The magnifying glass was invented by the Franciscan friar and scholar Roger Bacon (UK) (c. 1214-1292) in Oxford, UK. The first mention of its use was in 1268. He adapted its use as primitive spectacles, allowing scholars with failing eyesight to continue their work.

The Royal Mail issued a series of five interactive stamps on 15 March 2005, commemorating the centenary of the Magic Circle (UK), one of the oldest and most prestigious society of magicians in the world and the first to be recognized on a national stamp. The issue features another first – a “scratch and reveal” 1st Class stamp. Rubbing it with a coin it could reveal either a ‘heads´ or ‘tails´ image.

The first ever non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean was made by John William Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown (both UK). They took off in a Vickers Vimy biplane from St John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, on 14 June 1919, and landed near Clifden, Ireland, some 16 hr 12 min later. Both were knighted for their achievement. NB: not to be confused with Charles Lindbergh’s flight in 1927, which was the first ever solo flight across the Atlantic.

The first person to observe, measure and record the transit of the planet Venus across the Sun was Jeremiah Horrocks (UK) who monitored the event on 24 November 1639 from Lancashire, UK. The transit of 8 June 2004 was witnessed by millions of people worldwide Horrocks, along with his friend William Crabtree (also UK), were probably the only two people in the world who witnessed this event. Transits of Venus across the face of the Sun are extremely rare due to the geometry of the Continue reading →

Joe Davis (UK) was the first snooker player to achieve an officially ratified maximum break in snooker, a feat that requires a player to pot all the balls on the table in a single turn and in a specified order – all 15 reds (15 points), each followed by the black (105 points), and then all six colours (27 points). The 14-times world champion achieved the maximum 147 points in an exhibition match against Willie Smith at Leicester Square Hall in London on 22 January Continue reading →

The 1908 Games had originally been awarded to Rome, but when it became clear that the Italian capital would not be capable of hosting the competition due to the recent eruption of Mount Vesuvius, the venue was hastily switched to London. On 27 April 1908, the Games opened with the first ever Parade of Nations, which saw the athletes of each nation enter the Olympic Stadium together behind their national flags

The first time that Women’s Boxing has been in included in the Summer Olympic Games programme is at the 2012 Games held in London, UK. Female athletes will compete at three weights, Flyweight (48-51kg), Lightweight (56-60kg) and Middleweight (69-75kg).

The first use of starting blocks for Summer Olympic track events was in 1948 in London. Previously, athletes dug holes in the track in order to gain footholds prior to starting sprint events.

The first person killed by an automobile was Bridget Driscoll (UK), who received fatal injuries when she walked into the path of a car moving at 4 mph (6.4 km/h), as it was giving demonstration rides in the grounds of Crystal Palace, London, UK on 17 August 1896. Bridget Driscoll was about 44 years old, and the car belonged to the Anglo-French Motor Car Company.   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridget_Driscoll http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Bridget-Driscoll

On 6 May 1954, the English athlete Roger Bannister became the first man ever to achieve a sub-four-minute mile. Running in front of a 3,000-strong crowd at Oxford University’s Iffley Road track, the 25-year-old recorded a time of 3 min 59.4 sec, achieving what was then believed by many to be an impossible feat.