In 2000 Catherine Hartly became the first British woman to cross Antarctica by land and reach the South Pole. Her team travelled 1,094 km or 680 miles to reach the most southern point on Earth.
In 1958 the first spacecraft to orbit the Earth (Russia’s Sputnik 1) burnt up on it’s re-entry into our atmosphere after orbiting Earth for 3 months.
In 1958 Sir Edmund Hillary, British Explorer, reaches the South Pole. It has been 46 years since anyone managed an overland crossing to the most southern point on Earth. The last explorer was Captain Robert Scott and his team in 1912.
In 1951 Chinese and North Korean troops are said to be close to capturing the South Korean capital city of Seoul for a second time since the war began. South Korea was invaded by the North Korean People’s Army (NKPA) in June 1950, but after UN intervention they had been forced back into their own country pursued by UN Forces. When the NKPA’s defeat seamed certain the Chinese Communist Forces (CFF) joined the North Korean forces for this counter strike. UN forces regained control of Seoul in March 1951. After many failed attempts at peace talks, a demilitarised zone was set up between the two countries which still exits today.
In 1698 the last buildings of Kensington palace caught alight destroying the remains of Europe’s largest palace. On the 10th of April 1691 a fire broke out in the palace destroying the old palace structures and artwork. This second blaze destroyed most of the remaining residential and governmental buildings.
