IT HAPPENED TODAY

DECEMBER 16

1653: Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell becoming made an himself uncrowned king for the next four years.

1773: The Boston Tea Party, in which Samuel Adams and 150 ‘Sons of Liberty’ protested against British taxes on tea and other goods, took place.

1775: Novelist Jane Austen (above), whose works include Emma and Pride And Prejudice, was born in Steventon, Hampshire.

1850: The first immigrant ship, the Charlotte Jane, arrived at Lyttelton, New Zealand.

1899: Noel Coward — playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, producer and director — was born in Teddington, Middlesex.

1929: The first all-talking feature film was made in Britain. Called The Clue Of The New Pin, it featured a

young actor, John Gielgud (below), as the villain.

1937: The first performance took place in London of Noel Gay’s Me And My Girl, which introduced The Lambeth Walk.

2010: Rare first editions of Ian Fleming’s James Bond spy book sold for almost £30,000 when they went under the hammer at Dominic Winter auctioneers in Gloucestershire. The book that introduced 007 to the world, Casino Royale, sold for £19,000.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Len

Goodman (below) confirmed that the then-current series of Strictly Come Dancing would be his last. The British-born ballroom dancer Shirley Ballas was confirmed as the show’s new head judge.

BIRTHDAYS: Tony Hicks, rock guitarist (The Hollies), 72; Benny Andersson, musician (Abba), 71; Christopher Biggins, actor and media personality, 69; Joel Garner, former international cricketer, 65; Benjamin Bratt, actor, 54; Dennis Wise, former footballer, 51; Joe Absolom, actor, 39.