...is the 23rd day of the year, according to the Gregorian calendar! It also means that Christmas is just 336 days away, so you had better get out and start your shopping! In all seriousness, the day is also known for some other events in British history, and here are just some of them,..
1571 - The Royal Exchange was opened in London by Queen Elizabeth I. Originally, it was the centre of commerce for London, but today - after twice being destroyed by fire - it is home to a number of restaurants and shops.
1875 - Author Charles Kingsley died at the age of 55. Kingsley is best remembered for The Water Babies, and Westward Ho!.
1899 - Glen Kidston was born. You may not know the name, but during his short life, he engaged in the kind of activities boys often only dream about.
A Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Navy, he survived being torpedoed by a German U-Boat - TWICE. After WWI, he became a very capable racing driver, and won the Le Mans 24 hour race in 1929 and 1930. He was equally at home on two wheels, and competed in the famous Isle of Man TT races. His hobbies included big-game hunting, and he engaged in several African safaris. A keen pilot, Kidston made a record-breaking flight (in 1931) from England to South Africa, but was killed in 1932 in an air crash.
1916 - Airey Neave DSO OBE MC TD was born. One of the few escapees from the Colditz PoW camp, he went on to become a Conservative Member of Parliament. In 1979, Neave was assassinated in a car-bomb attack at the House of Commons.
1943 - Field-Marshal Montgomery's 8th Army capture the Libyan capital of Tripoli.
1963 - British MI5 agent Kim Philby disappeared in Beirut. It later transpired that Philby had been engaged as a Soviet spy.
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