Big Ben refers to the 13 ton bell in the clock tower of Westminster Palace. Opinion is divided as to whether it was named after the then Commissioner of Works, or a famous prize-fighter of the time.
Harrods was bought in 1985 by Mohamed Al Fayed for £615 million, it covers 4 1/2 acres and holds over 300 department stores.
The first nude statue in London was erected in the South-East corner of Hyde Park in 1822. After the pleas from 'country women' a fig leaf was later added to save their blushes.
In 1991 an IRA bomb hidden in a bin in Victoria station killed one man and injured 38. This led to the removal of all litter bins from London stations.
The famous illuminated advertising of Piccadilly Circus began as early as 1893, before most of the city had electric street lighting.
Oxford Circus got its new diagonal pedestrian crossing in 2009. It was inspired by crossings in Tokyo like the one at Shibuya, and in recognition of this Japanese musicians played at the opening.
Marie Tussaud, born in Strasbourg in 1761, made her first wax figure of the great French philosopher Voltaire in 1777. She opened a museum in London in 1835.
