On this day ...

MARCH 5

1133: Henry II, the first Plantagenet King (1154-89), was born in Le Mans.

1790: Death of Flora Macdonald, Scottish Jacobite heroine who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie escape to safety after his defeat at Culloden.

1918: Moscow was declared the new capital of Russia in place of Petrograd.

1933: The Nazi Party won almost half the seats in the German election.

1936: The Spitfire fighter plane made its maiden flight.

1946: Winston Churchill introduced the phrase “Iron Curtain”. He said in a speech: “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent.”

1953: Joseph Stalin, above, Russian Communist leader, died in mysterious circumstances.

1976: The pound fell below two US dollars for the first time.

1984: Scientists warned of a “greenhouse effect” amid growing concern that carbon dioxide, produced by fossil fuels, would damage the environment.

1993: Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson was banned for life after failing a drug test.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: The Duchess of Cambridge prepared to officially open the new headquarters of children’s mental health charity Place2Be in London. BIRTHDAYS: Dean Stockwell, actor, 83; Samantha Eggar, actress, 80; Eddy Grant, singer, 71; Elaine Paige, above,, singer, 71; Eva Mendes, actress, 45; Kimberly McCullough, actress, 41; Jake Lloyd, actor, 30.