IT HAPPENED TODAY
1626:
Manhattan island was bought from local Indians by Dutch settler Peter Minuit for trinkets worth about 25 dollars.
1840:
The first postage stamp — the Penny Black — was issued by the Post Office for use.
1851:
American inventor Linus Yale patented the lock which bears his name.
1856:
Sigmund Freud, father of psychoanalysis, was born in Freiberg, Moravia (now Czech Republic).
1895:
Rudolph Valentino (top), Italian heartthrob of the silent screen, was born in Castellaneta, Italy.
1954:
Roger Bannister ran the first sub-four-minute mile on the Iffley Road track in Oxford, in three minutes 59.4 seconds.
1960:
Princess Margaret (below) married Anthony Armstrong-jones (Lord Snowdon) in Westminster Abbey.
1966:
Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, the Moors murderers, were found guilty at Chester Assizes and sentenced to life imprisonment.
1994:
Nelson Mandela (below) and the ANC were confirmed the winners in South Africa’s first post-apartheid election.
2004:
The series finale of the televisionsitcomfriendswasshown on US channel NBC, attracting 52.46 million viewers.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR:
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Harry and Meghan, welcomed their baby son Archie into the world.
BIRTHDAYS:
Bob Seger, rock singer, 75; Jeffery Deaver, author, 70; Tony Blair, former prime minister, 67; Graeme Souness, former footballer and manager, 67; George Clooney, actor, 59; Leslie Hope, actress,
55; Chris Shiflett, guitarist (Foo Fighters), 49; Kerry Ellis, musical theatre actress, 41; Gabourey Sidibe, actress, 37.