IT HAPPENED TODAY
FEAST OF SAINT PETER AND PAUL
1613: The Globe Theatre in London burned down after a cannon was fired during a Shakespeare play and set fire to the straw roof.
1620: After earlier denouncing smoking as a health hazard, King James I (above) banned the growing of tobacco in Britain.
1801: The first census in Britain was carried out showing a population totalling 8,872,000.
1855: The Daily Telegraph was published in London for the first time, priced twopence, with Alfred Bate Richards its first editor.
1868: The Press Association, the UK’s national news agency, was founded in London.
1905: The inaugural meeting of the Automobile Association (AA) took place at the Trocadero Restaurant in London, attended by 50 motorists. 1956: Actress Marilyn Monroe (above) married playwright Arthur Miller.
1960: BBC Television Centre opened in London.
1986: Richard Branson’s boat Virgin Atlantic Challenger II completed the fastest Atlantic crossing in three days, eight hours and 31 minutes.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Demands for a permanent ban on nicotine-based pesticides were prompted following publication of a major study that suggested they can be harmful to bees.
BIRTHDAYS: Charlotte Bingham, novelist, 76; Gary Busey, actor, 74; Mark Radcliffe, DJ, 60; Amanda Donohoe, actress, 56; Paul Zenon, TV magician, 54; Nicole Scherzinger (below), singer, 40; Katherine Jenkins, opera singer, 38; George Sampson, street dancer/former Britain’s Got Talent winner, 25.