ON THIS DAY

■■ NATIONAL DAY OF GHANA (Formerly the Gold Coast, it became the first British colony in Africa to achieve independence, on March 6, 1957)

■■1836: The Alamo fell to Mexican forces under Santa Anna. Legendary frontiersmen Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie both died in the 12-day battle. ■■1890: An ornithologist released 100 starlings in New York’s Central Park as a memorial to Shakespeare. The starling is now America’s worst bird pest.

■■1899: Chemist Felix Hoffmann patented the world’s most famous pain-relief drug, aspirin.

■■1926: The Shakespeare Memorial Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon was engulfed by flames, leaving only a blackened shell.

■■1930: Clarence Birdseye marketed the first frozen foods in Massachusetts.

■■1944: US planes from bases in Britain began daylight bombing raids on Berlin.

■■1951: Ivor Novello (David Ivor Davies), Welsh-born composer, playwright and actor, died in his flat above the Strand Theatre, London.

■■1961: George Formby, film star and music hall artist, who sang comic songs and accompanied himself on the banjo, died.

■■1987: The ferry Herald of Free Enterprise capsized with her bow door open leaving Zeebrugge harbour – 193 died.

■■1988: Three IRA terrorists were shot dead by SAS men in Gibraltar.

■■1997: A gunman stole Tete de Femme, a million-dollar Picasso portrait, from a London gallery. The painting was recovered a week later.

■■ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Nasa astronauts reported that lettuce grown entirely in space was as nutritious and safe to eat as lettuce grown on Earth.

■■BIRTHDAYS: Alan Greenspan, economist and former chairman of the US Federal Reserve, 95; Jean Boht, actress, 89; Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, soprano, 77; David Gilmour, Pink Floyd guitarist, 75; Kiki Dee, singer, 74; Rob Reiner, actor/director, 74; Tom Arnold, actor, 62; Moira Kelly, actress, 53; Shaquille O’Neal, former basketball player, 49; Rufus Hound, actor/comedian, 42.

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