IT HAPPENED TODAY

March 18 978:

Edward the Martyr, King of England from 975, was murdered at Corfe Castle, Dorset, apparently at the instigation of half-brother Ethelred, who wanted the crown for himself.

1584:

Death of Ivan the Terrible, the first ruler of Russia to assume the title of Tsar.

1858:

Rudolf Diesel, German engineer who invented the diesel engine, was born in Paris.

1869:

Neville Chamberlain (top), Prime Minister at the outbreak of the Second World War, was born in Edgbaston, Birmingham.

1893:

First World War poet Wilfred Owen (below) was born in Oswestry, Shropshire. He died in action during the war.

1949:

The text of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) was made public, two weeks before its signature in Washington DC by 12 countries including Canada, Britain, Iceland and the United States.

1958:

The last debutantes were presented to the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

1967:

The oil tanker Torrey Canyon ran onto rocks near Land’s End, spilling 120,000 gallons of crude oil into the sea.

1975:

The Cabinet decided by 16 votes to seven to advise the nation to vote in the forthcoming referendum to keep Britain in the Common Market.

1990:

East Germany’s first election since the Nazi takeover of 1933 ended in overwhelming victory for the three-party conservative alliance.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR:

Brain scientists suggested that people do not become fully adult until their 30s.

BIRTHDAYS:

Ron Atkinson, former football manager and pundit, 81; Brad Dourif, actor, 70; Luc Besson, film director, 61; Vanessa Williams (below) , singer/actress, 57; Courtney Pine, jazz musician, 56; Danny Murphy, former footballer, 43.