On this day ...

1675: Greenwich Observatory was established by King Charles II.

1787: Mozart, pictured, completed his famous Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.

1842: The Mines Act was passed by the British Parliament, forbidding women and children to work underground.

1889: The screw bottle top was patented by Dan Rylands of Hope Glass Works, Barnsley.

1895: The first London Promenade Concert took place, founded by Henry Wood and Robert Newman, and played by an orchestra of 80 in the Queen’s Hall.

1897: The Royal Automobile Club was founded, under the name of The Automobile Club of Great Britain.

1949: ‘ Acid bath’ murderer John Haigh, who confessed to nine killings, was executed at Wandsworth Prison.

1954: Sir Gordon Richards, champion English jockey, retired after 4,869 wins.

1961: Britain first applied for membership of the European Economic Community.

2010: Archaeologists announced that they had discovered Britain’s earliest house at Star Carr, near Scarborough, believed to date back to 8,500 years BC. ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: It was announced that CCTV was to become mandatory in all slaughterhouses in England under plans to safeguard animal welfare and reassure consumers. BIRTHDAYS: Rosanna Arquette, actress, 59; Antonio Banderas, actor, 58; Charlie Dimmock, TV gardening expert, 52; Roy Keane, pictured, football manager, 47.