On this DAY

632: Mohammed, founder of the Islamic religion, died in Mecca.

1376: Edward, the Black Prince, son of Edward III of England, died.

1924: George Mallory, on his third attempt at conquering Everest, was seen for the last time at a point 800ft from the summit.

1926: Australian opera singer Dame Nellie Melba, 65, gave her final stage performance at Covent Garden, singing Mimi in La Boheme.

1929: Margaret Bondfield became the first British woman Cabinet minister when she was appointed Minister of Labour.

1959: Liberace defended himself when he successfully sued William Connor, “Cassandra” of the Daily Mirror, for libel.

1968: James Earl Ray, wanted for the murder of Martin Luther King, was arrested in London travelling under an assumed name with a Canadian passport.

1969: Spain closed the frontier with Gibraltar, hoping to cripple its economy after Britain’s refusal to hand over the colony to Spain.

1978: Naomi James arrived back at Dartmouth in her Bermuda sloop Express Crusader after 267 days, to become the first woman to sail around the world via Cape Horn.

1988: Russell Harty, British broadcaster and writer, died aged 53 from hepatitis.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: A diamond ring purchased at a car boot sale for £10 was sold for £656,750 at auction.