On this day...

1769: Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Corsica. He expanded the French empire until defeated by an allied coalition which sent him into exile to Elba. He returned to fight at Waterloo, which led to final exile on the remote south Atlantic island of St Helena.

1771: Sir Walter Scott, creator of the historical novel, was born in Edinburgh.

1842: The first regular British detective force was formed. This division of the Metropolitan Police assumed the name Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in 1878.

1843: The Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen were opened to the public.

1939: “The Wizard of Oz” premiered at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood.

1947: The Union Flag was run down for the last time in New Delhi as India gained independence from Britain. Pakistan split from India, also becoming independent.

1952: Severe thunderstorms in Somerset and North Devon caused rivers to flood and devastated the towns of Lynton and Lynmouth.

1960: Britain’s first motorway restaurant was opened on the M1 at Newport Pagnell.

1969: The three-day Woodstock pop festival began in upstate New York. More than 400,000 people watched artists such as The Who, Santana and Jimi Hendrix - but massive traffic jams, adverse weather and shortage of food led to the event being declared a disaster area.

1987: Caning was officially banned in Britain, except in independent schools.

1999: Omagh bomb in Northern Ireland, the worst terrorist incident of The Troubles, killed 29 people and injured about 220.