ON THIS DAY

■■ 1701: Captain Kidd went on trial at the Old Bailey for piracy. He was hanged on May 23.

■■1828: Jean Henri Dunant, philanthropist and founder of the International Red Cross, was born in Geneva.

■■1902: Mount Pelee erupted on the island of Martinique, destroying the town of St Pierre and killing more than 30,000 people in just three minutes.

■■1945: VE Day. The Second World War in Europe officially ended at one minute past midnight.

■■1961: George Blake, a former British diplomat, was jailed for 42 years for spying for Russia. He escaped from Wormwood Scrubs in 1966.

■■1970: The Beatles’ final album, Let It Be, was released.

■■1980: The World Health Organization announced that smallpox had been eradicated.

■■1984: The Thames Barrier at Woolwich was officially opened.

■■2008: Vladimir Putin was

appointed Russian Prime Minister.

■■2013: Sir Alex Ferguson announced his retirement as Manchester United’s manager at the end of the season.

■■ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Scientists said finding the fossil of a newly discovered species was further evidence of the existence of tiny dinosaurs with bat-like wings.

■■BIRTHDAYS: Sir David Attenborough, naturalist, 94; Jack Charlton, former footballer and manager, 85; Norman Lamont, former Chancellor of the Exchequer, 78; Melissa Gilbert, actress, 56; Enrique Iglesias, singer, 45; Ian ‘H’ Watkins, singer (Steps), 44, above; Michelle McManus, former Pop Idol winner/singer, 40; Matt Willis, singer (Busted)/TV presenter, 37.