22nd
1455 ….. U.K ..... the Battle of St Albans, the FIRST of the twelve battles of the English civil wars known as the " War of the Roses" - Red Rose ( Lancastrians) White Rose (Yorkists)
1498 ..... Portuguese navigator Vasco De Gama became the FIRST European to reach India by sea
1611 ….. U.K ..... the FIRST eighteen baronets were created on this day by James 1 and each had to pay the sum of £1000 to the Crown for the honour. In addition the new baronets had to be wealthy enough to provide 30 men, if called upon, to serve in the Army in Ulster
1891 ….. U.S.A ..... the FIRST public demonstration of motion pictures was at the Edison Laboratory, West Orange, New Jersey, before representatives of the National Federation of Women's Clubs who had lunched with Mrs Edison at Glenmont
1961 ….. U.K ..... the FIRST pay-on-answer phone boxes, with pips when coins were needed, were installed in the UK by the Post Office
1963 ..... Tom Hornbein & Willi Unsoeld became the FIRST climbers to reach the summit of Everest via the rugged West Ridge route, an ascent considered as one of the great feats in mountaineering
1999 ….. U.K ..... Britain's FIRST shopping mall marriage took place when Deborah Lane married Damian Clapp at Redhill in Surrey
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