7 September

 10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 7 September:

1. This date in 1533 saw the birth of Elizabeth I, daughter of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII. She was Queen of England from 1558 to 1603, and known as the Virgin Queen because she never married. She said, "I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too."
2. In 1630, Trimontaine, a town in Massachusetts, was renamed Boston.
3. In 1971, David Bowie started recording sessions at Trident Studios in London for what would become the concept album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars.
4. In 1892, ‘Gentleman Jim’ Corbett became the world’s first heavyweight champion under the Queensberry Rules when he beat John L Sullivan in 21 rounds at New Orleans. The Queensberry Rules introduced gloves, and specified a time of three minutes per round.
5. Painter Anna Grandma Moses marked her 100th birthday on this date in 1960, and at a party in her honour danced a jig with her doctor.
6. The world's first Submarine attack took place on this date in 1776 – the submersible craft American Turtle attacked the British flagship Eagle in New York Harbor. Entirely hand-powered by one operator, the wooden submarine attached a time bomb to the hull of the Eagle, and departed. There was an explosion, but no serious damage occurred as the bomb hadn't been properly secured and had drifted away from the ship.
7. In 1838, the Forfarshire, a 300 ton steamer, was on her way from Hull to Dundee when she smashed into rocks at about 4am. The seas were so rough that lighthouse keeper Darling refused to take vessels out to help. His daughter Grace, 22, persuaded him to go with her to rescue nine survivors. Grace Darling became instantly famous, and could be described as the first media heroine. She received many offers of marriage, but was content to remain with her parents at the lighthouse, where she died of tuberculosis at 27.
8. In 1888, Edith Eleanor McLean became the first premature baby to be placed in an incubator. She weighed 2 pounds, 7 ounces.
9. In 1986 South African Bishop Desmond Tutu became the archbishop of Cape Town, two years after winning the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent opposition to apartheid in South Africa. He was the first black person to head South Africa's Anglican church.
10. In 1973, the crew of a Royal Navy frigate were accused of throwing Carrots at an Icelandic gunboat.

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