The Baker Street robbery was the burglary of safe deposit boxes at the Baker Street branch of Lloyds Bank in London, England, on the night of 11 September 1971. A gang tunnelled 40 feet (12 m) from a rented shop two doors away to come up through the floor of the vault (diagram shown). The property stolen was probably worth between £1.25 and £3 million; only £231,000 was recovered by the police. The burglary was planned by Anthony Gavin, a career criminal, who was inspired by "The Red-Headed League", a short story by Arthur Conan Doyle in which Sherlock Holmes waits in a bank vault to arrest a gang who have tunnelled in through the floor. Gavin and his colleagues rented a leather goods shop, and tunnelled during weekends. Police found members of the gang soon after the break-in; one of the burglars had signed the lease in his own name, and informers led investigators to Gavin. Many of the papers relating to the burglary remain under embargo at The National Archives until January 2071.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baker_Street_robbery

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1945:

The Japanese-run camp at Batu Lintang, Sarawak, in Borneo was liberated by the Australian 9th Division, averting the planned massacre of its 2,000-plus Allied POWs and civilian internees by four days. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batu_Lintang_camp

1978:

British medical photographer Janet Parker became the last recorded person to die from smallpox, leading to a debate on whether the virus should be preserved. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1978_smallpox_outbreak_in_the_United_Kingdom

1995:

Mir EO-19, the nineteenth crewed mission to the Russian space station Mir, returned to Earth after approximately 75 days in space. It was the first Mir expedition launched on an American Space Shuttle. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mir_EO-19

2001:

Al-Qaeda hijacked four passenger airliners to carry out a series of terrorist attacks (second attack pictured) against targets in New York City and the Washington, D.C., area. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

obtrusive: 1. (obsolete) Protruding or sticking out, especially in a way that obstructs. 2. (figurative) 3. Of a person: overly assertive, bold, or domineering; pushy; also, ostentatious. 4. Of a thing: noticeable or prominent, especially in a displeasing way. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/obtrusive

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

We are today, as human beings, evolved and cultured far beyond the taboos which are inherent in our culture. This is a very important fact to realise.   --D. H. Lawrence https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/D._H._Lawrence