pop, she looks like one of us !” My father smiled and replied, “She technically is.” It was still a special thing to see, back then.
Roger Waters, now 83, is still working as a musician, and has even composed an opera, but his arguments with David Gilmour and Nick Mason have never really been settled.
Sadly, he seems now more widely known for very strong political views that emerge in interviews and in very inflammatory public statements, even worked into concerts.
He doesn't seem the settled type domestically. either. His present wife is his fifth.
