IT HAPPENED TODAY
1697:
The new St Paul’s Cathedral was opened.
1804:
Napoleon was crowned Emperor in Paris by Pope Pius VII. On this day one year later, he defeated Austro-Russian forces at the Battle of Austerlitz.
1814:
The Marquis de Sade, French aristocrat whose perverted lifestyle gave the word sadism to the language, died in an asylum.
1859:
John Brown, anti-slavery campaigner whose soul marched on in the famous song, was executed for treason in Charleston, West Virginia.
1901:
King Camp Gillette patented the safety razor.
1907:
English footballers formed the Professional Footballers’ Association.
1923:
Greek-American operatic soprano Maria Callas was born in New York.
1927:
Ford’s Model A went on sale as a successor to the Model T.
1954:
Four years of anti-communist witch-hunts in America came to an end when its instigator, Joseph McCarthy, was condemned for conduct unbecoming a senator.
1990:
West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl won the first all-German election since 1933.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR:
The Great British Bake Off started its search for new contestants for the Channel 4 production of the show. Paul Hollywood was the only Bake Off cast member to stay with the programme, joining new presenters Sandi Toksvig, Noel Fielding and Prue Leith.
Patricia Hewitt, former health secretary, 69; Lucy Liu, actress, 49; David Batty, former footballer, 49; Monica Seles, former tennis player, 44; Nelly Furtado, singer, 39; Christopher Wolstenholme, musician with Muse, 39, Britney Spears pop star, 36.