What happened in london on september 7th 1859?

You must be wondering why I am asking this question. Hehhehe.. Here's why, a friend was asking me about what happened in London on September 7th 1859. And I couldn't answer his question. I don't have good memory especially when it comes to history. Besides I wasn't even born at this date and year. I did search for the answers online but found nothing worthy of mention. So what really happened in London on September 7th 1859? Any ideas?

Update: Thanks to a reader of this blog who left a comment about what really happened in London on Sept. 17. 1859. It was on that date when Big Ben or the Clock Tower became operational. See below. However there is not much information on wikipedia about this.

John McCain praises Barack Obama in graceful concession speech

John McCain conceded defeat to Barack Obama in a speech of striking grace and generosity that called for all Americans to unite behind the new president-elect and paid rich tribute to his accomplishment of becoming the country's first African American leader.

By Alex Spillius in Phoenix, Arizona

The 72-year-old Arizona senator took the stage minutes after television networks declared his Democratic opponent had won an emphatic victory.

"My friends, we have come to the end of a long journey. The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly," Mr McCain said, flanked by his wife Cindy and running mate Sarah Palin and her husband Todd on a outdoor stage at a luxury hotel.

"A little while ago, I had the honour of calling Senator Barack Obama to congratulate him on being elected the next president of the country that we both love," he added, to scattered boos, and one cry of "Bullshit!".

Not for the first time Mr McCain said "please" in admonishment of an audience whose negative reaction was a reminder of the suspicion and loathing that some Americans hold for Mr Obama.

The Vietnam war veteran, who has often said that honour represents his highest ideal, showed a defeated soldier's nobility as he praised Mr Obama for inspiring millions of followers.

He continued by saying that Mr Obama's election would help the country heal its racial demons.

"This is an historic election. I recognise the special significance it has for African-Americans, for the special pride that must be theirs tonight.

"I've always believed that America offers opportunities to all who have the industry and will to seize it. Senator Obama believes that, too."

He recalled how his political hero, President Theodore Roosevelt, had invited Booker T Washington, an early black leader, to the White House, upsetting many at the time.

Saying that America was a world away from the bigotry of the early 20th century, he said: "We both recognise that though we have come a long way from the old injustices that once stained our nation's reputation ... the memory of them still had the power to wound.

"I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him but offering our next president our goodwill and earnest effort to find ways to come together.

"Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans."

Mr McCain also extended his sympathies to Mr Obama following the death of his grandmother on Sunday, two days before the election.

"Senator Obama has achieved a great thing for himself and for his country, and I applaud him for it and offer him his sincere sympathy his beloved grandmother did not see him on this day," he said.

McCain's concession came after a gruelling two-year presidential race in which he clinched the Republican nomination earlier this year with a remarkable comeback after his campaign nearly went bankrupt.

He had been neck-and-neck with Obama until Wall Street crashed in mid-September.

Even at the age of 72, the Republican mounted a frenzied offensive in the final days of the campaign, criss-crossing America in a bid to drum up support, including unusual election day visits to Colorado and New Mexico earlier on Tuesday.

In contrast to the exultant scenes at Mr Obama's massive rally in a Chicago park, Mr McCain addressed a few thousand people in the garden of a luxury hotel in Phoenix, capital of his home state, with many guests in their finery, wandering the lawn clutching glasses of wine.

Some of his supporters followed his lead in accepting defeat gracefully. Others vented their anger. "It scares me that people could elect Barack Obama," said Jessica Ornstein. "Have they ever read a history book and looked up communism. He is an angry black man and Michelle Obama is a reverse racist. He is not my president."

Guy Bluff, 48, said: "I saw this coming. With the way the economy is, I don't know what he could have done."

Text of McCain's concession speech

By The Associated Press 

Text of Republican John McCain's concession speech Tuesday in Phoenix, as transcribed by CQ Transcriptions.

___

MCCAIN: Thank you. Thank you, my friends. Thank you for coming here on this beautiful Arizona evening.

My friends, we have — we have come to the end of a long journey. The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly.

A little while ago, I had the honor of calling Senator Barack Obama to congratulate him.

(BOOING)

Please.

To congratulate him on being elected the next president of the country that we both love.

In a contest as long and difficult as this campaign has been, his success alone commands my respect for his ability and perseverance. But that he managed to do so by inspiring the hopes of so many millions of Americans who had once wrongly believed that they had little at stake or little influence in the election of an American president is something I deeply admire and commend him for achieving.

This is an historic election, and I recognize the special significance it has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight.

I've always believed that America offers opportunities to all who have the industry and will to seize it. Senator Obama believes that, too.

But we both recognize that, though we have come a long way from the old injustices that once stained our nation's reputation and denied some Americans the full blessings of American citizenship, the memory of them still had the power to wound.

A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt's invitation of Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage in many quarters.

America today is a world away from the cruel and frightful bigotry of that time. There is no better evidence of this than the election of an African-American to the presidency of the United States.

Let there be no reason now ... Let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on Earth.

Senator Obama has achieved a great thing for himself and for his country. I applaud him for it, and offer him my sincere sympathy that his beloved grandmother did not live to see this day. Though our faith assures us she is at rest in the presence of her creator and so very proud of the good man she helped raise.

Senator Obama and I have had and argued our differences, and he has prevailed. No doubt many of those differences remain.

These are difficult times for our country. And I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face.

I urge all Americans ... I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.

Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that.

It is natural. It's natural, tonight, to feel some disappointment. But tomorrow, we must move beyond it and work together to get our country moving again.

We fought — we fought as hard as we could. And though we feel short, the failure is mine, not yours.

AUDIENCE: No!

MCCAIN: I am so...

AUDIENCE: (CHANTING)

MCCAIN: I am so deeply grateful to all of you for the great honor of your support and for all you have done for me. I wish the outcome had been different, my friends.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: We do, too (OFF-MIKE)

MCCAIN: The road was a difficult one from the outset, but your support and friendship never wavered. I cannot adequately express how deeply indebted I am to you.

I'm especially grateful to my wife, Cindy, my children, my dear mother ... my dear mother and all my family, and to the many old and dear friends who have stood by my side through the many ups and downs of this long campaign.

I have always been a fortunate man, and never more so for the love and encouragement you have given me.

You know, campaigns are often harder on a candidate's family than on the candidate, and that's been true in this campaign.

All I can offer in compensation is my love and gratitude and the promise of more peaceful years ahead.

I am also — I am also, of course, very thankful to Governor Sarah Palin, one of the best campaigners I've ever seen ... one of the best campaigners I have ever seen, and an impressive new voice in our party for reform and the principles that have always been our greatest strength ... her husband Todd and their five beautiful children ... for their tireless dedication to our cause, and the courage and grace they showed in the rough and tumble of a presidential campaign.

We can all look forward with great interest to her future service to Alaska, the Republican Party and our country.

To all my campaign comrades, from Rick Davis and Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter, to every last volunteer who fought so hard and valiantly, month after month, in what at times seemed to be the most challenged campaign in modern times, thank you so much. A lost election will never mean more to me than the privilege of your faith and friendship.

I don't know — I don't know what more we could have done to try to win this election. I'll leave that to others to determine. Every candidate makes mistakes, and I'm sure I made my share of them. But I won't spend a moment of the future regretting what might have been.

This campaign was and will remain the great honor of my life, and my heart is filled with nothing but gratitude for the experience and to the American people for giving me a fair hearing before deciding that Senator Obama and my old friend Senator Joe Biden should have the honor of leading us for the next four years.

(BOOING)

Please. Please.

I would not — I would not be an American worthy of the name should I regret a fate that has allowed me the extraordinary privilege of serving this country for a half a century.

Today, I was a candidate for the highest office in the country I love so much. And tonight, I remain her servant. That is blessing enough for anyone, and I thank the people of Arizona for it.

AUDIENCE: USA. USA. USA. USA.

MCCAIN: Tonight — tonight, more than any night, I hold in my heart nothing but love for this country and for all its citizens, whether they supported me or Senator Obama — whether they supported me or Senator Obama.

I wish Godspeed to the man who was my former opponent and will be my president. And I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties, but to believe, always, in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here.

Americans never quit. We never surrender.

We never hide from history. We make history.

Thank you, and God bless you, and God bless America. Thank you all very much.

MCCAIN'S CONCESSION SPEECH

John McCain conceded, and did so with brevity, grace and dignity -- taking personal responsibility for the results. His campaign was offensive to many in so many ways, and it is impossible to forget the indignities to which he subjected our democratic process. But just as we do not speak ill of the dead, I find it hard to speak ill of John McCain tonight.

When McCain spoke tonight of his willingness to "do all in my power to help [Obama] lead us through the many challenges we face," adding that he "urge[s] all Americans who supported me, to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next President our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together," I was reminded of an older McCain, the one we haven't seen this year, the one of 2000. It is beyond me, at this point, to say who the real McCain is. But I can imagine how I'd see him if I had been a little older in the late nineties, disillusioned with the failures of President Clinton and unsure of who would take up the standard of liberalism. McCain, rising up to strike a middle route -- rising up, lest we forget, to say say that the rich didn't deserve further tax cuts and that income inequality was a serious issue, might have appeared a welcome savior.

But those days are passed, and in his brief concession speech, McCain seemed more than ready to leave his campaign behind as well. I had expected, with the GOP fervor over ACORN and other voting issues, lawsuits to drag the election into a multi-day affair, but McCain has ended the process quickly. What remains is his Senate career, and no doubt the role he will play there will remain an important story in the coming year. He may yet redeem himself by playing a productive part in the new congress, but I doubt it.

In the end, he will find his place among the other deeply flawed politicians in our history, a man of extraordinary courage and promise corrupted by ambition, lacking the vision to see the true greatness of the American people. His campaign argued that small things, divisive things were the most important, while the great issues of our day were merely vessels for the will of a great man. But this was a great election, giving the American people the chance to rise above these small things and offer a testament to their own greatness by signaling their unity and willingness to look towards future progress with confidence, not fear. And so we bid goodbye to John McCain.

--Tim Fernholz

John McCain's classy concession speech

By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

John McCain says it upfront and does it in a classy way Tuesday night: He concedes to Barack Obama and praises him for becoming the nation's first black president.

McCain pledged to "do all in his power" to help Obama improve the country in these dangerous and fiscally challenging time.

He told his supporters to give Obama their help "to help restore our prosperity" and to defend the country.

"Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans," McCain said.

If only McCain had been this classy on the campaign trail, he may have had a better shot at winning the presidency.

Remember, McCain will still be in the Senate in the coming years; he's not up for re-election until 2010.

So we'll see soon whether McCain will be true to his word when the next Congress meets in 2009.

As McCain said, there are still huge differences between the two parties.

But McCain could help America the most if he stays true to his classy words of Tuesday night.