Not Much Happened in London on September 7th 1859

What happened in London on September 7th 1859? Well, lots of stuff I’m sure. Anything that mattered? Not really.

I love Google Trends-London, September 7th 1859 is just the type of oddball thing that pops up from time to time. When all those Song Lyrics Shows were on a while back, you could count on all the songs being near the top of Google Trends. Lots of games show type questions end up on Google Trends. Big Ben is the popular Google Trend answer to what happened in London September 7th 1859.

The Clock Tower owes its existence to a fire in 1834 that destroyed most of Parliament. A commission was set up to choose a new building design from 97 submissions and a clock tower dominated Charles Barry’s winning plan. The clock swung into action in 1859.-UK Parliament

So what else happened in London on September 7th 1859? Seems that Google Trends thinks it has something to do with Big Ben, The Great Exhibition, and when Buckingham Palace Guards adopted bearskin hats. Did Big Ben start keeping time on this date? Well, about that time anyway. The 1859 part seems to be correct, the September 7th part-not so much. Big Ben is not the clock’s official name, by the way, the proper name for Big Ben is the Great Bell. The Big Ben clock tower has been referred to incorrectly as St Stephen’s Tower, which is actually the spired tower towards the middle of the Palace and is also the main point of entry for attendees of debates and committees.

All this fuss about what happened in London on September 7th 1859 seems to have something to do with a contest that Marriott is having.