On this day - February 8th
As usual on a Wednesday, today we look back in history at three events of significance.
8th February 1952 - New Queen for the UK
Princess Elizabeth became Queen and Head of the Commonwealth and Defender of the Faith in front of 150 Lords of the Council- representatives from the Commonwealth, officials from the City of London including the Lord Mayor, and other dignitaries who gathered to witness the event. Elizabeth and her husband had to cut short a tour of the Commonwealth because of King George VI's sudden death on 6 February.
8th February 1962 - Paris riot leaves 8 dead
About 240 people in total were injured - more than half of them police officers. The violence stemmed from a protest, which had been banned under the State of Emergency that was in force in Paris at the time. The protest was organised by France's main communist-led union who were one of many groups fighting against the right-wing OAS (Secret Army Organisation) who wanted Algeria in North Africa to remain a French colony. During the three-and-a-half hour disturbances the police were outnumbered two to one by the 20,000-strong protesters.
In one incident a police van was ambushed and a policeman fired five shots into the crowd. Several people were said to have received gunshot wounds.
The OAS began a bombing campaign in the capital after French President Charles de Gaulle's declaration that it is up to Algerians to decide the fate of their country and proposed a referendum on the issue.
8th February 1974 - USA completes successful space mission
Three US astronauts returned safely to Earth after a record-breaking stay in space. The men - Dr Edward Gibson, Lieutenant Colonel Gerald Carr and Lieutenant Colonel William Pogue - were the first to demonstrate that mankind can live in space for prolonged periods.
The trio spent 85 days in the American space station, Skylab, while it orbited the Earth at a height of 270 miles. The three men overcame many of the problems associated with living in space, such as weightlessness and experimented with new diets and exercise routines to counter the changes in muscle, blood and bone commonly experienced by space crews.
