IT HAPPENED TODAY
Circa 270:
St Valentine was thought to have been martyred by Roman Emperor Claudius II after being imprisoned and tortured.
1779:
Captain James Cook, British explorer, was murdered by natives in Hawaii.
1822:
Britain’s postal services had to employ extra sorters as the fashion of sending messages to loved ones on St Valentine’s Day continued to grow in popularity.
1895:
The Importance Of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde had its premiere in London.
1929:
The St Valentine’s Day Massacre took place in a Chicago warehouse. Seven members of Bugs Moran’s gang were gunned down, probably by mobsters from Al Capone’s outfit.
1946:
The Bank of England was nationalised following an Act of Parliament.
1975:
Sir Pelham Grenville (PG) Wodehouse who was known affectionately as ‘Plum’ and writer of many humorous novels, notably the Jeeves series, died in the United States, aged 93.
1984:
Britain’s Torvill and Dean skated their way to a gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, getting maximum points for artistic expression.
2013:
Olympic and Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius was arrested on suspicion of murder after his girlfriend was shot dead at his home.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR:
Television cook Prue Leith was announced as the replacement to Mary Berry on The Great British Bake Off.
BIRTHDAYS:
Carl Bernstein, Watergate journalist, 74; Alan Parker, film director, 74; Kevin Keegan, former footballer and ex-England manager, 67; Meg Tilly, actress, 58; Simon Pegg, actor/comedian, 48; Dean Gaffney, actor, 40; Rhydian Roberts, singer, 35; David Wheater, footballer, 31.