ON THIS DAY

■■SAINT PATRICK’S DAY National Day of Ireland.

■1649: Oliver Cromwell abolished the office of King and declared England a Commonwealth.

■1776: British troops were forced by George Washington to evacuate Boston.

■1845: Elastic bands were patented by Stephen Perry at a firm of vulcanised rubber manufacturers in England.

■1921: The first birth control clinic was set up in London by Dr Marie Stopes.

■1938: Rudolf Nureyev, Russian ballet dancer who defected to the West, was born.

■1945: The Americans defeated the Japanese at the Battle of Iwo Jima.

■1973: The Queen opened the new London Bridge.

■1978: The oil tanker Amoco Cadiz ran aground on the coast of Brittany, broke in half and spilled 220,000 tons of crude oil. ■1983: Michael Dickinson, 33, achieved a unique record as trainer of the first five horses home in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

■1989: Paul Channon, Transport Secretary, pushed the button which began the machine to bore the Channel Tunnel through chalk beneath the sea at Dover.

■1995: The pound hit a record low against the German mark at 2.1890.

■ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Amazon announced plans to hire 100,000 people across the US to keep up with a crush of orders as the pandemic took hold.

■BIRTHDAYS: Penelope Lively, writer, 88; Jeff Banks, fashion designer, 78; Patrick Duffy, actor, 72; Kurt Russell, actor, 70; Lesley-Anne Down, actress, 67; Rory McGrath, writer/comedian, 65; Lee Dixon, former footballer, 57; Rob Lowe, actor, 57; John Boyega, above, British actor, 29.

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