Today in History

79 – Mt Vesuvius erupts, devastating the prosperous Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum and killing thousands.

1456 – The printing of the Gutenberg Bible is completed.

1572 – The slaughter of French Protestants at the hands of Catholics begins in Paris.

1814 – British troops invade Washington DC and burn the White House.

1821 – Spain accepts Mexican independence.

1875 – Captain Matthew Webb of Britain becomes the first person to successfully swim the English Channel without assistance. 1878 – The Wellington steam-tram service opens.

1932 – Amelia Earhart, left, becomes the first woman to fly nonstop across the United States, travelling from Los Angeles to New Jersey in 19 hours.

1949 – Nato comes into effect. 1968 – France explodes a hydrogen bomb at a South Pacific testing ground and becomes the world’s fifth thermo-nuclear power.

1981 – Mark David Chapman is sentenced to 20 years to life for the murder of John Lennon.

2004 – Chechen suicide bombers destroy two Russian airliners, killing a total of 90 passengers and crew.

2012 – Anders Behring Breivik, a 33-year-old Right-wing extremist who killed 77 people in Norway, is sentenced to 21 years in prison, with preventive detention.

2014 – Actor and Oscar-winning director Richard Attenborough dies, aged 90.

Birthdays

William Wilberforce, English politician and abolitionist (1759-1833); Yasser Arafat, Palestinian leader (1929-2004); Mike Huckabee, US politician (1955-); Stephen Fry, English comedian (1957-); Marlee Matlin, US actress (1965-); Inge de Bruijn, Dutch swimmer (1973-); Joanne Froggatt, English actress (1980-); Rupert Grint, English actor (1988-).