On this DAY

NATIONAL OF PERU

1540: Thomas Cromwell, chancellor to Henry VIII, was beheaded on Tower Hill for promoting the king’s failed marriage to Anne of Cleves. On the same day, Henry married his fifth wife, Catherine Howard.

1586: The first potatoes arrived in Britain in Plymouth, brought from Colombia by Sir Thomas Harriott.

1750: Johann Sebastian Bach, German composer, died of a stroke. Earlier that year he had two operations by an English occulist to try to cure his blindness. His sight was restored on July 18, just 10 days before his death.

1794: Maximilien Robespierre, one of the leaders of the French Revolution, was guillotined in Paris.

1866: Beatrix Potter was born in London. She was the author and illustrator who created the immortal characters Peter Rabbit, Squirrel Nutkin and Jemima Puddleduck, among others.

1959: Postcodes were introduced into Britain by the Postmaster General together with new postal sorting machines.

1976: An earthquake hit Tangshan in China, killing three-quarters of a million people.

1987: Laura Davies became the first Briton to win the US Women’s Open.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Prince Harry buoyed the spirits of volunteers helping with the Grenfell Tower relief effort with a visit to the sorting hub for donations.