IT HAPPENED TODAY
1769:
Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Corsica. He expanded the French empire until defeated by an allied coalition which sent him into exile to Elba. He returned to fight at Waterloo, which led to final exile on the remote south Atlantic island of St Helena.
1771:
Sir Walter Scott (above), creator of the historical novel, was born in Edinburgh.
1939:
The Wizard Of Oz premiered at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood.
1947:
The Union flag was run down for the last time in New Delhi as India gained independence from Britain.
1952:
Severe thunderstorms in Somerset and North Devon caused rivers to flood and devastated the towns of Lynton and Lynmouth.
1960:
Britain’s first motorway restaurant was opened on the M1 at Newport Pagnell.
1969:
The three-day Woodstock festival began in upstate New York. More than 400,000 people watched artists such as The Who, Santana and Jimi Hendrix (above) — but massive traffic jams, adverse weather and shortage of food led to the event being declared a disaster area.
1987:
Caning was banned in Britain, except in independent schools.
1998:
The Omagh bomb in Northern Ireland, the worst terrorist incident of the Troubles, killed 29 people and injured about 220.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR:
Four in five unpaid carers feel lonely or isolated, a poll suggested.
BIRTHDAYS:
Jim Dale, actor, 83; Tony Robinson, actor/presenter, 72; Jenny Hanley, actress, 71; Anne, Princess Royal, 68; Robert ‘Jack’ Russell, former cricketer, 55; Ben Affleck, actor, 46; Mikey Graham, singer (Boyzone), 46; Natasha Henstridge, (above) actress, 44; Joe Jonas, singer/actor, 29.