On this day...

Franco Zeffirelli, film director, 96; Annette Crosbie, actress, 85; Nicholas Soames, politician, 71; Arsenio Hall, actor and comedian, 63; Steve Backley (pictured), former athlete, 50; Gethin Jones, television presenter, 41; Jesse Spencer, actor, 40; Christina Ricci (pictured), actress, 39 1554: Lady Jane Grey, Queen of England for nine days, was executed on Tower Green by her cousin and rival claimant to the throne, Mary.

1688: The Glorious Revolution ended. James II fled to France and Prince William of Orange and Princess Mary were declared King and Queen of England.

1809: Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the United States, was born in Kentucky.

1809: Charles Darwin, naturalist and author, was born in Shrewsbury. His work On The Origin Of Species (1859) formulated his theory of evolution and natural selection.

1818: Chile proclaimed an independent republic. 1898: Henry Lindfield of Brighton became the first British motorist to be killed in a car crash - a result of a steering failure.

1929: Actress Lillie Langtry, an intimate friend of Edward VII, died.