Herne Hill railway station is a passenger railway station in Lambeth, South London. Opened on 25 August 1862 by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway, the station was an important interchange for passengers travelling between London and continental Europe for many decades; direct rail services were available to the Kent coast and London Victoria, the City of London and King's Cross. The arrival of the railways transformed Herne Hill from a wealthy suburb with large residential estates into a densely populated urban area; the number of residents increased five-fold in the decade after the station’s opening as workers took advantage of the fast and cheap trains to central London (some services cost as little as a penny per journey). Today, the station is served by two commuter routes and used by more than 2.6 million passengers a year. The original building, which is still in use, has been praised for its architectural quality and was Grade II listed in 1998.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herne_Hill_railway_station
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1248:
Ommen in the Netherlands received city rights and fortification rights from Otto III, the Archbishop of Utrecht, after the town was pillaged at least twice by a local robber baron. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ommen
1580:
War of the Portuguese Succession: The army of the pretender to the Portuguese throne, António, Prior of Crato (pictured), was routed in the Battle of Alcântara, ending his short-lived reign. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Alc%C3%A2ntara_(1580)
1939:
The United Kingdom and Poland entered into a military alliance for mutual assistance in case of military invasion by "a European Power". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Polish_military_alliance
1942:
Second World War: Japanese forces attacked the Australian base at Milne Bay on the eastern tip of New Guinea. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Milne_Bay
1945:
Armed supporters of the Communist Party of China killed American military intelligence officer and Baptist missionary John Birch as he was leading a mission to reach Allied personnel in a Japanese prison camp. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Birch_(missionary)
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
draculin: (organic chemistry) A glycoprotein with anticoagulant properties, found in the saliva of vampire bats. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/draculin
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Whate'er of us lives in the hearts of others Is our truest and profoundest self. --Johann Gottfried Herder https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Johann_Gottfried_Herder