On this day ...

OCTOBER 22

1797: The first parachute descent was made, over the Parc Monceau in Paris, by Andre-Jacques Garnerin, from a balloon.

1811: Franz Liszt, composer and piano virtuoso was born near Sopron, Hungary.

1881: The first edition of the British magazine Tit-Bits was published.

1883: The Metropolitan Opera House in New York opened with a performance of Gounod’s Faust.

1910: American-born Dr Hawley Crippen was convicted at the Old Bailey of poisoning his wife Cora. He was hanged on November 23 at Pentonville.

1937: The Duke and Duchess of Windsor arrived in Berlin to meet Hitler, above.

1966: KGB master-spy George Blake escaped from Wormwood Scrubs where he was serving a 40-year sentence.

1974: A bomb exploded in Brooks Club in London, near a restaurant where opposition leader of the time Edward Heath was dining.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: A study found that an additional 20 minutes commuting per day was equivalent to a 19 per cent pay cut when it comes to measuring job satisfaction.

BIRTHDAYS: Sir Derek Jacobi, actor/director, 80; Christopher Lloyd, actor, 80; Catherine Deneuve, actress, 75; Kelvin MacKenzie, former newspaper editor and media executive, 72; Arsene Wenger, above, football manager, 69; Jeff Goldblum, actor, 66; Shelby Lynne, singer, 50; Shaggy, singer, 50; Amanda Coetzer, former tennis player, 47