IT HAPPENED TODAY
1603:
Elizabeth I died, aged 69, after nearly 45 years as Queen.
1877:
The University Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge ended in a dead heat.
1887:
Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, US silent film comedian, was born. In 1921 he was involved in a sex scandal that ruined his career.
1944:
The breakout of prisoner or war camp Stalag Luft III by 76 inmates began. The event was the inspiration for the movie The Great Escape.
1956:
In the Grand National, the Queen Mother’s horse Devon Loch collapsed after clearing the final fence in first place. The unlucky rider was Dick Francis.
1958:
Elvis Presley (above), 23, signed up for the US Army in Memphis, Tennessee.
1965:
David Steel, aged 26, won Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles for the Liberals to become Britain’s youngest MP.
1973:
Rock band Pink Floyd released The Dark Side Of The Moon, which went on to become one of the biggest-selling albums of all time.
1976:
President Isabel Peron (above) of Argentina was deposed in a bloodless military coup.
1989:
The Exxon Valdez tanker ran aground on a reef in Prince William Sound off the Alaskan coast and released 11 million gallons of crude oil into the sea.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR:
Astronauts ventured out on a spacewalk to prepare the International Space Station for a new parking spot.
BIRTHDAYS:
David Irving, military historian, 80; Archie Gemmill, coach and former footballer, 71; Lord (Alan) Sugar, businessman, 71; Nick Lowe, musician, 69; Tommy Hilfiger, fashion designer, 67; Kelly LeBrock, actress, 58; Lara Flynn Boyle, actress, 48; Alyson Hannigan, actress, 44; Jessica Chastain (above), actress, 41.