ON THIS DaY

■ ■70BC: Virgil, the greatest Roman poet, best-known for his epic Aeneid, which included the legend of the founding of Rome, was born.

■ ■1666: The first waistcoat was worn by King Charles II, according to Samuel Pepys.

■ ■1839: Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were betrothed. She proposed to him and confided to her diary: “It was a nervous thing to do, but Albert could not propose to the Queen of England. He would never presume to take such a liberty.”

■1881: Novelist PG Wodehouse - later Sir - creator of Jeeves and Wooster, was born in Guildford, Surrey.

■ ■1917: Mata Hari, legendary Dutch spy who danced in the nude, was executed by a firing squad in Paris.

■ ■1940: A 500lb bomb hit Broadcasting House, London, killing seven people. Bruce Belfrage was reading the news at the time and paused for only a second before continuing.

■ ■1976: Two men from the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) were jailed for 35 years in connection with the murders of members of the Miami Showband.

■ ■1987: The worst hurricane in Britain since records began hit during the night, devastating southern England and causing at least 17 deaths.

■ ■ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Extinction Rebellion activists launched legal action against the police over a London-wide ban on their protests.

■ ■BIRTHDAYS: Chris de Burgh, singer, 72; Tito Jackson, musician, 67; Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, 61, above; Stephen Tompkinson, actor, 55; Dominic West, actor, 51; Andy Cole, former footballer and coach, 49; Vincent Martella, actor, 28.

The recycled paper content of UK newspapers in 2016 was 62.8%