IT HAPPENED TODAY
1728:
John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera was first performed, with a score derived from popular ballads of the time.
1820:
George III, longest-lived and longest-reigning King of England, died at Windsor aged 81.
1856:
Queen Victoria instituted Britain’s highest military decoration, the Victoria Cross.
1880:
WC Fields, US comedian who claimed he wouldn’t act with children or animals, was born in Philadelphia.
1886:
Karl Benz patented the first practical car with a petrol-driven internal combustion engine. It had three rubber-tyred wheels and went at 9.3mph.
1916:
Zeppelins bombed Paris for the first time.
1942:
Desert Island Discs started on BBC Radio, presented by Roy Plomley. His first castaway was comedian Vic Oliver.
1951:
Actress Elizabeth Taylor (top), aged 19, divorced her first husband, hotel chain heir Nicky Hilton.
1980:
Jimmy Durante, ‘Schnozzola’, American comedian, died aged 87.
1985:
Oxford University dons refused to grant Margaret Thatcher (above) an honorary degree.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR:
MPs approved Conservative MP Sir Graham Brady’s Brexit amendment to Theresa May’s Withdrawal Agreement Bill to replace the Northern Ireland backstop with ‘alternative arrangements’, forcing her to try and reopen negotiations with Brussels.
BIRTHDAYS:
Germaine Greer, author, 81; Tony Blackburn, DJ, 77; Tom Selleck, actor, 75; Tim Healy, actor, 68; Oprah Winfrey (below), chat show host, 66; Sean Kerly, former hockey player, 60; Nicholas Turturro, actor, 58; Roddy Frame, singer, 56; Edward Burns, actor/director, 52; Heather Graham, actress/producer, 50.