On this DAY

1566: James VI of Scotland, later James I - and first Stuart king - of England, was born in Edinburgh Castle.

1623: Blaise Pascal, French mathematician and philosopher who invented the first calculating machines, was born. Other research led to the invention of the syringe and hydraulic press and with it, Pascal’s law of pressure.

1820: A baton was first used to conduct an orchestra in England, by Ludwig Spohr.

1829: The London Metropolitan Police was founded.

1896: Bessie Wallis Warfield (Mrs Simpson) was born in Baltimore. She later became the Duchess of Windsor, after Edward VIII abdicated the throne.

1903: Wally Hammond, England and Gloucester cricketer, was born.

1905: The world’s first all-motion picture theatre opened in Pittsburgh.

1910: Deutschland, the first Zeppelin airliner, was launched, and crashed on June 28.

1953: Ethel and Julius Rosenberg went to the electric chair in New York, having been found guilty of spying for the Soviet Union.

1967: The Monterey Pop Festival attracted thousands to watch stars including Jimi Hendrix, Otis Redding, Janis Joplin and The Who.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: More than 2,000 firefighters in Portugal battled to contain major wildfires in the central region of the country, after one blaze killed 62 people.