On This Day: Britain’s first astronaut returns from space

Each day we take a look back at the stories making the headlines from across our region and further afield.

Today, we take a look back at what happened on May 26.

Front Pages

On this day in 1994, it was reported malicious fire calls were risking the lives of hundreds of people in Grampian.

In 2016, Shell was cutting 500 North Sea jobs.

News

1950: Petrol rationing came to an end.

1991: Britain’s first astronaut, Helen Sharman, returned to Earth after her space mission.

2003: Sherpa Lakpa Gyelu, 35, scaled Mount Everest in 10 hours and 56 minutes, setting a new record for the fastest climb of the mountain.

2006: An earthquake off Java killed more than 5,700 people, and left 200,000 homeless.

2018: Ireland votes to repeal their 8th amendment to allow legalised abortion.

Music

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1985: Bananarama reach No 95 in the American charts with Robert De Niro’s Waiting.

1994: Michael Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley in the Dominican Republic. They denied the union for two months.

Number Ones

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2018: Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa: One Kiss

2002: Liberty X: Just A Little

1977: Rod Stewart: I Don’t Want To Talk About It/The First Cut Is the Deepest

Births

1948: Stevie Nicks, 72, Singer with Fleetwood Mac.

1966: Helena Bonham Carter, 54, British actress whose films include Harry Potter.

1972: Patsy Palmer, 48, Actress, famous for playing Bianca in EastEnders.

Deaths

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1868: Michael Barrett, The last person to be publicly hanged in Britain.

1989: Don Revie, Former manager of Leeds United and England.

Archive images

1985: Leaving for an outing to Perth are members of St Katherine’s 1942 Ladies Club, Aberdeen with club president Mrs Helen Aiken, right

1990: Pictured are ground staff at Bristow Helicopters, Dyce, who raised £4,000 in aid of charity Archway two weeks before Christmas, with Archway officer-in-charge Heather Leslie, centre front