IT HAPPENED TODAY
1469:
Niccolo Machiavelli, statesman and historian, was born in Florence.
1494:
Christopher Columbus discovered Jamaica while in search of a westward route to the East.
1808:
A duel was fought between two hot air balloonists over Paris.
1814:
Louis XVIII took the throne of France after Napoleon’s defeat and exile by the allies.
1903:
Bing Crosby (above) was born in Tacoma, Washington, as Harry Lillis Crosby.
1903:
The first electric train ran through the Mersey Railway tunnel between Liverpool and Birkenhead.
1934:
Author HG Wells predicted there would be a world war by 1940.
1951:
The Festival of Britain was opened by King George VI on a bomb site near London’s Waterloo station.
1952:
Newcastle United became the first team since 1891 to win two English FA Cup finals in succession by beating Arsenal 1-0.
1968:
The first heart transplant in Britain was carried out at the National Heart Hospital, London.
2007:
British girl Madeleine McCann (above) disappeared from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal.
2013:
A Theropod dinosaur, dating back to 161 million years ago, was discovered in China.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR:
A revolutionary bionic hand that ‘’sees’’ objects and instantly decides what kind of grip to adopt was developed by scientists.
Frankie Valli, singer (84); Mary Hopkin, singer (68); Christopher Cross, singer (67); Ben Elton, comedian (59): Steve McClaren, football manager (57); Rob Brydon, comedian (53); Christina Hendricks, (above) actress (43).