On this day...

Dennis Skinner (pictured), Labour politician, 87; Sheryl Crow, singer/songwriter, 57; Jennifer Aniston (pictured), actress, 50; Steve McManaman, former footballer, 47; Nick Barmby, former footballer/manager, 45; Kelly Rowland, singer, 38; Taylor Lautner, actor, 27. 1765: English wig-makers petitioned George III for financial relief as the male fashion of wearing wigs came to an end.

1810: French emperor Napoleon married Marie Louise of Austria, having rejected Josephine because of her inability to fill the royal nursery. 1852: The first flushing lavatory for women opened in Bedford Street, London.

1929: The 109 acres of the Vatican in Rome was made an independent sovereign state.

1940: John Buchan, Scottish novelist who became Lord Tweedsmuir, died. He is best remembered for his creation Richard Hannay and the novel The Thirty-Nine Steps.

1975: Margaret Thatcher became the first woman leader of a British political party, at the age of 49. 1990: South Africa’s black nationalist leader Nelson Mandela was freed from prison after 27 years.