ON THIS DAY

1540: First recorded horse race meeting in England is held at Roodeye Fields, Chester. 1893: Giuseppe Verdi’s last opera, Falstaff, is first performed in Milan.

1943: World War II battle for Guadalcanal ends in US victory over the Japanese.

1962: Jamaica becomes an independent nation within British Commonwealth.

1964: The Beatles make their first live American TV appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.

1969: First test flight of the Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet aeroplane.

1986: First eight women ordained as deacons of Anglican Church in Australia.

2002: Death of Princess Margaret, 71, younger sister of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II.

Birthdays: Derryn Hinch, Australian media personality (1944-); Mia Farrow, US actor (1945-); Gina Rinehart, Australian mining magnate (1954-)