IT HAPPENED TODAY
1440:
Eton College was founded by Henry VI for 25 poor and needy scholars. Prefects were warned to look out for “ill-kempt heads, unwashed faces, foul clothes”.
1818:
Richard Gatling, American inventor of the Gatling gun, was born.
1878:
Cleopatra’s Needle, an ancient Egyptian obelisk, 68ft of granite, was presented to Britain by the ruler of Egypt and Sudan and erected on the Thames Embankment. Inside the pedestal were placed some important reminders of the British Empire, including Bradshaw’s Railway Guide, Whitaker’s Almanack and a dozen pin-ups of Victorian ladies.
1888:
Maurice Chevalier (above), legendary French entertainer and actor, was born in Paris. He appeared in many films including Gigi, in which he sang Thank Heaven For Little Girls.
1935:
US multimillionaire Howard Hughes achieved the first of several aviation records he established before going into self-enforced seclusion, flying a plane of his own design at 352.46mph.
1953:
Senator John Kennedy (above) — later to be president — married Jacqueline Bouvier in Newport, Rhode Island.
1970:
Concorde landed at Heathrow Airport for the first time to a barrage of complaints about noise.
2014:
Former Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Ian Paisley passed away, aged 88.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR:
Maui hunkered down for rain and powerful wind as a gradually weakening tropical storm barrelled towards Hawaii.
BIRTHDAYS:
Sir Ian Holm, actor, 88; Patrick Mower, actor, 81; Maria Aitken, actress, 74; Bertie Ahern, former Irish premier, 68; Scott Hamilton, jazz saxophonist, 65; Rachel Ward, actress, 62; Ben Folds, musician, 53; Darren Campbell, former athlete, 46; Jennifer Hudson (above), singer, 38; Emmy Rossum, actress, 33.