IT HAPPENED TODAY
1746:
Spanish painter Francisco Jose de Goya y Lucientes was born in Fuendetodos.
1814:
Britain and its allies entered Paris in triumph against Napoleon Bonaparte.
1842:
Ether was used as an anaesthetic for the first time, by American surgeon Dr Crawford Long.
1853:
Artist Vincent van Gogh, (above), who painted Sunflowers, was born in the Dutch village of Groot-Zundert.
1945:
The advancing Soviet forces captured the Baltic sea port of Danzig, also known as Gdansk.
1964:
The seaside resort of Clacton was the scene of pitched battles by gangs of mods and rockers.
1972:
The Northern Ireland (Temporary Provisions) Act came into force decreeing direct rule from London and prompting the resignation of then prime minister of Northern Ireland Brian Faulkner.
1981:
US President Ronald Reagan was wounded in an assassination bid outside Washington’s Hilton Hotel.
1986:
James Cagney (above), American tough guy actor, died aged 86.
1987:
Sunflowers, by Vincent van Gogh, was sold at auction by Christie’s for £24.75m.
2002:
The Queen Mother died in her sleep at Buckingham Palace, at 101.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR:
Tyrannosaurus rex may have been the most fearsome creature ever to walk the Earth, but he was also a sensitive lover, a new discovery suggested.
Warren Beatty, actor, 81; Eric Clapton, guitarist, 73; Robbie Coltrane, actor, 68; MC Hammer (Stanley Kirk Burrell), rapper, 56; Tracy Chapman, singer, 54; Piers Morgan, broadcaster and former tabloid editor, 53; Celine Dion, (above) singer, 50; Norah Jones, singer, 39.