ON THIS DAY

1549: France declares war on England.

1588: The English fleet batters Spanish Armada off France, in ever first major naval gun battle.

1918: The British, with Australian and Canadian forces, begin an offensive on the Western Front.

1940: Germany begins heavy bombing of Britain in World War II.

1945: US President Harry Truman signs the United Nations Charter.

1953: The US and South Korea sign mutual defence treaty.

1963: Thieves stage Britain’s Great Train Robbery making off with £2.6 million.

1974: US president Richard Nixon announces he is resigning after the Watergate scandal.

Birthdays: Australian jazzman Don Burrows (1928-); Australian radio personality John Laws (1935-); US actor Dustin Hoffman (1937-); Swiss tennis player Roger Federer (1981-).