ON THIS DAY

■ 1689: Death – in the Tower of London – of the despised Judge Jeffreys, who sentenced more than 300 to death at his “bloody assizes”.

■ 1775: American patriot Paul Revere made his famous ride from Charleston to Lexington to warn of the British Army’s advance.

■ 1906: San Francisco was devastated by a massive earthquake.

■ 1934: The first launderette opened in Fort Worth, Texas. It wa called a Washateria.

■ 1946: The League of Nations was formally dissolved, its assets passing to the United Nations.

■ 1949: The Republic of Ireland Act came into force as Eire became a republic and withdrew from the British Commonwealth.

■ 1954: Colonel Gamel Abdal Nasser became prime minister and military governor of Egypt, having seized power while President Neguib was away from the capital.

■ 1955: Death of physicist Albert Einstein, one of the most creative intellects in history.

■ 1966: The Sound Of Music won an Oscar after receiving an almost universal panning from the critics. It grossed £60 million in its first year.

■ 1968: London Bridge was sold for £1 million to oil tycoon Robert McCullough. He had it rebuilt at Lake Havasu in the United States.

■ 1980: Rhodesia became the independent nation of Zimbabwe with Canaan Banana as the country’s first president.

■ ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: British free range eggs would soon start returning to supermarket shelves, following restrictions introduced by the government to help curb the spread of bird flu. ■ BIRTHDAYS: Hayley Mills, actress, 78, above; James Woods, actor, 77; Rick Moranis, actor, 71; Jane Leeves, actress, 63; Eric McCormack, actor, 61; Graham Rowntree, former rugby union player/coach, 53; Melissa Joan Hart, actress, 48; Kourtney Kardashian, 45; America Ferrera, actress, 40.

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