30 September

 10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 30 September:

1. Jack the Ripper struck twice on this date in 1888. The first victim was Elizabeth Stride, “Long Liz”, aged 45. Her body was found behind 40 Berner Street. Less than an hour later, the Ripper killed Catherine Eddowes, also 45, in Mitre Square.
2. In 1955, James Dean, 24, crashed his Porsche 550 Spider when on his way from Los Angeles to Monterey for a race. Although he’d got a speeding ticket earlier that day, police at the scene don't believe he was speeding at the time of the crash. Dean's mechanic also died in the crash.
3. In 2003, Sir Elton John auctioned off the contents of his London home, so he could redecorate in a more modern style. The auction raised more than £1.4 million. An oil painting, entitled Madison Square Park, sold for £67,200, and a 19th Century portrait of Lieutenant George Dyer, painted by James Northcote in 1817, fetched £55,200.
4. In 2004, the first images of a live giant squid in its natural habitat were taken 600 miles south of Tokyo.
5. Pinewood Studios opened in Iver, Buckinghamshire on this date in 1936. They were the first film studios in Britain.
6. BBC Radio One was launched in the UK on this date in 1967. Former Radio Caroline DJ Tony Blackburn was the first presenter on air. The Move's Flowers In The Rain was the first record played.
7. The first around the world plane passenger race began on this date in 1936. Three reporters departed from Lakehurst, New Jersey, to see who could circumnavigate the globe the quickest using only commercial flying routes. Herbert Roslyn Ekins was the winner, returning to Lakehurst on 19 October.
8. In 1982, H. Ross Perot and Jay Colburn completed the first circumnavigation of the world in a Helicopter, the Spirit of Texas.
9. In 1965 Judge Elizabeth Lane was sworn in to become Britain's first female High Court Judge.
10. In 1966 Bechuanaland achieved its independence from Great Britain. It's now known as Botswana.

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