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In This Week In …

  • 1945, Benito Mussolini and his mistress, Clara Petacci, are shot by Italian partisans and hung upside down for public display (28 April 1945);
  • 1968, in the midst of the culture wars, the musical Hair opens on Broadway (29 April 1968);
  • 1789, the USA’s first ever presidential inauguration is held as George Washington is sworn into office in New York (30 April 1968);
  • 1851, the UK’s Great Exhibition opens in the Crystal Palace. Its 10,000 exhibits wow 6 million visitors over six months (1 May 1851);
  • 1670, King Charles II grants a  charter to the Hudson’s Bay Company. Today, the Bay is a leading Canadian retailer (2 May 1670);
  • 1946, the International Military Tribunals for the Far East opens the cases against 28 suspected Japanese war criminals (3 May 1946);
  • 1979, Margaret Thatcher is sworn in as the UK’s first female Prime Minister and quotes St Francis of Assisi on the steps of Number 10 (4 May 1979).