On this day ...

NOVEMBER 2

1734: American frontiersman Daniel Boone was born in Philadelphia.

1755: Marie Antoinette, ill-fated future Queen Consort of Louis XVI of France, was born in Vienna.

1899: The Siege of Ladysmith in Natal began, with the Boers encircling the town.

1903: The Daily Mirror was first published in Britain, devised as a daily paper for women.

1930: Ras Safari was crowned Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia.

1950: Irish writer George Bernard Shaw, above, died, aged 94. His hobby was treepruning, which he was doing when he fell and fractured his thigh. He died shortly afterwards.

1954: The classic comedy series Hancock’s Half Hour began on BBC Radio.

1959: The first stretch of the M1 was opened.

1960: The Lady Chatterley trial ended with publisher Penguin cleared of obscenity.

1982: Channel 4 began transmitting.

2000: Schools watchdog Chris Woodhead resigned. It followed ill-tempered exchanges with MPs on the Commons education select committee.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: A third new species of orangutan with a small population of 800 was described by scientists. BIRTHDAYS: Bruce Welch, guitarist (The Shadows), 77; Stefanie Powers, actress, 76; KD lang, singer, 57; David Schwimmer, actor, above, 52; Samantha Janus, actress/singer, 46; Marisol Nichols, actress, 45; Chris Walla, musician, 43; Danny Cipriani, rugby player, 31.