19 APRIL St Expediyus Day Patron Saint of urgent cases 1637: Amye Everard became the first English woman to be granted a patent for her tincture of saffron and essence of roses. 1775: The American Civil War began when General Gage fired into a crowd at Lexington, Massachusetts. 1813: The foundation stone was laid at St George's (cast iron church) Everton. 1839: The Treaty of London is signed, making Belgium and Holland separate countries. 1872: Large Fire at Cammell Laird's Shipyard 1882: Naturalist Charles Darwin dies near London, England, at age 73. 1883: At a meeting in Liverpool to establish a home for dogs, the proposer, T F Agnew, suggested it should perhaps be turned into a home for children. He had seen the work of the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to children. The evening of this day, the Liverpool Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children was formed. Later, it would become the National Society (NSPCC). 1905: Birth of James Allan ‘Jim’ Mollison, Scottish aviator who flew from Australia to England in 1931 in eight days, 19 hours and 28 minutes. He married aviator Amy Johnson, and together they made the first east-west crossing of the North Atlantic and several other pioneering flights. 1917: The US Mongolia fired the first shots to enter the First World War when she sank a German submarine. 1947: When a fire on board a French ship loaded with high explosives in Texas City harbour ignited a chemical plant by the dockside, it set off massive explosions at the neighbouring oil refinery, killing 714 people. 1951: Eric Morley, Publicity Officer with Mecca Ltd, devised the first Miss World beauty contest to coincide with the Festival of Britain. Of the 30 contestants, only five came from overseas, but that produced the winner, Kiki Haakonson, a Stockholm policeman’s daughter. 1956: Prince Rainier of Monaco married his dream princess, film star Grace Kelly. 1959: The Dalai Lama, fleeing from Tibet and the Chinese invasion, was offered sanctuary in India. 1971: The USSR launched the Salyut space station. 1988: China radio began broadcasting western pop music for the first time, ranging from Glenn Miller to Madonna. ‘Roll Over Beethoven’ was banned as being disrespectful to the composer. --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.350 / Virus Database: 196 - Release Date: 17/04/02