ON THIS DAY

1679: The Habeas Corpus Act, stating that nobody could be held in prison without trial, was passed. 1703: Tsar Peter the Great founded St Petersburg, the new capital of Russia. 1818: Women’s rights campaigner Amelia Jenks Bloomer was born. She caused such a stir by wearing trousers that they acquired her name – bloomers. 1840: Italian violin virtuoso Niccolo Paganini died. 1900: Belgium became the first country to elect a government by proportional representation. 1936: The Queen Mary left Southampton on her maiden voyage to New York. 1937: The Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, opened. 1940: Operation Dynamo – the evacuation of British and French troops from the Dunkirk beaches – began. It lasted until June 4. ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: A Slovakian model who shot her British millionaire ex-boyfriend twice in the head was found guilty of his murder at a court in Spain.