On this day ...

1881: James Abram Garfield, 20th US president, died of wounds suffered when he was shot in July.

1888: The world’s first beauty contest took place in Spa, Belgium.

1928: The first cartoon talking picture, Walt Disney’s Steamboat Willie, featuring Mickey Mouse, was shown in New York.

1945: Wartime traitor William Joyce – Lord Haw-Haw – was sentenced to be hanged after his trial at the Old Bailey.

1960: Chubby Checker’s The Twist – a cover of an original Hank Ballard song – entered the US charts and launched a dance craze.

1975: The first episode of Fawlty Towers starring John Cleese, above, was broadcast by the BBC.

1985: More than 20,000 people died when an earthquake devastated large areas Of Mexico City.

1997: Six died in the Southall train disaster after an Intercity 125 ploughed into a freight train in west London.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: An artificial muscle that lifts 1000 times its own weight could pave the way for lifelike robots that make Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator look puny, developers announced. BIRTHDAYS: David McCallum, actor, 85; Zandra Rhodes, fashion designer, 78; Kate Adie, TV reporter, 73; Jeremy Irons, actor, 70; Twiggy (Lesley Hornby), model/actress, 69; Daniel Lanois, singer and music producer, 67; Nile Rodgers, above, music producer, 66.