IT HAPPENED TODAY
SEPTEMBER 21
19BC: Virgil, the Roman poet, died and his tomb in Naples became a shrine.
1327: Edward II was murdered in the dungeon of Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire to ensure his son Edward III could succeed to the throne.
1745: Bonnie Prince Charlie, (above) (Charles Edward Stuart) and his Jacobite army defeated the English at the Battle of Prestonpans.
1792: France was declared a Republic and the monarchy abolished.
1857: British forces retook Delhi from Indian mutineers.
1866: Author HG Wells — famous for The War Of The Worlds — was born in Bromley, Kent.
1915: Stonehenge, and the surrounding 30 acres of land, was sold by Sir Edmund Antrobus to Mr CH Chubb for £6,600 at auction. Chubb presented it to the nation three years later.
The British TV quiz programme University Challenge, conducted by Bamber Gascoigne, (above) was first transmitted.
1964: Malta became independent, after 164 years of British rule.
1981: Belize, originally known as British Honduras, gained its independence.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: The remains of a pre-historic dwelling dating back 6,000 years were unearthed in a field during a major Scottish Water project.
BIRTHDAYS: Shirley Conran, writer, 86; Stephen King, novelist, 71; Charles Clarke, politician, 68; Bill Murray, actor, 68; Ethan Coen, film producer and scriptwriter, 61; Simon Mayo, broadcaster, 60; Rob Morrow, actor, 56; Curtly Ambrose, former cricketer, 55; Faith Hill, (above) singer, 51; Ricki Lake, actress and talk show host, 50; Luke Wilson, actor, 47; Liam Gallagher, rock musician, 46.