ON THIS DAY

■■ 1689: Death - in the Tower of London - of the despised Judge Jeffreys, who sentenced more than 300 to death at his “bloody assizes”.

■■1775: American patriot Paul Revere made his famous ride from Charleston to Lexington to warn of the British Army’s advance. ■■1906: San Francisco was devastated by a massive earthquake.

■■1934: The first launderette opened in Fort Worth, Texas. It was called a Washateria.

■■1946: The League of Nations was formally dissolved, its assets passing to the United Nations.

■■1949: The Republic of Ireland Act came into force as Eire became a republic and withdrew from the British Commonwealth.

■■1954: Colonel Gamel Abdal Nasser became prime minister and military governor of Egypt, having seized power while President Neguib was away from the capital.

■■1955: Death of physicist Albert Einstein, one of the most creative intellects in history.

■■1966: The Sound Of Music won an Oscar after receiving an almost universal panning from the critics. It grossed £60m in its first year.

■■1968: London Bridge was sold for £1m to oil tycoon Robert McCullough. He had it rebuilt at Lake Havasu in the United States.

■■1980: Rhodesia became the independent nation of Zimbabwe with Canaan Banana as the country’s first president.

■■ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: A fresh food shipment rocketed towards the International Space Station after launching from the seashore in Virginia, USA.

■■BIRTHDAYS: Hayley Mills, actress, 74; James Woods, actor, 73; Rick Moranis, actor, 67; Jane Leeves, actress, 59; Eric McCormack, actor, 57; Graham Rowntree, former rugby union player/coach, 49; Melissa Joan Hart, actress, 44; Kourtney Kardashian, 41; America Ferrera, actress, 36.