In 1944, British troops stationed in France for D-Day were desperate for beer. So the RAF hatched a plan for flying pubs. Spitfires were loaded up with ale and flown to Normandy. Listen to the story of the beer bombs in our beer history podcast: tinyurl.com/47yrta2v #history #beer #WW2

#OTD 1786 Margaret Nicholson approached the king with a petition. She made two lunges at his chest with a dessert knife before she was brought under control. Hear her story in our podcast: Bedlam – History of a Madhouse at: tinyurl.com/2whtb2xh #history #bedlam #mentaldisorder #podcast #mad

Born #OTD 1817 artist Richard Dadd. He suffered delusions, leading him to commit a brutal crime. Confined to Bedlam, he painted the The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke, a work that inspired a Queen song. Hear his story in Bedlam – History of a Madhouse at: tinyurl.com/2whtb2xh #history #art

Died #OTD 1994, Dorothy Hodgkin was a Nobel–winning scientist who revealed the structures of penicillin, insulin, and vitamin B12. Her work transformed modern medicine, yet her name remains little known. Hear her story in our Women and Science podcast: tinyurl.com/4fh5tpe8 #history #STEM #science

England’s first one pound coin was worth both more and less than £1, was stamped with an elephant, made Samuel Pepys furious and was a problem solved by Issac Newton. All in our History of Money Podcast: tinyurl.com/yc7hpckb #history #coins #money #pepys #gold #sterling

St Giles was a London Rookery. A slum where during the 1730s one building in four was a gin shop, and its people lay “promiscuously drunk” in flop houses. Listen to the story in our Gin Craze Podcast: tinyurl.com/yfzrpzzu #history #london #slum #gin #drunk

Died #OTD 1958. Rosalind Franklin’s work creating Photograph 51 was fundamental to the understanding of the DNA double helix - the key to life. Her pioneering #science was not properly acknowledged in her lifetime. Hear her story in our Women and Science podcast: tinyurl.com/mms5su69 #history

Dr James Barry died #OTD 1865 and was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery. One of the most important surgeons in the British army, on his death Barry’s great secret was revealed. Hear the story in our Women and War Podcast: tinyurl.com/yu4yedh6 #britishhistory #kensalgreencemetery #womenandwar

Artist and model Elizabeth Siddal was buried in Highgate Cemetery. Her husband, painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti, placed an original poetry manuscript in his wife’s coffin. What happened when he wanted it back? Find out in our Death and Burial podcast: tinyurl.com/4d293tjn #history #burial #death

In the 1700s England was in the grip of a gin epidemic. With Londoners drinking pints of the sprit every day, the city was out of control - leading to death, crime and riots. Hear the story in our Gin Craze Podcast: tinyurl.com/yfzrpzzu #history #gin #london #hogarth #epidemic #alcahol

Who gave us the word dawn? What are the origins of day, month and calendar? And when is ereyesterday and overmorrow? Find out in our History of Timekeeping Podcast: tinyurl.com/yahhpzbm #history #timekeeping #shakespeare #clocks #calendar

#OTD in 1535 Thomas More - chancellor and advisor to Henry VIII - was taken to Tower Hill, where he was beheaded. What happened to his head following the execution is a strange tale. Hear the story in our Talking Heads podcast: tinyurl.com/hw5zwfdm #history #tudors #execution

In July 1888, thousands of women working in an east London factory walked out. Girls as young as six protested against breadline wages, industrial cancers and bullying. Hear the story of the Matchgirls’ Strike in our Women and Protest podcast: tinyurl.com/mr3d49uz #history #protest #london

#OTD 1613 The Globe Theatre burned down when a theatrical cannon misfired during a show. Thousands of people ran for the exit and one man’s trousers caught fire. Hear the story in our #Shakespeare in London podcast: tinyurl.com/5e3dfydd #history #theatre #tudor #actor

Born #OTD 1491, Henry VIII had suits of armour with giant codpieces, hoping this would help him sire a male child. There are strange fertility legends associated with the royal codpiece. Hear the #history of the codpiece in our Men's Fashion Podcast: tinyurl.com/mrhnfmtc #tudors #fashion

William Terris was the hero of the Adelphi Theatre melodramas. But behind the curtain, a bit-part actor nursed a deadly grudge. What followed was a trial — and a ghost story that still haunts the Adelphi. Hear the story in our Murder at the Theatre podcast: tinyurl.com/56nnmbfp #theatre #actor

Some people believe this London cemetery tomb is a time machine. The memorial has no name inscribed on it - and the key has vanished. Hear this strange story in our Death and Burial podcast: tinyurl.com/4d293tjn #history #cemetery #timetravel #mystery #graveyard

Today people are gathering to celebrate summer #solstice at Stonehenge. But why was it built? How were the giant stones transported 180 miles from Wales? What is inside is hundreds of burial mounds. Find out in our Stonehenge Podcast: tinyurl.com/44ddu6ww #history #stonehenge #druids

Born #OTD 1566. King James I was obsessed with #witchcraft. He interrogated women accused of sorcery and blamed the death of his mother on curses. He even published a book about dark magic. We tell the story in our Women & Witchcraft Podcast: tinyurl.com/3st7u6j4 #witch #magic #witches

John Snow died #OTD in 1858. When cholera broke out in Soho, Snow proved that it was the local street pump that was infecting people. His work lead to thousands of lives being saved. Hear the story in our History of Medicine Podcast: tinyurl.com/3e8bj827 #history #medicine #london

Is this the oldest pub in London? Why is it famous for Dutch Courage? Why does the pub cat wear a special collar? Find out in our London Pubs Podcast: tinyurl.com/y34k8jxd #beer #pubs #history #london #britishhistory

One of the first public toilets in Britain was in York. The Bog on the Bridge was kept clean by Agnes the poor widow. Hear the story in our History of Sewage Podcast at: tinyurl.com/2ys6jpf3 #history #sewerage #toilets #publichealth #york

Ben Jonson, born #OTD 1572. The writer and actor was Shakespeare’s great friend and rival. Hear his story in our Shakespeare in London podcast: tinyurl.com/wmzsxwk2 #history #literature #tudor #elizabethan #shakespeare

London. 1810s. A ruthless gang of graverobbers terrorised the city. One of the gang writes a diary detailing the stories of the bodies the sold to the surgeons. We bring the true story to life in our podcast: The Diary of a Graverobber. Listen here: tinyurl.com/rhswu35f #history #burial

Died #OTD 1870 Charles Dickens. Age 12 he was sent to work in a rat-infested riverside factory - and it seemed his future was ruined. Hear his life story in our dramatized podcast: Dickens - How One Writer Changed Britain: tiny.cc/t769001 #history #dickens #victorians #englishliterature

OTD# 1797 haberdasher John Hetherington supposedly caused a riot when: “he appeared on the public highway wearing upon his head what he called a silk hat”. The shock of the new, or PR stunt? Hear the story in our Men’s Fashion Podcast: tinyurl.com/52bzy29p #history #fahion #menswear #hats

For the ancient Egyptians cats were sacred. Some were mummified and placed in tombs. One of these mummies is in the British Museum. Hear the legends and stories of felines from Egypt to England in a podcast dedicated to the story of #cats: tinyurl.com/3cmky79u #history #caturday #cat

Newgate Jail was the darkest most miserable dungeon in London. In 1605 a merchant paid St Sepulchre's Church to buy a handbell. The day before an execution the parish clerk rang the it outside the condemned man's cell. Hear the story in our Newgate Jail podcast: tinyurl.com/ycyp92cs #history

Sagacious Pigs were an 18th century sensation. Performing at taverns, side shows and fairs, they would do arithmetic, spell out names and read minds. Hear the story in our Strange Animal Stories Podcast: tinyurl.com/2mcp4ww5 #history #animals #pigs #britishhistory #podcast

Died #OTD 1783. Charles Byrne came to London and at nearly 8ft tall made money exhibiting his extreme size. But as his health failed, celebrity anatomist John Hunter determined to get hold of his body. Hear the story in our History of Medicine Podcast: tinyurl.com/3e8bj827 #history #london