ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY October 16

by JAMES MOORE

1 year ago… Manchester snubs Boris

The Daily Star reports that mayor Andy Burnham, inset, unanimously rejects a tier three lockdown for Manchester without extra funding.

20 years ago… Email blunder

Government adviser Jo Moore apologises for sending an email on the day of the 9/11 terror attacks suggesting it was a good day to “bury” bad news.

25 years ago… Gun laws

The Government announces plans to outlaw almost all handguns following the Dunblane massacre at a school in which Thomas Hamilton killed 16 children and a teacher.

34 years ago… Great Storm devastates

A night of 100mph winds blows down 15million trees and leaves 18 dead. Weather forecaster Michael Fish had famously quashed rumours of a hurricane.

43 years ago… New Pope elected

Polish-born Pope John Paul II, inset, becomes the first non-italian pontiff since the 16th century, and would continue until his death in 2005 aged 84.

49 years ago… Dale debuts

Emmerdale, set in a fictional village in Yorkshire, is broadcast on ITV for the first time.

53 years ago… Black Power salute

At the medal ceremony for the 200m final at the Olympic Games in Mexico, African-american athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos raise a black-gloved fist during the US national anthem.

63 years ago… Blue Peter hits box

The children’s magazine programme, below, is broadcast on the BBC for the first time and would go on to become one of the UK’S longest-running

telly shows.

71 years ago… Narnia book published

The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, by CS Lewis, hits shelves – the first in his The Chronicles Of Narnia series.

75 years ago… Nuremberg hangings Following the Nuremberg Trials, 10 senior Nazis are executed.

167 years ago… Oscar Wilde born

The Irishman would go on to become a renowned poet and playwright. His plays include The Importance Of Being Earnest. 228 years ago… Marie Antoinette executed Following the French Revolution, the former queen is found guilty of treason and guillotined.