October

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National day of China, Nigeria, and Cyprus. Feast day of St Romanus the Melodist, St Melorus or Mylor, St Bavo or Allowin, St Thérèse of Lisieux.

Events

331 BC Alexander the Great defeated Darius III at Arbela. 1795 Belgium became part of the French Republic. 1843 The News of the World, Britain's most popular Sunday newspaper, was first published. 1908 The first Model T, produced in Detroit, Michigan, was introduced by Henry Ford. 1918 The Arab forces of Emir Faisal, with British officer T E Lawrence, captured Damascus from the Turks. 1936 General Francisco Franco took office as Head of Spain's Nationalist Government. 1938 German forces entered Sudetenland, Czechoslovakia, annexed by Hitler under the Munich Agreement. 1949 The People's Republic of China was proclaimed, with Mao Zedong as its chairman. 1971 Disneyworld, the world's largest amusement resort, was opened in Florida. 1982 Helmut Kohl became federal chancellor of West Germany, succeeding Helmut Schmidt.

Births

King Henry III, 1207; Paul Dukas, French composer, 1865; Vladimir Horowitz, US pianist, 1904; Walter Matthau, US film actor, 1920; Jimmy Carter, 39th US president, 1924; Richard Harris, British actor, 1933; Julie Andrews, English actress and singer, 1935.Deaths

Pierre Corneille, French dramatist, 1684; John Blow, British composer, 1708; Edwin Landseer, English painter, 1873; Wilhelm Dilthey, German philosopher, 1911; Louis Seymour Bazett Leakey, English anthropologist, 1972; Roy Harris US composer, 1979

Feast day of The Guardian Angels, St Leger or Leodegarius, and St Eleutherius of Nicomedia.

Events

1187 Saladin, the Muslim sultan, captured Jerusalem after its 88-year occupation by the Franks. 1608 The first telescope was demonstrated by the Dutch lens maker, Hans Lipperschey. 1836 Charles Darwin returned from his five-year survey of South American waters aboard the HMS Beagle. 1870 Rome became the capital of the newly unified Italy. 1901 The British Royal Navy's first submarine, built by Vickers, was launched at Barrow. 1909 The first rugby football match was played at Twickenham, between Harlequins and Richmond. 1942 The British cruiser Curacao sank with the loss of 338 lives, after colliding with the liner Queen Mary off the coast of Donegal. 1983 Neil Kinnock was elected leader of Britain's Labour Party.

Births

Mikhail Yurevich Lermontov, Russian poet, 1814; Paul von Hindenburg, German field marshal and politician, 1847; William Ramsay, Scottish chemist, 1852; Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Indian leader, 1869; Graham Greene, English novelist, 1904; Sting, English rock singer, 1951.

Deaths

Samuel Adams, US statesman, 1803; Max Bruch, German composer, 1920; Marie Stopes, Scottish birth-control campaigner, 1958; Marcel Duchamp, French painter, 1968; Rock Hudson, US film actor, 1985; Peter Medawar, British immunologist, 1987.

Feast day of St Hesychius, St Thomas Cantelupe of Hereford, St Attilanus, St Gerard of Brogne, St Froilan, St Ewald the Fair, and St Ewald the Dark.

Events

1811 The first women's county cricket match began at Newington, between Hampshire and Surrey. 1888 Gilbert and Sullivan's Yeomen of the Guard was performed for the first time, at London's Savoy Theatre. 1906 SOS was established as an international distress signal, replacing the call sign CQD. 1929 The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was renamed Yugoslavia. 1952 The first British atomic bomb was detonated on the Monte Bello Islands, off W Australia. 1956 The Bolshoi Ballet performed in Britain, at Covent Garden, for the first time. 1990 East and West Germany were officially reunified, with Berlin as the capital.

Births

Pierre Bonnard, French painter, 1867; Louis Aragon, French poet, 1897; Michael Hordern, English actor, 1911; James Herriot, Scottish author, 1916; Gore Vidal, US author, 1925; Chubby Checker, US rock singer, 1941.

Deaths

St Francis, Italian founder of the Franciscan order, 1226; William Morris, English designer, socialist, and poet, 1896; Woody Guthrie, US singer and composer, 1967; Malcolm Sargent, British conductor, 1967; Jean Anouilh, French dramatist, 1987.

National Day of Lesotho. Feast day of St Petronius of Bologna, St Francis of Assisi, and St Ammon.

Events

1905 Orville Wright became the first to fly an aircraft for over 33 minutes. 1910 Portugal was proclaimed a republic when King Manuel II was driven from the country by a revolution. 1911 Britain's first public escalator was switched on, at London's Earl's Court underground station. 1957 The USSR's Sputnik I, the first space satellite, was launched. 1958 BOAC (now British Airways) began operating the first transatlantic passenger jet service. 1965 Pope Paul VI visited New York to address the UN, becoming the first pope to visit the USA. 1983 A world record speed of 663.5 mph was achieved by Richard Noble in his jet-powered car Thrust II, in Nevada.

Births

Giambattista Piranesi, Italian architect, 1720; Jean François Millet, French painter, 1814; Engelbert Dollfuss, Austrian statesman, 1892; Buster Keaton, US comedian, 1892; Charlton Heston, US film actor, 1924; Terence Conran, British designer, 1931.

Deaths

Benozzo Gozzoli, Italian painter, 1497; Rembrandt, Dutch painter, 1669; John Rennie, Scottish civil engineer, 1821; Arthur Whitten Brown, pioneer aviator, 1948; Janis Joplin, US singer, 1970.

Feast day of St Flora of Beaulieu, St Maurus, St Magenulf or Meinulf, St Apollinaris of Valence, and St Galla.

Events

1796 Spain declared war on Britain, during the Revolutionary Wars. 1880 The earliest `ball pen', with its own ink supply and retractable tip, was patented by Alonzo T Cross. 1908 Bulgaria declared its independence from Turkey. 1911 Italian troops occupied Tripoli, in Libya, during its war with Turkey. 1914 The first air battle took place between French and German aircraft during World War I; both sides suffered losses. 1930 The British airship R101, the world's largest dirigible at that time, crashed in France en route to India; the British air minister was among the 48 killed. 1936 The Jarrow march, of unemployed shipyard workers, started its southward journey to London. 1967 The first majority verdict by a jury in Britain was taken, in Brighton. 1970 Anwar Sadat succeeded Gamal Nasser as president of Egypt.

Births

Denis Diderot, French philosopher, 1713; Chester Alan Arthur, 21st US president, 1830; Donald Pleasence, English actor, 1919; Glynis Johns, British actress, 1923; Vaclav Havel, Czech dramatist and president, 1936; Bob Geldof, Irish musician, 1954.

Deaths

Philip III (`the Bold'), King of France, 1285; Joachim Patinir, Dutch painter, 1524; Jacques Offenbach, French composer, 1880; Jean Vigo, French film director, 1934; Nelson Riddle, US composer and arranger, 1985.

Feast day of St Mary Frances of Naples, St Faith of Agen, St Nicetas of Constantinople, and St Bruno.

Events

1769 English naval explorer Captain James Cook, aboard the Endeavour, landed in New Zealand. 1883 The Orient Express completed its first run from Paris to Constantinople (now Istanbul) in nearly 78 hours. 1908 Austria annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina. 1927 Warner Brothers' The Jazz Singer, the first talking feature film (starring Al Jolson), premiered in New York. 1928 Nationalist General Chiang Kai-shek became president of China. 1968 The first three places in the US Grand Prix were taken by British drivers: Jackie Stewart, Graham Hill, and John Surtees. 1978 London Underground's first woman driver started work. 1981 One day after the 11th anniversary of his election to office, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was assassinated by Muslim extremists.

Births

Nevil Maskelyne, Astronomer Royal, 1732; Le Corbusier, Swiss architect, 1887; Janet Gaynor, US film actress, 1906; Thor Heyerdahl, Norwegian ethnologist, 1914; Richie Benaud, Australian cricketer and commentator, 1930; Melvyn Bragg, English writer and TV presenter, 1939.

Deaths

William Tyndale, English Bible translator, 1536; William Henry Smith, English newsagent, bookseller and statesman, 1891; Alfred Tennyson, English poet, 1892; George du Maurier, English novelist, 1896; Denholm Elliott, English actor, 1992; Cyril Cusack, Irish actor, 1993.

Feast day of St Justina of Padua, St Mark, pope, St Artaldus or Arthaud, and St Osyth.

Events

1571 The Battle of Lepanto, between Christian allied naval forces and the Ottoman Turks attempting to capture Cyprus from the Venetians, took place. 1806 The first carbon paper was patented by its English inventor, Ralph Wedgwood. 1919 The Dutch airline KLM, the oldest existing airline, was established. 1949 The German Democratic Republic, or East Germany, was formed. 1958 The first photograph of the far side of the Moon was transmitted from the USSR's Lunik I. 1985 The Italian liner Achille Lauro was seized by Palestinian terrorists; they surrendered two days later, having killed one US passenger. 1988 Grey whales trapped under ice in Alaska became the focus of an international rescue effort.

Births

William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1573; Niels Bohr, Danish physicist, 1885; Desmond Tutu, Archbishop of Cape Town, 1931; Clive James, Australian critic and TV presenter, 1939; Yo Yo Ma, Chinese cellist, 1955; Jane Torvill, English ice skater, 1957.

Deaths

Edgar Allan Poe, US novelist and poet, 1849; Oliver Wendell Holmes, US writer, 1894; Marie Lloyd, English music hall comedienne, 1922; Radclyffe Hall, English author, 1943; Clarence Birdseye, US deep-freezing inventor, 1967; Bette Davis, US actress, 1989; Agnes De Mille, US choreographer, 1993.

Feast day of St Simeon Senex, St Pelagia (or Margaret) the Penitent, St Demetrius, St Keyne, St Thaïs, St Marcellus, and St Reparata of Caesarea.

Events

1085 St Mark's Cathedral in Venice was consecrated. 1871 The Great Fire of Chicago started. It burned until the 11th, killing over 250 people and making 95,000 homeless. 1905 A permanent waving machine was first used on a woman's hair, by Charles Nessler. 1915 The Battle of Loos, in World War I, ended. 1939 Western Poland was incorporated in the Third Reich. 1965 London's Post Office Tower, Britain's tallest building, opened. 1967 A breathalyser was used on a motorist for the first time, in Somerset. 1973 LBC (London Broadcasting), Britain's first legal commercial radio station, began transmitting.

Births

John Cowper Powys, English novelist, 1872; Alfred Munnings, British painter, 1878; Juan Perón, Argentine dictator, 1895; Betty Boothroyd, British MP, the Speaker,1929; Merle Park, British ballerina, 1937; Jesse Jackson, US politician, 1941.

Deaths

Jan Massys, Flemish painter, 1575; Henry Fielding, English novelist, 1754; Franklin Pierce, 14th US president, 1869; Kathleen Ferrier, English contralto, 1953; Clement Attlee, British statesman, 1967; Willy Brandt, former German federal chancellor, 1992.

National Day of Uganda. Feast day of St Demetrius of Alexandria, Saints Eleutherius and Rusticus, Saints Andronicus and Athanasia, St Denis or Dionysius of Paris, St Dionysius the Aeropagite, St Savin, St Publia, St Louis Bertrán, and St Ghislain or Gislenus.

Events

1470 Henry VI was restored to the throne after being deposed in 1461. 1779 The first Luddite riots, against the introduction of machinery for spinning cotton, began in Manchester. 1875 The Universal Postal Union was established, with headquarters in Berne, Switzerland. 1888 The massive marble Washington Monument, designed by Robert Mills, was opened. 1934 Alexander, King of Yugoslavia, and French Foreign Minister Louis Barthou were assassinated by Croatian terrorists in Marseilles. 1967 Ernesto `Che' Guevara, Argentinian-born guerilla leader and revolutionary, was murdered in Bolivia.

Births

Camille Saint-Saëns, French composer, 1835; Alastair Sim, British actor, 1900; Jacques Tati, French film director, 1908; Don McCullin, British war photographer, 1935; John Lennon, rock singer and songwriter, 1940; Steve Ovett, English athlete, 1955.

Deaths

Gabriel Fallopius, Italian anatomist, 1562; Pope Pius XII, 1958; André Maurois, French writer, 1967; Clare Booth Luce, US writer and politician, 1987; Jackie Millburn, English footballer, 1988.

Feast day of St Francis Borgia, St Daniel, St Cerbonius, Saints Eulampius and Eulampia, St Paulinus of York, St Maharsapor, and St Gereon.

Events

732 The Franks, under Charles Martel, defeated the Saracens at the Battle of Tours. 1886 The dinner jacket was first worn in New York by its creator at the Tuxedo Park Country Club, after which it was named. 1903 Mrs Emmeline Pankhurst formed the Women's Social and Political Union to fight for women's emancipation in Britain. 1911 China's Imperial Dynasty was forced to abdicate, and a republic was proclaimed, under Sun Yat-Sen. 1935 George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess opened in New York City. 1961 Following a volcanic eruption, the entire population of the South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha was evacuated to Britain. 1973 US Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned after being fined US $10,000 for income tax evasion.

Births

Jean Antoine Watteau, French painter, 1684; Henry Cavendish, English physicist, 1731; Giuseppe Verdi, Italian composer, 1813; Thelonious Monk, US jazz pianist and composer, 1918; Harold Pinter, British dramatist, 1930; Charles Dance, British actor, 1946.

Deaths

Fra Filippo Lippi, Italian painter, 1469; Edith Piaf, French singer, 1963; Eddie Cantor, US actor and entertainer, 1964; Ralph Richardson, English actor, 1983; Orson Welles, US actor and producer, 1985; Yul Brynner, US film actor, 1985.

Feast day of St Mary Soledad, Saints Andronicus, Tarachus, and Probus, St Agilbert, St Alexander Sauli, St Nectarius of Constantinople, St Bruno the Great of Cologne, St Gummarus or Gomaire, and St Canice or Kenneth.

Events

1521 Pope Leo X conferred the title of `Defender of the Faith' (Fidei Defensor) on Henry VIII for his book supporting Catholic principles. 1689 Peter the Great, Tsar of Russia, assumed control of the government. 1899 The Anglo-Boer War began. 1923 Rampant inflation in Germany caused the mark to drop to an exchange rate of 10,000,000,000 to the pound. 1968 The US spacecraft Apollo 7 was launched from Cape Kennedy, with a crew of three. 1980 The Soviet Salyut 6 returned to earth; its cosmonauts had been in space for a record 185 days. 1982 The Mary Rose, which had been the pride of Henry VIII's fleet until it sank in the Solent in 1545, was raised.

Births

Arthur Phillip, English admiral, 1738; George Williams, founder of the YMCA, 1821; François Mauriac, French author, 1885; Richard Burton, Welsh actor, 1925; Bobby Charlton, English footballer, 1937; Dawn French, English actress and comedienne, 1957.

Deaths

Huldrych Zwingli, Swiss religious reformer, 1531; Meriwether Lewis, US explorer, 1809; James Joule, English physicist, 1889; Anton Bruckner, Austrian composer, 1896; `Chico' Marx, US comedian, 1961; Jean Cocteau, French poet, dramatist, and film director, 1963; Jess Thomas, US operatic tenor, 1993.

Feast day of St Maximilian of Lorch, Saints Felix and Cyprian, St Edwin, St Wilfrid of York, and St Ethelburga of Barking.

Events

1492 Columbus sighted his first land in discovering the New World, calling it San Salvador. 1901 US President Theodore Roosevelt renamed the Executive Mansion `The White House'. 1928 The first iron lung was used, at Boston Children's Hospital, Massachusetts. 1948 The first Morris Minor, designed by Alec Issigonis, was produced at Cowley, Oxfordshire. 1968 The 19th Olympic Games opened in Mexico City. 1984 During the Tory Party Conference at the Grand Hotel in Brighton, an IRA bomb exploded in the hotel in an attempt to murder the British Cabinet. 1986 Queen Elizabeth II became the first British monarch to visit China.

Births

King Edward VI, 1537; Elmer Ambrose Sperry, US inventor, 1860; James Ramsay McDonald, British statesman, 1866; Ralph Vaughan Williams, English composer, 1872; Aleister Crowley, British occultist, 1875; Luciano Pavarotti, Italian operatic tenor, 1935.

Deaths

Piero della Francesca, Italian painter, 1492; Elizabeth Fry, English prison reformer, 1845; Robert Stephenson, English civil engineer, 1859; Robert E Lee, US Confederate general, 1870; Anatole France, French author, 1924; Tom Mix, US western film actor, 1940; Leon Ames, US film actor, 1993.

Feast day of Saints Januarius and Martial, St Gerald of Aurillac, St Edward the Confessor, St Coloman, St Comgan, St Faustus of Cordova, and St Maurice of Carnoët.

Events

1307 On the orders of Philip IV of France, the arrest of the Templars on charges of heresy took place in Paris. 1792 The cornerstone of the White House, Washington, DC, was laid by President George Washington. 1884 Greenwich was adapted as the universal time meridian of longitude from which standard times throughout the world are calculated. 1894 The first Merseyside `derby' football match was played at Goodison Park between Liverpool and Everton, with Everton winning 3 0. 1904 Sigmund Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams was published. 1923 Ankara replaced Istanbul as the capital of Turkey. 1988 The Cardinal of Turin confirmed reports that the Shroud of Turin, believed to carry the imprint of Christ's face, had been scientifically dated to the Middle Ages.

Births

Rudolf Virchow, German pathologist, 1821; Lillie Langtry, British actress, 1853; Yves Montand, French singer and actor, 1921; Margaret Thatcher, British politician, 1925; Paul Simon, US singer and songwriter, 1941; Marie Osmond, US singer, 1959.

Deaths

Claudius I, Roman emperor, 54; Nicholas de Malebranche, French philosopher, 1715; Joachim Murat, King of the Two Sicilies, 1815; Antonio Canova, Italian sculptor, 1822; Henry Irving, English actor, 1905; Clifton Webb, US actor, 1966.

National day of Madagascar. Feast day of St Callixtus I, St Angadiama, St Justus of Lyons, St Burchard of Würzburg, St Manaccus, St Manechildis, and St Dominic Lauricatus.

Events

1066 The Battle of Hastings was fought on Senlac Hill, where King Harold was slain as William the Conqueror's troops routed the English army. 1884 Photographic film was patented by US entrepreneur and inventor George Eastman. 1920 Oxford degrees were conferred on women for the first time. 1947 The first supersonic flight (670 mph) was made in California by Charles Yeagar in his Bell XI rocket plane. 1971 The US spacecraft Mariner 9 transmitted the first close-up TV pictures of Mars to Earth. 1982 The largest mass wedding took place in Seoul, South Korea, when 5,837 couples were married simultaneously.

Births

William Penn, Quaker founder of Pennsylvania, 1644; éamon de Valera, Irish statesman, 1882; Dwight D Eisenhower, 34th US president, 1890; e e cummings, US poet, 1894; Lillian Gish, US film actress, 1899; Cliff Richard, English singer, 1940.

Deaths

Erwin Rommel, German field-marshal, 1944; Errol Flynn, Australian actor, 1959; Edith Evans, English actress,1976; Bing Crosby, US singer and film actor, 1977; Leonard Bernstein, US conductor and composer, 1990.

Feast day of St Teresa of Avila, St Leonard of Vandoeuvre, St Thecla of Kitzingen, and St Euthymius the Younger.

Events

1581 The first major ballet was staged at the request of Catherine de' Medici at the palace in Paris. 1582 The Gregorian calendar was adopted in Italy, Spain, Portugal, and France; 5 Oct became 15 Oct. 1915 In World War I, Bulgaria allied itself with the Central European Powers. 1917 Mata Hari, Dutch spy, was shot in Paris, having been found guilty of espionage for the Germans. 1928 The German airship Graf Zeppelin, captained by Hugo Eckener, completed its first transatlantic flight. 1961 The human-rights organization Amnesty International was established in London.

Births

Virgil, Roman poet, 70 BC; Evangelista Torricelli, Italian physicist, 1608; Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, German philosopher, 1844; P G Wodehouse, English novelist, 1881; C P Snow, English scientist and novelist, 1905; Mario Puzo, US novelist, 1920; HRH the Duchess of York, 1959.

Deaths

Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, French explorer, 1730; Tadeusz Ko sciuszko, Polish patriot, 1817; Raymond Nicolas Landry Poincaré, French statesman, 1934; Hermann Goering, Nazi leader, 1946; Cole Porter, US composer and lyricist, 1964.

Feast day of Saints Martinian and Maxima, St Margaret-Mary, St Anastasius of Cluny, St Hedwig, St Bertrand of Comminges, St Becharius, St Mommolinus, St Lull, St Gerard Majella, and St Gall.

Events

1815 Napoleon was exiled to the Atlantic island of St Helena. 1846 The first public surgical operation using ether as an anaesthetic was performed at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston. 1902 The first detention centre housing young offenders was opened in Borstal, Kent. 1922 The Simplon II railway tunnel, under the Alps, was completed. 1946 Nazi war criminals, including von Ribbentrop, Rosenberg, and Streicher, were hanged at Nuremberg. 1964 China exploded a nuclear device. 1964 Labour Party leader Harold Wilson became Prime Minister. 1978 Cardinal Karol Wojtyla was elected Pope John Paul II the first non-Italian pope since 1542. 1987 Southern England was hit by hurricane-force winds, causing 19 deaths and hundreds of millions of pounds' worth of damage.

Births

Noah Webster, US lexicographer, 1758; Oscar Wilde, Irish dramatist and author, 1854; Austen Chamberlain, British statesman, 1863; David Ben Gurion, Israeli statesman, 1886; Eugene O'Neill, US dramatist, 1888; Günter Grass, German novelist, 1927.

Deaths

Hugh Latimer, bishop and Protestant martyr, 1555; Nicholas Ridley, bishop and Protestant martyr, 1555; Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, 1793; George Marshall, US general and diplomat, 1959; Moshe Dayan, Israeli general and politician, 1981; Cornel Wilde, US film actor, 1989; Paolo Bortoluzzi, Italian dancer and choreographer, 1993.

Feast day of The Ursuline Martyrs of Valenciennes, Saints Ethelbert and Ethelred, St John the Dwarf, St Anstrudis or Austrude, St Seraphino, St Nothelm, St Ignatius of Antioch, and St Rule.

Events

1651 Charles II, defeated by Cromwell at Worcester, fled to France, destitute and friendless. 1777 British commander General Burgoyne surrendered to General Horatio Gates at Saratoga, a victory for the American colonists. 1914 An earthquake struck Greece and Asia Minor, killing over 3,000 people. 1931 US gangster Al Capone was sentenced to 11 years in prison for income-tax evasion, the only charge that could be sustained against him. 1956 Calder Hall, Britain's first nuclear power station, was opened. 1959 The South African De Beers diamond firm announced that synthetic industrial diamonds had been produced. 1977 A US Supreme Court ruling allowed Concorde to use Kennedy Airport, New York.

Births

John Wilkes, British political reformer, 1727; Karen Blixen (Isak Dinesen), Danish author, 1885; Nathaniel West, US novelist, 1903; Arthur Miller, US dramatist, 1915; Rita Hayworth, US film actress, 1918; Montgomery Clift, US film actor; Ann Jones, English tennis player, 1938.

Deaths

Philip Sidney, English poet and soldier, 1586; Frédéric Chopin, Polish composer, 1849; Gustav Robert Kirchoff, German physicist, 1887; Julia Ward Howe, US author, 1910; S J Perelman, US humorist, 1979; William Paton, English pharmacologist, 1993.

Feast day of St Luke, St Gwen of Corwall, and St Justus of Beauvais.

Events

1685 The Edict of Nantes, granting religious freedom to the Huguenots, was revoked by King Louis XIV of France. 1826 Britain's last state lottery was held. 1887 Russia transferred Alaska to the USA for $7.2 million. 1922 The British Broadcasting Company (later Corporation) was officially formed. 1977 Germany's anti-terrorist squad stormed a hijacked Lufthansa aircraft at Mogadishu Airport, Somalia, killing three of the four Palestinian hijackers and freeing all of the hostages. 1989 Following a wave of pro-democracy demonstrations in East Germany, Erich Honecker was replaced as head of state by Egon Krenz. 1989 With the end of Communist rule, Hungary was proclaimed a free republic.

Births

Canaletto, Italian painter, 1697; Henri Bergson, French philosopher, 1859; Pierre Trudeau, Canadian politician, 1919; Chuck Berry, US singer, 1926; George C Scott, US film actor, 1927; Martina Navratilova, Czech tennis player, 1956.

Deaths

Lord Palmerston, British politician, 1865; Charles Babbage, English mathematician, 1871; Charles François Gounod, French composer, 1893; Thomas Edison, US inventor, 1931; Elizabeth Arden, cosmetics company founder, 1966; Pierre Mendès-France, French statesman, 1982.

Feast day of St Paul of the Cross, St Philip Howard, St Ethbin, St Aquilinus of Evreux, St Cleopatra, St Frideswide, St Peter of Alcántara, St John de Brébeuf, St René Goupil, St Varus, and Saints Ptolemy and Lucius.

Events

1781 Lord Cornwallis surrendered to General Washington at Yorktown, Virginia, marking the end of the American War of Independence. 1813 The Allies defeated Napoleon at the Battle of the Nations at Leipzig. 1860 The first company to manufacture internal combustion engines was formed in Florence. 1864 In the American Civil War, General Sheridan was victorious over the Confederates at the Battle of Cedar Creek. 1872 The Holtermann nugget was mined at Hill End, New South Wales; weighing 630lbs, it was the largest gold-bearing nugget ever found. 1935 The League of Nations imposed sanctions on Italy, following her invasion of Abyssinia (Ethiopia). 1987 Wall Street was struck by `Black Monday', during which millions were wiped out on stock markets around the world. 1989 After serving 14 years in prison for the IRA Guildford and Woolwich bombings, the `Guildford Four' had their convictions quashed.

Births

Thomas Browne, English author and physician, 1605; Leigh Hunt, English poet and essayist, 1784; Alfred Dreyfus, French army officer, 1859; Auguste Marie Lumière, French photographic pioneer, 1862; John Le Carré, English novelist, 1931; Peter Tosh, Jamaican reggae musician, 1944.

Deaths

King John of England, 1216; Thomas Browne, English author and physician, 1682; Jonathan Swift, Irish author, 1745; George Pullman, US engineer and sleeping-car manufacturer, 1897; Ernest Rutherford, New Zealand physicist, 1937; Jacqueline du Pré, British cellist, 1987.

Feast day of St Artemius, St Andrew the Calybite of Crete, St Caprasius of Agen, St Bertilla Boscardin, and St Acca.

Events

1714 The coronation of King George I took place. 1818 Britain and the USA established the 49th parallel as the boundary between Canada and the USA. 1822 The Sunday Times was first published. 1827 The Battle of Navarino, off the coast of Greece, ended with the combined British, French, and Russian fleets completely destroying the Egyptian and Turkish fleets. 1935 Mao Zedong's Long March ended in Yenan, north China. 1944 The Allies captured Aachen, Germany. 1944 US troops landed at Leyte, in the Philippines. 1968 Jacqueline Kennedy, widow of US president Kennedy, married Greek millionaire Aristotle Onassis. 1973 The Sydney Opera House, designed by Danish architect John Utzon, was opened to the public.

Births

Christopher Wren, English architect, 1632; Lord Palmerston, British statesman, 1784; Arthur Rimbaud, French poet, 1854; James Chadwick, English physicist, 1891; Anna Neagle, British actress, 1904; Tom Petty, US guitarist and singer, 1953.

Deaths

Thomas Linacre, English physician and humanist, 1524; Richard Francis Burton, English explorer and scholar, 1890; Herbert Hoover, 31st US president, 1964; Bud Flanagan, English comedian, 1968; Sheila Scott, English aviator, 1988; Anthony Quayle, English actor, 1989.

Feast day of St Hilarion, St Fintan or Munnu of Taghmon, St Condedus, St Tuda, St John of Bridlington, and St Malchus.

Events

1805 The British defeated the Franco-Spanish fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar. 1858 Offenbach's opera Orpheus in the Underworld was first performed, in Paris. 1934 Mao Zedong's Long March, with his 100,000-strong Communist army, began. 1950 Tibet was occupied by Chinese forces. 1960 Britain launched its first nuclear submarine, the HMS Dreadnought. 1966 The Welsh village of Aberfan was engulfed by a collapsed slagheap, killing 144, including 116 children. 1967 Egyptian missiles sank the Israeli destroyer Eilat, with the loss of over 40 lives. 1984 Niki Lauda became world motor-racing champion for the third time. 1991 Jesse Turner, an American who had been held hostage in Lebanon for just under five years, was freed by his captors.

Births

Katsushika Hokusai, Japanese artist and printmaker, 1760; Samuel Taylor Coleridge, English poet, 1772; Alfred Nobel, Swedish industrialist, 1833; Georg Solti, British conductor, 1912; Dizzie Gillespie, US jazz trumpeter, 1917; Carrie Fisher, US film actress, 1956.

Deaths

Pietro Aretino, Italian writer, 1556; Edmund Waller, English poet, 1687; Horatio, Viscount Nelson, English admiral, killed at Trafalgar, 1805; Jack Kerouac, US poet and novelist, 1969; Bob Todd, English comedy actor, 1992.

Feast day of St Philip of Heraclea and his Companions, St Mellon or Mallonus, St Abercius, Saints Nunilo and Alodia, and St Donatus of Fiesole.

Events

1797 The first parachute jump was made by André-Jacques Garnerin from a balloon above the Parc Monceau, Paris. 1878 The first floodlit rugby match took place, Broughton v Swinton, at Broughton, Lancs. 1883 New York's Metropolitan Opera House opened. 1909 French aviator Elise Deroche became the first woman to make a solo flight. 1910 Dr Hawley Crippen was found guilty of poisoning his wife and was sentenced to be hanged on 23 October 1910. 1935 Haiti was struck by a hurricane, causing over 2,000 deaths. 1962 US President Kennedy announced that Soviet missile bases had been installed in Cuba. 1987 The first volume of the Gutenberg Bible was sold at auction in New York for $5.39m/£3.26m a record price for a printed book.

Births

Franz Liszt, Hungarian composer, 1811; Sarah Bernhardt, French actress, 1844; Doris Lessing, English novelist, 1919; Robert Rauschenberg, US artist, 1925; Derek Jacobi, English actor, 1938; Catherine Deneuve, French film actress, 1943.

Deaths

Charles Martel, leader of the Franks, 741; Thomas Sheraton, English furniture maker, 1806; Paul Cézanne, French painter, 1906; Pablo Casals, Spanish cellist, 1973; Arnold Joseph Toynbee, English historian, 1975.

Feast day of St Severino Boethius, St Severinus or Seurin of Bordeaux, St Elfleda or Ethelfled, St Allucio, St Ignatius of Constantinople, St Theodoret, St Romanus of Rouen, and St John of Capistrano.

Events

1642 The Battle of Edgehill, in the Cotswolds, took place the first major conflict of the English Civil War. 1922 Andrew Bonar Law took office as British prime minister; he was replaced 22.5.23, making his the shortest term of office in the twentieth century. 1942 The Battle of El Alamein, in Egypt, began. 1946 The first meeting of the United Nations General Assembly took place in New York. 1947 Julie Andrews made her debut in Starlight Roof, aged 12. 1956 The Hungarian revolt against Soviet leadership began, in which thousands of demonstrators called for the withdrawal of Soviet forces. 1970 Gary Gabelich achieved the world land speed record of 631.367 mph, in his rocket-engine car on Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah. 1987 Former British champion jockey Lester Piggott was sentenced to three years in prison for tax evasion.

Births

Pierre Larousse, French lexicographer, 1817; Robert Bridges, British poet, 1844; Louis Riel, French-Canadian rebel, 1844; Douglas Jardine, English cricketer, 1900; Pelé, Brazilian footballer, 1940; Anita Roddick, British entrepreneur and founder of The Body Shop, 1942.

Deaths

Marcus Junius Brutus, Roman soldier, 42 BC; Théophile Gautier, French poet, 1872; W G Grace, English cricketer, 1915; John Boyd Dunlop, Scottish inventor of the pneumatic rubber tyre, 1921; Zane Grey, US novelist, 1939; Al Jolson, US singer and actor, 1950.

National Day of Zambia and United Nations Day. Feast day of St Martin or Mark, St Martin of Vertou, St Elesbaan, St Felix of Thibiuca, St Antony Claret, St Evergislus, St Aretas, St Senoch, St Maglorius or Maelor, St Proclus of Constantinople, and The Martyrs of Najran.

Events

1648 The Treaty of Westphalia was signed, ending the Thirty Years' War. 1857 The first football club was formed by a group of Cambridge University Old Boys meeting in Sheffield. 1901 Mrs Ann Edson Taylor braved a descent over Niagara Falls in a padded barrel to help pay the mortgage. 1945 The United Nations charter came into force. 1977 Saudi Arabia purchased the transatlantic liner France for use as a floating luxury hotel. 1987 Heavyweight boxing champion Frank Bruno knocked out Joe Bugner in Britain's most hyped boxing match held at White Hart Lane, London. 1989 US television preacher Jim Bakker was sentenced to 45 years in prison and fined $500,000/£272,000 for his multi-million dollar scam.

Births

Anton van Leeuwenhoek, Dutch microscope pioneer, 1632; Jacques Lafitte, French banker and politician, 1767; Sybil Thorndike, English actress, 1882; Tito Gobbi, Italian baritone, 1915; Robin Day, English TV presenter, 1923; Bill Wyman, English bass guitarist, 1941.

Deaths

Jane Seymour, 3rd wife of King Henry VIII, 1537; Tycho Brahe, Danish astronomer, 1601; Vidkun Quisling, Norwegian politician and Nazi collaborator, 1945; Franz Lehár, Hungarian composer, 1948; Christian Dior, French couturier, 1957; Mary McCarthy, US author, 1989; Jo Grimond, Scottish politician and writer, 1993; Jiri Hajek, Czech human-rights campaigner, 1993.

Feast day of Saints Crispin and Crispinian, Saints Fronto and George, The Forty Martyrs of England and Wales, Saints Chrysanthus and Daria, St Richard Gwyn, and St Gaudentius of Brescia.

Events

1415 The English army, led by King Henry V, defeated the French at the Battle of Agincourt, during the Hundred Years' War. 1839 Bradshaw's Railway Guide, the world's first railway timetable, was published in Manchester. 1854 Lord Cardigan led the Charge of the Light Brigade during the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War. 1900 The Transvaal, a region in South Africa which is rich in minerals, especially gold, was annexed by the British. 1961 The British satirical magazine Private Eye was first published. 1971 Taiwan was expelled from the UN to allow the admission of the People's Republic of China. 1983 Over 2,000 US troops invaded Grenada.

Births

Thomas Babington Macaulay, English historian and essayist, 1800; Johann Strauss the Younger, Austrian composer, 1825; Georges Bizet, French composer, 1838; Pablo Picasso, Spanish artist, 1881; Richard Evelyn Byrd, US aviator and explorer, 1888; Abel Gance, French film director, 1889.

Deaths

Geoffrey Chaucer, English poet, 1400; Giorgione, Italian painter, 1510; Evangelista Torricelli, Italian physicist and inventor of the barometer, 1647; King George II, 1760; Frank Norris, US novelist, 1902; Frederick Rolfe, English writer, 1913; Vincent Price, US film actor, 1993.

National Day of Iran and of Austria. Feast day of Saints Lucian and Marcian, St Bean, St Rusticus of Narbonne, St Eata, and St Cedd.

Events

1825 The Erie Canal, linking the Niagara River with the Hudson River, was opened to traffic. 1860 Italian unification leader Giuseppe Garibaldi proclaimed Victor Emmanuel King of Italy. 1881 The legendary `Gunfight at the OK Corral' took place at Tombstone, Arizona. 1905 Sweden and Norway ended their union and Oscar II, the Norwegian king, abdicated. 1927 Duke Ellington and his orchestra recorded the jazz classic, Creole Love Song. 1929 T W Evans of Miami, Florida, became the first woman to give birth aboard an aircraft. 1956 The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency was formed. 1965 Queen Elizabeth presented the Beatles with their MBEs at Buckingham Palace. 1985 A US infant, known as Baby Fae, was given a baboon's heart to replace her malformed one.

Births

Georges Danton, French revolutionary leader, 1759; Leon Trotsky, Russian Communist leader, 1879; François Mitterand, French statesman, 1916; Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, last Shah of Iran, 1919; John Arden, English dramatist, 1930; Bob Hoskins, English actor, 1942.

Deaths

Gilles de Rais, French marshal, 1440; William Hogarth, English artist and engraver, 1764; Elizabeth Stanton, US feminist, 1902; Igor Sikorsky, US aeronautical engineer, 1972; Roger Hollis, British civil servant and alleged double agent, 1973.

Feast day of St Otteran or Odhran of Iona, and St Frumentius of Ethiopia.

Events

1662 Charles II sold Dunkirk to Louis XIV for 2.5 million livres. 1901 In Paris, a `getaway car' was used for the first time, when thieves robbed a shop and sped away. 1904 The first section of New York City's subway system was opened. 1917 US troops entered the war in France. 1936 Mrs Wallis Simpson was granted a divorce from her second husband, leaving her free to marry King Edward VIII. 1971 The Republic of Congo changed its name to the Republic of Zaire. 1986 The City of London experienced `Big Bang' day, due to the deregulation of the money market.

Births

Captain James Cook, English naval explorer, 1728; Niccol Paganini, Italian violinist and composer, 1782; Theodore Roosevelt, 26th US president, 1858; Dylan Thomas, Welsh poet, 1905; Roy Lichtenstein, US painter, 1923; Sylvia Plath, US poet, 1932; John Cleese, English actor and comedian, 1939.

Deaths

Ivan III (the Great), Tsar of Russia, 1505; George Morland, English painter, 1804; Lise Meitner, Austrian nuclear physicist, 1968; Eric Maschwitz, English lyricist, 1969; James M Cain, US novelist, 1977.

Feast day of Saints Anastasia and Cyril, St Faro, St Abraham of Ephesus, St Salvius or Saire, St Simon, St Jude or Thaddeus, and St Fidelis of Como.

Events

1636 Harvard University, the first in the USA, was founded. 1746 An earthquake demolished Lima and Callao, in Peru. 1831 English chemist and physicist Michael Faraday demonstrated the first dynamo. 1886 The Statue of Liberty, designed by Auguste Bartholdi, was presented by France to the USA to mark the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. 1893 HMS Havelock, the Royal Navy's first destroyer, went on trials. 1914 George Eastman, of Eastman Kodak Company, announced the introduction of a colour photographic process. 1971 By a margin of 112 votes, the House of Commons backed Prime Minister Heath's decision to apply for EEC membership. 1982 Felipe González became Spain's first Socialist prime minister, with a sweeping electoral victory.

Births

Evelyn Waugh, English novelist, 1903; Francis Bacon, British painter, 1909; Jonas Salk, US microbiologist, 1914; Cleo Laine, British singer, 1927; Carl Davis, US composer, 1936; Hank Marvin, English guitarist, 1941.

Deaths

John Locke, English philosopher, 1704; John Smeaton, English civil engineer, 1792; Ottmar Mergenthaler, German inventor of the Linotype, 1899; Georges Carpentier, French boxer, 1975; Woody Herman, US bandleader, 1987; Pietro Annigoni, Italian painter, 1988.

National Day of Turkey. Feast day of The Martyrs of Douay, St Theuderius or Chef, St Colman of Kilmacduagh, and St Narcissus of Jerusalem.

Events

1618 Sir Walter Raleigh, English navigator, courtier, and once favourite of Elizabeth I, was beheaded at Whitehall for treason. 1787 Mozart's opera Don Giovanni was first performed, in Prague. 1863 The International Red Cross was founded by Swiss philanthropist Henri Dunant. 1929 The Wall Street crash known as `Black Tuesday' took place, leading to the Great Depression. 1964 The union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar was announced, adopting the name of Tanzania. 1967 Expo-67, an international exhibition, opened in Montreal. 1982 In Australia, Lindy Chamberlain was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of her nine-week-old baby who, she claimed, had been carried off by a dingo. 1991 Vietnam formally approved a plan to repatriate forcibly tens of thousands of Vietnamese refugees living in camps in Hong Kong.

Births

James Boswell, Scottish biographer and diarist, 1740; Wilfred Rhodes, English cricketer, 1877; Jean Giraudoux, French author, 1882; Fanny Brice, US singer and entertainer, 1891; Joseph Goebbels, German Nazi propaganda chief, 1897; Richard Dreyfuss, US actor, 1947.

Deaths

Joseph Pulitzer, US newspaper publisher, 1911; Frances Hodgson Burnett, English novelist, 1924; Gustav V, King of Sweden, 1950; Louis Burt Mayer, US film producer and distributor, 1957; John Braine, British novelist, 1986.

Feast day of St Marcellus the Centurion, St Alphonsus Rodriguez, St Germanus of Capua, St Serapion of Antioch, St Asterius of Amasea, and St Ethelnoth.

Events

1485 The Yeomen of the Guard were established by King Henry VII. 1650`Quakers', the more common name for the Society of Friends, came into being during a court case, at which George Fox, the founder, told the magistrate to `quake and tremble at the word of God'. 1911 P'u-Yi, the boy emperor of China aged five, granted a new constitution, officially ending three centuries of Manchu domination over China. 1918 The Republic of Czechoslovakia was proclaimed. 1925 The Scottish inventor John Baird made the first televised transmission of a moving object (a 15-year-old office boy). 1938 US actor Orson Welles' radio production of The War of the Worlds by H G Wells caused panic in the USA. 1965 Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones was jailed for drug offences. 1988 Sun Myung Moon, head of the Unification Church, conducted the marriage of 6,516 couples in a Seoul factory; the couples had first met the day before.

Births

Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Irish dramatist, 1751; John Adams, 2nd US president, 1735; Alfred Sisley, French painter, 1840; Ezra Pound, US poet, 1885; Louis Malle, French film director, 1932; Diego Maradona, Argentinian footballer, 1960.

Deaths

Edward Vernon, English admiral, 1757; Edmund Cartwright, English inventor, 1823; Andrew Bonar Law, British statesman, 1923; Pio Baroja, Spanish novelist, 1956; Jim Mollison, Scottish pioneer aviator, 1959; Barnes Neville Wallis, British aeronautical engineer, 1979.

All Hallows' Eve (Halloween). Feast day of St Quentin or Quintinus, St Bee or Bega, St Wolfgang, and St Foillan of Fosses.

Events

1517 Martin Luther nailed his theses on indulgences to the church door at Wittenberg, Germany. 1864 Nevada became the 36th state of the Union. 1902 The first telegraph cable across the Pacific Ocean was completed. 1940 The Battle of Britain ended. 1951 Zebra crossings came into effect in Britain. 1952 At Eniwetok Atoll, in the Pacific, the USA detonated the first hydrogen bomb. 1956 British and French troops bombed Egyptian airfields at Suez. 1971 An IRA bomb exploded at the top of the Post Office Tower, London. 1982 The Thames barrier, part of London's flood defences, was raised for the first time.

Births

Jan Vermeer, Dutch painter, 1632; John Keats, English poet, 1795; Joseph Wilson Swan, English inventor of the electric lamp, 1828; Chiang Kai-shek, Chinese leader, 1887; Dale Evans, US film actress, 1912; Michael Collins, US astronaut, 1930.

Deaths

Dan Leno, British comedian, 1904; Harry Houdini, US escapologist, 1926; Max Reinhardt, Austrian producer and director, 1943; Augustus John, Welsh painter, 1961; Indira Gandhi, Indian politician, assassinated, 1984; River Phoenix, US film actor, 1993.