ON THIS day

■1434: The River Thames froze over and, exactly 281 years later, it froze again – hard enough for a Frost Fair to be held on the ice.

■ ■1713: Laurence Sterne, clergyman, novelist and humourist, was born in Tipperary.

■ ■1815: Grace Darling, lighthousekeeper’s daughter and heroine of the wreck of the Forfarshire, was born.

■ ■1849: Frances Hodgson Burnett, author of The Secret Garden and Little Lord Fauntleroy, was born in Manchester.

■ ■1859: On The Origin Of Species by Charles Darwin was published. ■ ■1864: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, French painter famous for his scenes of Paris low-life, was born in Albi, southern France.

■1962: The satirical TV programme That Was The Week That Was went out live from the BBC for the first time, introduced by newcomer David Frost, with material written by equally unknown John Cleese.

■1963: Lee Harvey Oswald, charged with killing President Kennedy, was shot dead by club-owner Jack Ruby at Dallas Police Headquarters.

■1965: The Government imposed an experimental 70mph speed limit on motorways.

■ ■1991: Freddie Mercury, lead singer of the rock group Queen, died aged 45.

■2005: The biggest overhaul of licensing laws in more than 50 years took effect. It permitted pubs, bars, clubs and stores in England and Wales to serve alcohol for longer – and even round the clock.

■ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: A plane carrying at least 17 passengers crashed in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s eastern city of Goma, killing those on board.

■ ■BIRTHDAYS: Pete Best, former Beatle, 79; Billy Connolly, comedian, 78; Graham Price, former rugby player, 69; Susan Gilmore, actress, 66; Sir Ian Botham, broadcaster, charity fundraiser and former cricketer, 65; Denise Crosby, actress, 63; Paul Thorburn, former rugby player, 58; Colin Hanks, actor, 43; Katherine Heigl, actress, 42.