On this day ...

DECEMBER 31

1695: A window tax was imposed in Britain which resulted in many being bricked up.

1720: Charles Edward Stuart – Bonnie Prince Charlie, the Young Pretender – was born in Rome. As leader of the Scottish Jacobites, he attempted to depose George II, but was finally defeated at Culloden.

1911: Marie Curie. above, received her second Nobel prize.

1923: The chimes of Big Ben were broadcast by the BBC for the first time.

1935: Charles Darrow patented his board game Monopoly.

1960: The farthing ceased to be legal tender.

1999: First President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, resigned, leaving Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as his successor.

2014: John Fortune, the comedian made famous on Bremner, Bird and Fortune, died at the age of 74.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Coins marking 100 years since women gained the right to vote and 200 years since the publication of Frankenstein were revealed among new designs launched by the Royal Mint for 2018. BIRTHDAYS: Sir Anthony Hopkins, actor, 81; Sir Alex Ferguson, anove former football manager, 77; Sarah Miles, actress, 77; Andy Summers, rock guitarist, 76; Sir Ben Kingsley, actor, 75; Alex Salmond, former Scottish First Minister, 64; Val Kilmer, actor, 59; Steve Bruce, football manager, 58.