November 4

It was the day in 1605 when a guy named Guy (Fawkes), a Roman Catholic convert and conspirator in the Gunpowder Plot, was arrested in the cellar of the Houses of Parliament. Why do we have bonfires on November 5th then? In 1862 Richard Gatling patented the rapid-fire, or machine, gun, and in 1914 the first fashion show was organized by Edna Woodman Chase of Vogue magazine, and held at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, New York. I think that means it was the first fashion show, rather than just the first one organised by Edna Woodman Chase, but you can never tell with these reference books. Howard Carter discovered the tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamen in 1922. Lord Carnarvon died fairly soon afterwards, but not because he was cursed. Ronald Reagan was elected 40th US president in 1980, without any arguments about chads, or chavs, or whatever they were.

William III was born in 1650, and Augustus Montague Toplady in 1740. Lovely name. Will Rogers was born in 1879, and Art Carney, whoever he was, in 1918. I’ve heard of most of the others. Not Augustus Montague Toplady, of course. Lovely name.

Mendelssohn died in 1847, Joseph Rowntree, philanthropist and cocoa manufacturer, in 1859 and Wilfred Owen in 1918.

Editor

This site is maintained by villagers of Oxhill for the benefit of the community and those interested in the history, news and activities that make the village such a pleasant place to live.

Send mail to the editor of the Oxhill News at news-editor @ oxhill.org.uk.

Last modified: November 06, 2006