In 1990 The last piece of rock separating England and France was broken through in construction of the Channel Tunnel.
In 1955 Rosa Parks defied state law and refused to give up her seat on the bus
On the 1st of December 1955 Mrs Parks was on a bus situated in the section for African Americans when the driver noticed that white passengers were standing. As the seats reserved for white passengers were full the bus driver, James Blake, moved the sign marking the “colored” section backwards and ordered the four African-Americans sitting in the seats to move. Mrs Parks refused to give up her seat and was subsequently arrested.
Mrs Parks’ court case took place on the 5th of December 1955 and Civil rights leader Martin Luther King arranged for a bus boycott in Alabama that would last from the day of the trial until the 20th of December 1956. Mrs Parks lost her case and was fined $10 (£6) for disorderly conduct and violating a local ordinance. Mrs Parks challenged the verdict and her case was used as a test case against segregation. Martin Luther King was also convicted of starting an illegal bus boycott in Alabama on the 22nd of March 1956. He was fined $500 (£178) and ordered to pay court costs of the same value. Kings lawyer gave notice of their intention to appeal and the sentenced was changed from a fine to a 386 day prison sentence which would be suspended until the appeal hearing. The boycott lasted 382 days, ending in December 1956 after the bus companies were forced by a US Supreme court ruling made on the 13th of November 1956 that made racial segregation on transport illegal.
In 1942 The Beverage Report (named after Sir William Beverage) was released, proposing the welfare state that would ensure care for all ‘from cradle to grave’.
In 1821 the Dominican Republic (then known as Santo Domingo after their patron saint Dominic. Santo Domingo is still the name of their capital city) gained independence from Spain.
In 1135 King Henry I of England died
