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Berners Street hoax

1810 in London19th-century hoaxes19th century in the City of WestminsterHoaxes in EnglandNovember 1810 events
Practical jokes
Berners Street Hoax caricature
Berners Street Hoax caricature

The Berners Street hoax was perpetrated by Theodore Hook in Westminster, London, England, in 1809. Hook had made a bet with his friend Samuel Beazley that he could transform any house in London into the most talked-about address in a week, which he achieved by sending out thousands of letters in the name of Mrs Tottenham, who lived at 54 Berners Street, requesting deliveries, visitors, and assistance.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Berners Street hoax (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Berners Street hoax
Berners Street, City of Westminster Fitzrovia

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 51.5176 ° E -0.1372 °
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Address

Sanderson Hotel

Berners Street 50
W1T 3NG City of Westminster, Fitzrovia
England, United Kingdom
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Website
morganshotelgroup.com

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Berners Street Hoax caricature
Berners Street Hoax caricature
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Landmark Aids Centre

The Landmark Aids Centre is a day centre in Tulse Hill, London which offers treatment and support for HIV/AIDS patients. The center is located in London's Middlesex Hospital. It was officially opened on 25 July 1989 by Diana, Princess of Wales. She gave director Jonathan Grimshaw — diagnosed HIV positive — a firm handshake before going inside the centre for a private tour. At a time when police dealing with AIDS patients still wore rubber gloves, this was the first attempt to de-stigmatise the condition by a high-profile member of the Royal Family.The Landmark Aids Centre marked the first of its type in the city of London. The first case of AIDS in the United Kingdom was reported in 1981 by Dr. Tony Pinching and the Landmark Aids Centre opened 8 years after following a "Don't Die of Ignorance" public awareness campaign brought about by an increasing number of diagnoses and deaths within the United Kingdom. Princess Diana was addressing a serious matter at a time when British society and the media regularly criticized AIDS patients because there was little to no information about the disease. The facility was initially met with criticism from media outlets and John O’Reilly, former HIV/AIDS nurse of the ward, stated, “The media were unkind, particularly the Tabloid Press.” He continued and said, “I didn’t tell anybody what I did. I didn’t even tell fellow nurses or doctors what I did. I just said I was a nurse at the Middlesex Hospital. I didn’t feel safe."