ON THIS DaY

1555: Bishops Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley were burnt at the stake for heresy.

■ ■1793: Marie Antoinette, Queen of France as wife of Louis XVI, was convicted of treason and guillotined in Paris.

■ ■1846: An anaesthetic was successfully used for the first time at the Massachusetts General Hospital, where dentist William Morton used diethyl ether before removing a tumour from a man’s jaw.

■ ■1847: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte was published under the pseudonym Currer Bell.

■ ■1854: Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin.

■ ■1881: The Sunday People was published for the first time, as The People.

■1902: The first detention centre for young offenders was opened at the village of Borstal, Kent.

■ ■1946: The Nuremberg executions began. They included von Ribbentrop, Rosenberg and Streicher. ■ ■1958: Blue Peter started on BBC TV. The presenters were Leila Williams and Christopher Trace.

■ ■1964: Harold Wilson became prime minister of a Labour government which won a general election with a majority of four.

■ ■ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: A study found that around one in eight schools did not have a library, with poorer children less likely to have access to one than their richer peers.

■ ■BIRTHDAYS: Angela Lansbury, actress, 95, above; Peter Bowles, actor, 84; Terry Griffiths, former snooker player and coach, 73; Tim Robbins, actor, 62; Gary Kemp, actor/ musician (Spandau Ballet), 61; Flea (Michael Peter Balzary), rock bassist (Red Hot Chili Peppers), 58; Davina McCall, TV presenter, 53.