IT HAPPENED TODAY
1531:
About 20,000 people died in an earthquake in Lisbon.
1797:
£1 notes were first issued by the Bank of England.
1815:
Napoleon (above) escaped from exile on the island of Elba and returned to France.
1839:
The Grand National was first run at Aintree.
1846:
William Frederick Cody, also known as Buffalo Bill, an American army scout and showman, was born in Scott County, Iowa.
1935:
Radar (radio detection and ranging) was first demonstrated in Daventry by Robert Watson-Watt.
1936:
The Volkswagen car factory was opened in Saxony by Adolf Hitler.
1950:
Scottish music hall singer and comedian Sir Harry Lauder died aged 79.
1983:
Irishman Pat Jennings (above) became the first footballer to play in 1,000 first-class football matches.
1989:
Burke’s Peerage reported that King Arthur’s Round Table had been found near Stirling, Scotland, on the banks of the Carron River.
2018:
Cold weather nicknamed “the Beast from the East” hits Europe, killing seven people.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR:
Tommy Robinson had his Facebook and Instagram pages removed because he posted “in ways that violate our policies around organised hate”, Facebook said.
BIRTHDAYS:
Sandie Shaw, singer, 73; David Edgar, playwright, 72; Helen Clark, former New Zealand prime minister, 70; Michael Bolton, singer-songwriter (above), 67; Erykah Badu, singer/actress, 49; Shane Williams, Welsh rugby player, 43; Corinne Bailey Rae, singer-songwriter, 41.