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

John Fielding was a blind magistrate during the 1700s. Recognising criminals by their voices, he brought thousands of them to justice - becoming the scourge of Georgian London’s thieves. Hear about the “Blind Beak” in this podcast: tinyurl.com/4h4nsaxn #police #crime #history #georgianbritain

Murdered #OTD 1593, Christopher Marlowe was a star writer of Elizabethan Theatre. Protected by Elizabeth I's chief minister William Cecil. Did Cecil lose his patience with the troublesome poet? Hear the story in our #Marlowe Podcast: tinyurl.com/ycb9d5x8 #history #tudors #theatre #gay #lgbtq

Anarchy in the UK. Louise Michel born #OTD 1830. The French anarchist fled to London in the 1890s, where she opened a radical school. Staked out by police, who discovered bombs in the basement. Hear the story in our Women and Protest: tinyurl.com/mr3d49uz #history #anarchist #protest

Margery Kempe was the most passionate and eccentric pilgrim in #Medieval Europe. Weeping incessantly while travelling to Rome and Jerusalem. Her jouneys recorded in the earliest autobiography in English. Hear her story in our Women and Writing podcast: tinyurl.com/jrcjkwwc #history #christianity

Jonathan Wild died #OTD 1725. London’s C18th crime king controlled gangs of crooks, laundered stolen goods and turned thieves over for rewards. Would the authorities catch up with him? Hear the story in our Newgate Jail Podcast: tinyurl.com/e9mevfez #history #londonhistory #crime

Charles Dickens was 12 when he was sent to work in a rat-infested riverside factory where he met child workers who became characters in his books. Listen to this story in our podcast: Dickens - How One Writer Changed Britain: tinyurl.com/2kfua6pe #history #dickens #victorian #london

Before affordable alarm clocks, working people relied on knocker-uppers. Armed with long poles or pea-shooters they tapped on windows at dawn to make sure factory workers got to their shifts on time. Hear their stories in our History of Timekeeping podcast: tinyurl.com/yahhpzbm #history #clocks

Born #OTD 1689 bluestocking Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. In Constantinople she saw women inoculating their children against smallpox. In England doctors stopped her from promoting this lifesaving treatment Hear the story in our History of Medicine Podcast: tinyurl.com/tu93s9rv #history #women

Margaret Catchpole died #OTD 1819. When this rural house servant stole a horse to ride to meet her lover in London, she was deported. In Australia she recorded the life of the aboriginals and early settlers. Hear her story in this podcast: tinyurl.com/4hducnyh #history #australia

Some say that the Viaduct Tavern is built on top of the old Newgate Prison. And that it is infested by the ghosts of the condemned. And what about the bullet holes in the ceiling? Hear these stories in our London Pubs Podcast: tinyurl.com/y34k8jxd #history #pub #london #tavern

The Blitz ended #OTD 1941. 18,291 tons of bombs fell on London, 21,500 people were killed and over a million homes destroyed. Hear the story in our London Blitz Podcast: tinyurl.com/mrx4huz4 #history #blitz #WW2 #londonblitz

Hodge the cat lived with Samuel Johnson while he wrote the great English dictionary. Listen to the story of Dr Johnson and his “very fine cat” in our History of Cats podcast: tinyurl.com/3nbvs34b #caturday #cats #history #dictionary #drjohnson #fleetstreet

In 1820 a group of radicals gathered. Planning to behead the government, then parade their heads across the city to start a revolution. Could London’s first professional police force stop them? Hear the story in our Bow Street Runners Podcast: tinyurl.com/4h4nsaxn #treason #police #history

#OTD three years ago Charles III was crowned at Westminster Abbey. Find out about the stone in the throne, the altar floor that predicts the end of the world and the (very) big diamond in the gold sceptre in our podcast about Westminster coronations here: tinyurl.com/ke5r2ftp #history #royalty

During the 1700s London was a lawless capital plagued by theft, violence and corruption. Until Magistrate Henry Fielding created Britain’s first police force. Hear the dramatic story of how the Bow Street Runners fought the city’s criminals in this podcast: tinyurl.com/4h4nsaxn #history #police

Born #OTD in 1634, Katherine Ferrers was known as the Wicked Lady. At dusk she donned her ‘highwayman’s clothes’ and rode out into the night. Her ghost is said to haunt Nomansland Common. Hear the story in our Women and Crime Podcast: tinyurl.com/4hducnyh #history #highwaywoman #crime

The Red Lion pub on Whitehall is the politicians’ local. Visited by every Prime Minster until the 1970s, Tony Blair phoned the pub to try and stop a press leak. Hear the story in our London Pubs podcast: tinyurl.com/nhjf7sdj #history #beer #pubs #lodon #redlion

In 1326 Richard the Raker was a going about his job. As a gong farmer - paid to clean out sewage pits. When the cesspit collapsed, Richard fell into a pool of crap. Hear his story in our History of Sewerage Podcast: tinyurl.com/2ys6jpf3 #history #sewage #publichealth #muck

James Matthews was arrested in parliament. Incarcerated in Bedlam, he claimed he was a secret agent followed by invisible spies - the first original description of paranoid #schizophrenia. Hear the story in our podcast: Bedlam – Story of a Madhouse: tinyurl.com/2whtb2xh #history #mentalhealth

King Haakon IV of Norway sent English King Henry III a white bear. It was taken to live in the Tower of London. Hear about the Pale Bear in our Strange Animal Stories Podcast: tinyurl.com/2mcp4ww5 #history #animals #bear #toweroflondon #bears

Mary Read buried #OTD 1721. Born in England, she began dressing as a boy and joined a pirate crew. Arrested in 1720, she was condemned to death. One of the few women convicted of piracy, hear her story in our Women and Crime Podcast: tinyurl.com/bde5bt3f #history #pirate #piracy

All British postboxes used to be green. This led to confusion and chaos. Find out how and why they were all painted red in our History of the Post Podcast. Listen at: tinyurl.com/2s3cjbrt #history #post #letters #britishhistory

Oliver Cromwell was born #OTD 1599. Three years after he died, his body was exhumed and decapitated, then Cromwell’s head then went on a strange journey. Hear the story in this podcast: tinyurl.com/2dkhenw6 #cromwell #execution #olivercromwell #bloodyhistory

Daniel Defoe died #OTD 1731. Thrown into jail for his political views, where he was inspired to write Moll Flanders. Brought out to the market pillory for public punishment, the people conspired to save him from harm. Hear the story in our Newgate Jail Podcast: tinyurl.com/48dr483b #history #defoe

Happy Birthday William Shakespeare. Born #OTD 1564, he left his birthplace of Stratford upon Avon, and came to London to start his life as an actor and playwright. Hear the story in our Shakespeare podcast: tinyurl.com/wmzsxwk2 #history #shakespeare #theatre #globe #stratford

By the 1800s, London’s graveyards were full. The solution: cemeteries around London. Two rival Necropolis railways competed to bring the funerals by steam train from the city to the graveside. Listen to the story of in our Death and Burial Podcast: tinyurl.com/4d293tjn #history #burial

It was at this hatters in fashionable St James that a headwear icon originated. Who made the first one and why? And who was the Mr Bowler that gave the hat its name. Follow the story in this podcast: tinyurl.com/ysfx4r3s #history #mensfasion #menswear #hats

Winkie the WWII messenger pigeon saved the lives of an RAF crew. The bird was recognised with a medal. Hear the story of Winkie and the crew in our Strange Animal Stories Podcast: tinyurl.com/2mcp4ww5 #animals #history #ww2 #WWII #birds #airforce #RAF #pigeon

Francis Barber was born a slave in Jamaica. He came to England where he worked as a housekeeper for Dr Samuel Johnson. Hear about one of the first properly documented lives of a black man in Britain in our Dr Johnson Podcast: tinyurl.com/r6x2d9m7 #history

Born #OTD 1920 in Notting Hill, Rosalind Franklin’s work creating Photograph 51 was fundamental to the understanding of the DNA double helix. But her science was not properly acknowledged.Hear her story in our Women and Science podcast: tinyurl.com/mms5su69 #history #science

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 #sewage #publichealth #york #yorkshire

Tom was a decoy goose. He fell in love with a goosy girlfriend and followed her to London. But ended up at Leadenhall poultry market. Would he survive? Find out in our Strange Animal Stories Podcast: tinyurl.com/2mcp4ww5 #history #animals #goose #leadenhall #london