ON THIS day

■■64 AD: The Great Fire of Rome took place during the reign of Nero. He played the lyre and was 50 miles away at his villa in Antium when he heard the news.

■■1817: Author Jane Austen died at the age of 41. Doctors were unable to diagnose her illness (she had written that her skin had gone “black and blue and every wrong colour”), but medical authorities now believe she died from Addison’s Disease.

■■1870: The Dogma of Papal Infallibility in matters of faith and morals was proclaimed by the Vatican Council.

■■1919: The Cenotaph in London’s Whitehall was unveiled. The World War I memorial was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and would later do double duty for World War II.

■■1934: The Mersey Tunnel was formally opened.

■■1969: Senator Edward Kennedy crashed his car into the Chappaquiddick River near Martha’s Vineyard on America’s east coast. Kennedy escaped, but his companion Mary Jo Kopechne drowned. He didn’t report the incident for 10 hours and was found guilty of leaving the scene of the accident and given a two-month suspended sentence. ■■ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: A group of elderly demonstrators were arrested as thousands of protesters tried to stop construction of a telescope on a mountain considered sacred to some Native Hawaiians. ■■BIRTHDAYS: James Brolin, actor, 80; Martha Reeves, soul singer, 79; James Faulkner, actor, 72; Dennis Lillee, former cricketer, 71; Richard Branson, entrepreneur, 70; Nick Faldo, golfer, 63; Vin Diesel, actor, 53; M.I.A, musician, 45; Chace Crawford, actor, 35.

Let us know your community events

Write to What’s On, South Wales Echo, Six Park Street, Cardiff CF10 1XR or email ecletters@walesonline. co.uk including your name, address and daytime contact number. Don’t forget to tell us where and when your event is taking place and what it’s all about.

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■■1848: WG Grace, famous English cricketer, was born in Downend, near Bristol. In his 37-year playing career, he hit nearly 51,000 runs and took more than 2,800 wickets. ■■1872: The Ballot Act, which laid the foundations of our current voting system, was passed. ■■1925: Mein Kampf (My Struggle), which Adolf Hitler wrote while in jail, was published. ■■1936: The Spanish Civil War began when the army, led by General Franco, revolted against the Republican government. It lasted three years. The recycled paper content of UK newspapers in 2016 was 62.8%