The Metropolitan Railway, the world's first underground line, was opened
to the public on 10 January 1863. It connected the mainline railway
termini at Paddington, Euston and King's Cross to London's financial
heart in the City using gas-lit wooden carriages hauled by steam
locomotives. The railway was soon extended and completed the Inner
Circle in 1884, but the most important route became the line to Verney
Junction in Buckinghamshire, more than 50 miles (80 km) from London.
Electric traction was introduced in 1905 and by 1907 electric multiple
units operated most of the services. The Railway developed land for
housing and after World War I promoted housing estates near the railway
with the "Metro-land" brand. On 1 July 1933, the Metropolitan Railway
was amalgamated with the railways of the Underground Electric Railways
Company of London and the capital's tramway and bus operators to form
the London Passenger Transport Board.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Railway>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1645:
William Laud (pictured), Archbishop of Canterbury and a fervent
supporter of King Charles I, was beheaded in the midst of the English
Civil War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Laud>
1776:
Common Sense by Thomas Paine, a document denouncing British
rule in the Thirteen Colonies, was published.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Sense_(pamphlet)>
1954:
BOAC Flight 781 suffered an explosive decompression at altitude
and crashed into the Mediterranean Sea, killing everyone on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BOAC_Flight_781>
1993:
The Braer Storm, the strongest extratropical cyclone ever
recorded in the North Atlantic, reached its peak intensity.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braer_Storm_of_January_1993>
2007:
A general strike, an attempt to force President Lansana Conté
to resign which eventually resulted in the appointment of two new prime
ministers, began in Guinea.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Guinean_general_strike>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
zeptomole:
(chemistry, physics) A small amount of a substance, especially a
countable number of atoms or molecules.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/zeptomole>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
It is bad to be oppressed by a minority, but it is worse to be oppressed
by a majority. For there is a reserve of latent power in the masses
which, if it is called into play, the minority can seldom resist.
--John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Dalberg-Acton,_1st_Baron_Acton>
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