ON THIS DAY

1549: France declares war on England.

1588: The English fleet batters and scatters the Spanish Armada off France, in the first major naval gun battle in history.

1789: First police force, named Nightwatch, is established in the Australian colony of NSW.

1876: Thomas Edison receives a patent for his mimeograph.

1963: Britain’s “Great Train Robbery” takes place as thieves make off with 2.6 million pounds.

1974: US president Richard Nixon announces on television that he is resigning after Watergate.

2000: A bomb rips through a crowded underground walkway in central Moscow, killing 12 people and injuring 108 others.

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