Today In History... with The Retrospectors

Sacheen Littlefeather's Oscars Controversy

When Marlon Brando won Best Actor at the Academy Awards for his role in The Godfather on March 27, 1973, he sent Native American activist Sacheen Littlefeather in his place. Dressed in traditional Apache garb, sh…

The Suffragettes of Sport

The first international women’s sports event, The Women’s Olympiad, kicked off in Monte Carlo on 24th March, 1921. A hundred athletes from five nations competed in track and field events, defying the male-dominated Olympic movement that excl…

Handel's Biggest Hit

Hallelujah! Handel’s ‘Messiah’ is one of the cornerstones of Western classical music. But when it had its London premiere at Covent Garden on 23rd March 1743, it was billed as “a new sacred oratorio”, lest the real title of the show seem bla…

The Elephant That Inspired 'Dumbo'

Jumbo, one of the largest elephants ever seen, departed London Zoo for Barnum & Bailey’s Circus in New York on March 9th, 1882. Nationally beloved as the ‘pet’ to Queen Victoria’s children, for 16 years he’d given thousands of rides …

The Most Expensive Divorce Ever

Medieval power couple King Louis VII of France and Eleanor of Aquitaine, seemingly unable to produce a male heir, had a messy breakup. Their annulment on 21st March 1152 was granted by the Pope on the grounds of consanguinity - meaning they …

Stealing the World Cup

The Jules Rimet, trophy of the FIFA World Cup, was stolen from a stamp exhibition in Westminster Central Hall on March 20th, 1966 - the year England was hosting (and went on to win) the tournament. The theft sparked a massive Police investig…

Parading for St Paddy

The first ever St. Patrick’s Day parade took place not in Ireland, as many people might expect, but in Spanish Florida, on March 17, 1601. It wasn’t until about 100 years later that the world famous parades got g…

Murder at the Masked Ball

Gustav III was shot, in the back and at close range, at Stockholm’s Royal Opera House on 16th March, 1792. But he didn’t die for another two weeks. Which made things rather difficult for the conspirators who had assassinated him.&l…

Give Me Your Blood

The world's first blood bank opened on March 15, 1937 at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, revolutionising the way blood transfusions were performed. Dr. Bernard Fantus, the man behind the blood bank, had…

Making The Mikado

The Mikado opened on March 14, 1885 to immediate acclaim, and went on to become W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan’s most famous and best-loved operetta, despite its tortured genesis. Due to growing creative tensio…