ON THIS DAY

1765: English wig-makers petitioned George III for financial relief as the male fashion of wearing wigs came to an end. 1810: French emperor Napoleon married Marie Louise of Austria, having rejected Josephine because of her inability to fill the royal nursery.

1847: Inventor Thomas Edison was born in Ohio.

1852: The first flushing lavatory for women opened in Bedford Street, London.

1858: The ‘Miracle of Lourdes’ took place when St Bernadette (peasant girl Bernadette Soubirous) had her first vision of the Virgin Mary. 1929: The 109 acres of the Vatican in Rome was made an independent sovereign state.

1975: Margaret Thatcher became the first woman leader of a British political party, the Conservatives, at the age of 49.

1990: South Africa’s black nationalist leader (above) Nelson Mandela was freed from prison after 27 years.

2010: The fashion world mourned the loss of British designer Alexander McQueen.