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1919–20 Gillingham F.C. season
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During the 1919–20 English football season, Gillingham F.C. played in the Southern League Division One. It was the 22nd season in which the club competed in the Southern League, and the 21st in Division One; prior to the season, the club had been inactive for over four years due to the First World War. George Collins was appointed as the club's new manager, and most of the players were new; the club struggled to find a settled team during the season, fielding nearly 40 players, including six goalkeepers. The team's results included a run of 14 league games, from October to February, without a win. Gillingham finished bottom of the league table but nonetheless gained entry to the national Football League when it absorbed the entirety of the Southern League Division One.
Gillingham
1919–20 season
Chairman
Edward Crawley[1]
Manager
George Collins
Southern League
Division One
22nd
FA Cup
First round
Top goalscorer
League: Arthur Wood (12)
All: Arthur Wood (14)
Highest home attendance
Approx. 10,000 vs Swansea Town (20 December 1919), Swindon Town (14 February 1920), and Brighton & Hove Albion (28 February 1920)
Lowest home attendance
Approx. 2,000 vs Swansea Town (19 April 1920)
Home colours
← 1914–15
1920–21 →
Gillingham also competed in the FA Cup, requiring three replays to progress from the sixth qualifying round before losing in the first round proper. The team played 47 competitive matches, winning 11, drawing 10, and losing 26. Arthur Wood was the team's top goalscorer, with 12 goals in the league and 14 in total. Tom Leslie made the most appearances, playing 40 times. The highest attendance recorded at the club's home ground, Priestfield Road, was approximately 10,000 for league games against Swindon Town and Brighton & Hove Albion and an FA Cup match against Swansea Town.
Background and pre-season
Gillingham, founded in 1893 and known as New Brompton until 1912,[2] had played in the Southern League since the competition's formation in 1894. The team had been promoted from Division Two in 1895 and remained in Division One ever since but with minimal success, rarely finishing in the top half of the league table.[3] The 1919–20 season was the first time the Southern League operated after the First World War; Gillingham had not played a competitive match since the 1914–15 season, when they had finished bottom of the table.[3][4] Earlier in the year, the Southern League had proposed an amalgamation with the national Football League, but it was rejected.[5]
In July, George Collins was appointed as Gillingham's new manager in place of Sam Gilligan, who did not return to the club after the war. As was the norm at the time, Collins had responsibility for team tactics and training, but other tasks associated with a modern manager, such as the signing of new players, were the responsibility of the club's secretary, William Ironside Groombridge.[6] Most of the Gillingham players from the final season before the war did not return, and the club signed a host of new players to take their place.[7] The new signings included Arthur Wood, a forward who had last played for Fulham of the Football League Second Division; he was able to resume his career despite having suffered an injury while fighting in the war which necessitated the insertion of a metal plate into his forehead and limited his ability to head the ball.[8] Other new players to join Gillingham included Bobby Beale, a goalkeeper born in nearby Maidstone who had previously played over a hundred Football League games for Manchester United,[9] and David Chalmers, a Scottish forward who had also seen active service during the war.[10][11] The team reverted to wearing a kit of black-and-white striped shirts, white shorts, and black socks, which had been the club's colours from its formation until shortly before the war when a blue and red kit was adopted.[12][13]
Southern League Division One
August–December
Arthur Wood scored both goals in Gillingham's first home win of the season.
Gillingham's first match of the season was at their own home ground, Priestfield Road, against Watford, the Southern League champions in the final season before the war.[14] Tom Leslie and Jack Mahon were the only players in the Gillingham team who had represented the club before the hostilities.[15] The match ended in a 0–0 draw; the correspondent for The Daily Telegraph noted that Gillingham's forwards played well and that Watford had their full-backs to thank for the fact that Gillingham could not manage to score a goal.[14] Gillingham lost two days later away to Luton Town, but then gained their first win of the season, beating Swansea Town with a goal from W. Savage; Abel Lee, another pre-war Gillingham player, made his return in the victory.[16][17] The team followed this with a home win against Luton on 10 September; Wood scored both goals.[16][18] Following this game, Gillingham failed to score in their remaining four matches in September, which resulted in one draw and three defeats.[16] The run included a 5–0 loss away to Cardiff City, in which the Cardiff-based Western Mail contended that Gillingham's defence, prior to this game one of the best in the league, had experienced a "sensational collapse" and that the home team's goalkeeper was "practically a spectator".[19]
The team's run of consecutive defeats continued in October, with a 5–2 defeat away to Swindon Town and a 2–0 loss at home to Plymouth Argyle. Full-back Bill Cartwright made his debut against Swindon.[16] Gillingham ended their losing run with a 2–0 victory at home to Millwall on 11 October; Wood again scored twice. The Daily Herald's reporter praised Millwall's goalkeeper and said that the team were fortunate to concede only two goals.[20] Beale played his last game for the club in a 3–1 defeat away to Newport County on 25 October; over the next seven games, the team used four different goalkeepers, none of whom played more than twice.[16] Changes continued to be made to the team; forward Alex Redpath made his debut against Newport and half-back A. Harris and forwards Harry Dawson and C. Denny all played for the first time against Northampton Town on 8 November. Denny never made another appearance and Dawson and Harris both played only once more.[21]
Gillingham ended November with two more defeats, losing 4–1 to Crystal Palace and 5–0 to Norwich City; the Sunday Mercury said that in the former game Crystal Palace were "easily superior" and that in the latter Norwich "toyed with their opponents".[22][23] Another new forward, H. Kelly, debuted against Norwich, as did half-backs Alex Steel and Jimmy Kennedy, signed from Southend United and Watford respectively.[16][24] The team began December with two further defeats, losing 2–0 at home to Brentford and 4–0 away to Merthyr Town; Steel's brother Bobby, a new signing from Tottenham Hotspur,[25] made his debut in the latter game as the team's latest new forward.[16][26][27] Gillingham's final three league games of 1919 took place on consecutive days beginning on Christmas Day when they lost 2–1 at home to Reading. Against the same opponents the following day, goalkeeper Jack Branfield, who had played twice for Gillingham in 1915,[4] made his return as his team lost 3–0; he would remain first-choice goalkeeper for the remainder of the season, missing only one match.[16] The team's last league game of the year took place on 27 December and resulted in a 1–1 draw away to Bristol Rovers,[28] meaning that Gillingham had gone 11 league games without a victory.[16]
January–May
A cartoon printed in the Chatham Observer newspaper criticised Portsmouth's aggressive style of play in their goalless draw with Gillingham in March.
Gillingham played only two league games in January and their winless run continued as they lost away to Watford and Exeter City.[16] Following a goalless draw with Queens Park Rangers, Gillingham beat Swindon Town on 14 February to end a run of 14 league games without a victory stretching back to October; Harry Lee scored twice in the victory.[16][29] The team lost their next two games, away to Millwall and at home to Brighton & Hove Albion,[30][31] and ended February bottom of the league table, five points below 21st-placed Northampton. Gillingham's total of 18 goals scored in 28 games was by far the lowest in the division; no other team had scored fewer than 30.[32]
The team began March with a third consecutive defeat, losing 4–0 away to Newport County,[16] but then achieved a goalless draw at home to Portsmouth, who were top of the table; Branfield saved a Portsmouth penalty kick.[33] The Chatham Observer praised Abel Lee and the Steel brothers for keeping the Portsmouth forwards in check, and criticised the league leaders for their aggressive style of play.[34] The Weekly Dispatch described it as a "rough game" and said that at one point players came to blows.[33] Gillingham next played another team challenging for the league championship, Cardiff City, and after taking the lead after just two minutes went on to win 3–0,[35] only the second time during the season that they had scored three goals in a league game.[16] After two more defeats, Gillingham ended March with a 2–0 win over Southampton.[16] Full-back Jock Robertson made his debut in a 1–0 victory over Southend United on 3 April. He would go on to play for the club until 1933 and make over 350 appearances in the Football League after Gillingham joined that competition in 1920, setting a club record which would stand for over 30 years.[36]
Gillingham beat Norwich City and Brentford on 10 and 17 April respectively, the first time the team had won two consecutive games since the previous September.[16][37][38] Both Steel brothers, who had been regulars in the team since joining Gillingham, were absent from the team for the next game against Swansea Town;[16] despite having to play the whole of the second half with only ten men after one of their players was injured, Swansea won 1–0.[39] There were further changes to the team for the next game at home to Merthyr Town: half-back Joseph Griffiths made his debut and Len Ramsell played for the first time since January in place of Wood. Gillingham fell behind to a goal in the first half but scored three times to record their third victory in four games; the Western Mail stated that Merthyr were "very easily beaten".[16][40][41] The team's final match of the season was a 2–2 draw at home to Bristol Rovers.[42] Gillingham finished the season bottom of the league table; although they did not have the worst defence in the division, they had scored only 34 goals during the season, more than 10 fewer than any other team.[3] Such had been the turnover of players during the season that only Leslie and Mahon were in the team for both the first and last matches of the campaign.[16]
League match details
Key
In the result column, Gillingham's score is shown first
H = Home match
A = Away match
pen. = Penalty kick
o.g. = Own goal
Results[16]
Date
Opponents
Result
Goalscorers
Attendance
30 August 1919
Watford (H)
0–0
7,000
1 September 1919
Luton Town (A)
0–2
4,000
6 September 1919
Swansea Town (A)
1–0
Savage
2,304
10 September 1919
Luton Town (H)
2–0
Wood (2, 1 pen.)
not recorded
13 September 1919
Exeter City (H)
0–0
7,808
17 September 1919
Southend United (H)
0–1
6,000
20 September 1919
Cardiff City (A)
0–5
10,000
27 September 1919
Queens Park Rangers (H)
0–1
7,432
4 October 1919
Swindon Town (A)
2–5
Chalmers, Wood (pen.)
5,000
6 October 1919
Plymouth Argyle (H)
0–2
2,500
11 October 1919
Millwall (H)
2–0
Wood (2)
7,000
18 October 1919
Brighton & Hove Albion (A)
0–3
8,000
25 October 1919
Newport County (H)
1–3
John
8,000
1 November 1919
Portsmouth (A)
0–4
10,000
8 November 1919
Northampton Town (H)
0–0
7,000
15 November 1919
Crystal Palace (A)
1–4
Redpath
not recorded
29 November 1919
Norwich City (A)
0–5
6,000
6 December 1919
Brentford (H)
0–2
7,000
13 December 1919
Merthyr Town (A)
0–4
not recorded
25 December 1919
Reading (H)
1–2
B. Read
8,000
26 December 1919
Reading (A)
0–3
10,000
27 December 1919
Bristol Rovers (A)
1–1
B. Steel
14,000
3 January 1920
Watford (A)
1–2
McCormick
4,000
24 January 1920
Exeter City (A)
1–2
Savage
6,000
7 February 1920
Queens Park Rangers (A)
0–0
10,000
14 February 1920
Swindon Town (H)
3–1
H. Lee (2), B. Steel
10,000
21 February 1920
Millwall (A)
0–1
12,000
28 February 1920
Brighton & Hove Albion (H)
2–3
Wood (2)
10,000
6 March 1920
Newport County (A)
0–4
not recorded
13 March 1920
Portsmouth (H)
0–0
7,783
17 March 1920
Cardiff City (H)
3–0
H. Lee, B. Read, Savage
6,000
20 March 1920
Northampton Town (A)
0–1
7,000
27 March 1920
Crystal Palace (H)
2–4
B. Read, Wood (pen.)
7,000
2 April 1920
Southampton (H)
2–0
Wood, Kelly
8,794
3 April 1920
Southend United (A)
1–0
Wood
7,000
5 April 1920
Southampton (A)
0–2
12,000
10 April 1920
Norwich City (H)
1–0
Wood
6,000
17 April 1920
Brentford (A)
2–1
H. Lee, Wood
8,000
19 April 1920
Swansea Town (H)
0–1
2,000
24 April 1920
Merthyr Town (H)
3–1
B. Steel, A. Lee (pen.), Griffiths
7,000
26 April 1920
Plymouth Argyle (A)
0–2
9,000
1 May 1920
Bristol Rovers (H)
2–2
B. Read, Mahon (pen.)
6,000
Partial league table
Main article: 1919–20 Southern Football League § Division One
Southern League Division One final table, bottom positions[3]
Pos
Team
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GAv
Pts
19
Northampton Town
42
12
9
21
64
103
0.621
33
20
Luton Town
42
10
10
22
51
76
0.671
30
21
Merthyr Town
42
9
11
22
47
78
0.603
29
22
Gillingham
42
10
7
25
34
74
0.459
27
FA Cup
Gillingham entered the 1919–20 FA Cup at the sixth and final qualifying round stage, where they were paired with fellow Southern League Division One team Swansea Town. The initial match took place at Priestfield Road and drew an attendance of 10,000, matching those recorded for league games against Brighton and Swindon for the season's largest crowd at the ground.[16] Leslie scored with a penalty kick in a game that finished in a 1–1 draw, necessitating a replay.[16] Gillingham made four team changes for the second game, including bringing in Ramsell, who scored in another 1–1 draw.[16] The second replay took place at a neutral venue, Ninian Park in Cardiff, and ended goalless.[16][43] The third replay was held at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge stadium; Gillingham took a 2–0 lead in the first half through Bobby Steel and Wood, and finally progressed to the next round, winning the game 3–1; The Daily Telegraph wrote that Gillingham were "the superior side" and that "to beat so decisively the team standing seventh in [the Southern League Division One] was a praiseworthy performance".[44]
In the first round proper, Gillingham played away to West Stanley of the North Eastern League; unlike Gillingham, West Stanley had never previously progressed beyond the qualifying rounds of the competition.[45][46] After conceding a goal early on, Gillingham drew level before half time. In the second half, however, they played poorly and West Stanley scored twice more to win the match and eliminate Gillingham from the competition. West Stanley's local newspaper called the result a "sensation" and said it would go down in the history of the mining village.[46][47]
Cup match details
In the result column, Gillingham's score is shown first
H = Home match
A = Away match
N = Match played at neutral venue
pen. = Penalty kick
o.g. = Own goal
Results[16]
Date
Round
Opponents
Result
Goalscorers
Attendance
20 December 1919
Sixth qualifying
Swansea Town (H)
1–1
Leslie (pen.)
10,000
24 December 1919
Sixth qualifying (replay)
Swansea Town (A)
1–1 (a.e.t.)
Ramsell
10,000
29 December 1919
Sixth qualifying (second replay)
Swansea Town (N)
0–0 (a.e.t.)
6,000
5 January 1920
Sixth qualifying (third replay)
Swansea Town (N)
3–1
Wood (2), Steel
15,000
17 January 1920
First
West Stanley (A)
1–3
B. Read
6,000
Players
Jack Branfield was one of six goalkeepers used by Gillingham during the season.
Jock Robertson began his lengthy career with Gillingham during the season.
During the season, 39 players made at least one appearance for Gillingham. Leslie made the most, playing 40 times; Mahon, Wood, and Abel Lee all made more than 30 appearances. The instability of the team during the season resulted in 12 players each making fewer than five appearances.[16] Three of these, C. Denny, W. Hunter, and T. Turner, each played only once and never made another appearance for the Gillingham first team.[48]
Fifteen players scored at least one goal during the season. Wood was the team's top scorer, with 12 goals in the league and two in the FA Cup; no other player scored more than five times.[16]
Player statistics[16]
Player
Position
Southern League Division One
FA Cup
Total
Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals
Bobby Beale
GK
12
0
0
0
12
0
Alf Bluer
HB
3
0
0
0
3
0
Billy Bower
GK
3
0
2
0
5
0
Jack Branfield
GK
21
0
3
0
24
0
Robert Buchanan
FB
19
0
5
0
24
0
Bill Cartwright
FB
21
0
0
0
21
0
R. Cavanna
HB
5
0
0
0
5
0
David Chalmers
FW
12
1
1
0
13
1
Harry Dawson
FW
2
0
0
0
2
0
C. Denny
FW
1
0
0
0
1
0
C. Elliott
HB
4
0
1
0
5
0
W. Frost
FB
10
0
0
0
10
0
Syd Gore
FW
1
0
0
0
1
0
Joseph Griffiths
HB
3
1
0
0
3
1
A. Harris
HB
2
0
0
0
2
0
W. Hibden
HB
15
0
2
0
17
0
W. Hunter
FB
1
0
0
0
1
0
Cornelius John
FW
7
1
0
0
7
1
John Joyce
GK
2
0
0
0
2
0
H. Kelly
FW
21
1
5
0
26
1
Jimmy Kennedy
HB
9
0
0
0
9
0
Abel Lee
HB
30
1
5
0
35
1
Harry Lee
FW
22
4
3
0
25
4
Tom Leslie
FB
35
0
5
1
40
1
Jack Mahon
HB
34
1
2
0
36
1
Donald McCormick
FW
4
1
0
0
4
1
J. Meath
GK
2
0
0
0
2
0
Bert Nash
FW
13
0
0
0
13
0
John Neil
FW
9
0
0
0
9
0
Len Ramsell
FW
9
0
4
1
13
1
B. Read
FW
17
4
5
1
22
5
Trevett Read
GK
2
0
0
0
2
0
Alex Redpath
FW
12
1
0
0
12
1
Jock Robertson
FB
7
0
0
0
7
0
W. Savage
FW
18
3
0
0
18
3
Alex Steel
HB
23
0
5
0
28
0
Bobby Steel
FW
19
3
4
1
23
4
T. Turner
FW
1
0
0
0
1
0
Arthur Wood
FW
31
12
3
2
34
14
FW = Forward, HB = Half-back, GK = Goalkeeper, FB = Full-back
Aftermath
Collins left his position as Gillingham manager at the end of the season and was replaced by Robert Brown.[49] At the annual general meeting (AGM) of the Football League on 31 May 1920, the clubs in the existing two divisions voted to admit those in the Southern League's top division en masse to form the new Third Division.[50] Initially it was unclear if Gillingham, by virtue of their last-place finish, would be relegated to the Southern League Division Two before this took effect and thus miss out on a place in the Football League; at the club's own AGM on 3 June, angry supporters demanded to know what the club's status would be for the coming season, but the board of directors was unable to give an answer. Shortly afterwards, it was confirmed that Gillingham would indeed be entering the Football League.[51] In their first season in the Third Division, the team again finished bottom of the league table.[52]
References
Bradley & Triggs 1994, p. 392.
Mitchell, Reeves & Tyler 2013, p. 140.
"England – Southern League Final Tables". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 24 July 2005. Archived from the original on 27 January 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
Brown 2003, p. 32.
"Football Leagues and amalgamation". Liverpool Post and Mercury. 14 January 1919. p. 7. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
Elligate 2009, p. 117.
Bradley & Triggs 1994, p. 62.
Elligate 2009, p. 196.
Joyce 2004, p. 20.
Joyce 2004, p. 55.
Riddoch & Kemp 2010, p. 50.
Triggs 1999, p. 27.
Conway 1980, p. 20.
"Points for London Teams". The Daily Telegraph. 1 September 1919. p. 12. Retrieved 16 May 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
Brown 2003, pp. 32, 33.
Brown 2003, p. 33.
"Swansea's Defeat". Western Mail. 8 September 1919. p. 9. Retrieved 24 May 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Exeter Rob Reading of Both Points". Western Morning News. 11 September 1919. p. 3. Retrieved 16 May 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Cardiff's Five Goals". Western Mail. 22 September 1919. p. 7. Retrieved 16 May 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Lions Lose in Kent". Daily Herald. 13 October 1919. p. 8. Retrieved 17 May 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
Brown 2003, pp. 33, 128.
"Southern League". Sunday Mercury. 16 November 1919. p. 10. Retrieved 18 May 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Southern League". Sunday Mercury. 30 November 1919. p. 6. Retrieved 18 May 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
Joyce 2004, pp. 162, 248.
Joyce 2004, p. 248.
"Southern League". Sunday Mercury. 7 December 1919. p. 12. Retrieved 23 May 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Merthyr's Four Goals". Western Mail. 15 December 1919. p. 9. Retrieved 23 May 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Poor Game at Eastville". Western Daily Press. 19 December 1919. p. 7. Retrieved 21 May 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Gillingham 3, Swindon 1". Daily Herald. 16 February 1920. p. 6. Retrieved 16 May 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Southern League: No Home Team Defeated". The Weekly Dispatch. 22 February 1920. p. 10. Retrieved 24 May 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Southern League: Heavy Scoring at Cardiff". The Weekly Dispatch. 29 February 1920. p. 10. Retrieved 24 May 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Southern League". Sunday Pictorial. 29 February 1920. p. 15. Retrieved 18 May 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Southern League: Watford's Extraordinary Recovery". The Weekly Dispatch. 14 March 1920. p. 10. Retrieved 19 May 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
Triggs 1999, p. 28.
"Gillingham, 3; Cardiff C., 0". Daily Herald. 18 March 1920. p. 7. Retrieved 24 May 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
Triggs 2001, pp. 26, 351.
"Gillingham 1, Norwich C. 0". Daily Herald. 12 April 1920. p. 6. Retrieved 24 May 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Brentford Beaten at Home". Daily Herald. 19 April 1920. p. 6. Retrieved 24 May 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Swansea Back's Injury". Western Mail. 20 April 1920. p. 6. Retrieved 18 May 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Southern League". Sunday Mercury. 25 April 1920. p. 10. Retrieved 18 May 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Merthyr's Poor Season". Western Mail. 26 April 1920. p. 7. Retrieved 18 May 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Rovers at Gillingham". Bristol Times and Mirror. 3 May 1920. p. 6. Retrieved 18 May 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"FA Cup – Sixth Qualifying Round". Birmingham Mail. 31 December 1919. p. 5. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
"Cup Tie at Chelsea: Gillingham Win at Last". The Daily Telegraph. 6 January 1920. p. 14. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
Soar & Tyler 1983, p. 110.
"Cup-Tie Sensation". The North Star. 21 January 1920. p. 2. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
"West Stanley Advance". The North Star. 19 January 1920. p. 6. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
Brown 2003, pp. 128–129.
Elligate 2009, p. 86.
Elligate 2009, p. 97.
Elligate 2009, p. 101.
Elligate 2009, p. 82.
Works cited
Bradley, Andy; Triggs, Roger (1994). Home of the Shouting Men: Complete History of Gillingham Football Club 1893–1993. Gillingham F.C. ISBN 978-0-9523361-0-5.
Brown, Tony (2003). The Definitive Gillingham F.C.: A Complete Record. Soccerdata. ISBN 978-1-8994-6820-1.
Conway, Tony (1980). The "Gills". Meresborough Books. ISBN 978-0-9052-7026-5.
Elligate, David (2009). Gillingham FC On This Day. Pitch Publishing. ISBN 978-1-9054-1145-0.
Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 – 1939. Soccerdata. ISBN 978-1-89946-867-6.
Mitchell, Colin; Reeves, Jon; Tyler, Daniel (2013). The History of English Football Clubs. New Holland Publishers. ISBN 978-1-78009-449-6.
Riddoch, Andrew; Kemp, David (2010). When the Whistle Blows: The Story of the Footballers' Battalion in the Great War. Haynes Publishing. ISBN 978-0-85733-077-2.
Soar, Phil; Tyler, Martin (1983). Encyclopedia of British Football. Collins Willow. ISBN 978-0-0021-8049-8.
Triggs, Roger (1999). Images of England: Gillingham Football Club. Tempus Publishing. ISBN 978-0-75241-567-3.
Triggs, Roger (2001). The Men Who Made Gillingham Football Club. Tempus Publishing. ISBN 978-0-75242-243-5.
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Battle of the Narrow Seas
1392 – Muhammad VII became the twelfth sultan of the Emirate of Granada.
1602 – Anglo-Spanish War: An English fleet intercepted and attacked six Spanish ships at the Battle of the Narrow Seas (depicted).
1849 – American author Edgar Allan Poe was found semi-conscious and delirious in Baltimore, Maryland, under mysterious circumstances; it was the last time he was seen in public before his death four days later.
1952 – The United Kingdom successfully completed a nuclear test, becoming the world's third state with nuclear weapons.
1991 – Nadine Gordimer became the first South African to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Ermengarde of Hesbaye (d. 818)
Louise Lehzen (b. 1784)
George Ripley (b. 1802)
Fakih Usman (d. 1968)
More anniversaries:October 2
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The yellow-bellied sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) is a medium-sized woodpecker which is found across Canada, eastern Alaska and the northeastern United States. These birds winter in the eastern United States, West Indies and Central America. They have also been found as a very rare vagrant in Ireland and Great Britain. The yellow-bellied sapsucker has a length of around 20 centimetres and an average weight of around 50 grams, with a wingspan that ranges from 34 to 40 centimetres. The forehead is coloured bright red in the male (and very occasionally yellow), and a lighter shade of red in the female. This male was photographed in Central Park, New York City, United States.
Photograph credit: Rhododendrites