ON THIS DAY

■ 622: The traditional starting day of the Islamic Era, when a persecuted Muhammad fled from Mecca to Medina.

■ 1723: Sir Joshua Reynolds, English portrait painter who was elected first president of the Royal Academy in 1768, was born.

■ 1821: Mary Baker Eddy, US religious leader who founded the Christian Science movement, was born.

■ 1918: The last Russian tsar, Nicholas II, was murdered by the Bolsheviks along with his entire family in the cellar of a house in Ekaterinburg.

■ 1935: The world’s first parking meters went into service in Oklahoma, devised by newspaper editor Carlton Magee.

■ 1945: The first atomic bomb was detonated at an airbase in the desert of New Mexico.

■ 1953: Hilaire Belloc, writer of many talents, died. He had written his own epitaph, which read: “When I am dead, I hope it may be said, his sins were scarlet but his books were read.”

■ 1965: The seven-mile Mont Blanc road tunnel was opened, linking France with Italy.

■ 1970: The first state of emergency in Britain since 1926 was called by Prime Minister Edward Heath as dockers went on strike.

■ ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: A new project was announced to record the Earth’s “pulse” on the ocean floor, by placing 50 highly sensitive measuring tools on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. ■ BIRTHDAYS: Sir George Young, Leader of the House of Commons and Lord Privy Seal, 81; Frank Field, MP, 80; Ruben Blades, actor, 74; Lorraine Chase, actress, 71; Stewart Copeland, rock musician (The Police), 70; Michael Flatley, dancer, 64, above; Miguel Indurain, former cyclist, 58; Johnny Vaughan, TV and radio presenter, 56.

■ The recycled paper content of UK newspapers in 2021 was 65.7%