ON THIS DAY BIRTHDAYS

1710: Thomas Augustine Arne, composer who wrote the masque Alfred, which included the song Rule Britannia, was born in London.

1890: Dancer Vaslav Nijinsky was born in Kiev.

1904: The first main-line electric train in the UK left Liverpool for Southport.

1941: The original incident used in Compton Mackenzie’s Whisky Galore occurred in the Hebrides when a cargo ship ran aground with her holds full of whisky. Islanders hid the quarter of a million bottles from Customs officers.

1955: Death of jazz great Charlie “Bird” Parker, aged 35.

1969: Beatle Paul Mccartney and photographer Linda Eastman married, above, while George Harrison was arrested for illegal possession of cannabis.

1977: Egyptian President Anwar Sadat said he would not allow a single inch of Arab land to remain under Israeli occupation.

1987: The Government gave the go-ahead to the Sizewell B nuclear processing plant in Suffolk.

1992: Mauritius broke its links with the British Crown, becoming a fully fledged republic but remaining a member of the Commonwealth.

2020: Expedition operators on Mount Everest said Chinese mountaineering officials would not allow spring climbs from their side of the mountain due to coronavirus fears.

Liza Minnelli, pictured, actress/singer, 75; James Taylor, singer-songwriter, 73; Anish Kapoor, sculptor, 67; Jerry Levine, actor/director, 64; Aaron Eckhart, actor, 53; Graham Coxon, musician (Blur), 52; Pete Doherty, musician, 42, pictured.