Also on this day

537: Construction of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, now Istanbul, is completed.

1831: Charles Darwin, right, sets off on HMS Beagle, the expedition that gave rise to his theory of evolution.

1969: Soviet Union invades Afghanistan.

huge mass of snow fell down on Boxing Day, destroying a nearby timber yard, residents stayed put.

The following morning a young local scaled the cliff to assess the risk. Aware of imminent danger he raced down to sound the alarm – again to no avail. Shortly after, the drift fell.

The cottages, all poor houses owned by the parish, were swept away by the snow.

The local newspaper reported: “The mass appeared to strike the houses first at the base, heaving them upwards and then breaking over them like a gigantic wave. There was nothing but a mound of pure white.”

When muffled voices could be heard beneath the snow the entire town pitched in with a massive rescue operation, despite the risk of more avalanches. Seven people, including a two-year-old, were pulled alive from the carnage. Eight others had died.

The victims are remembered on a tablet in nearby South Malling parish church.

A pub, ironically named the Snowdrop, was built on the site of the cottages.

Question: Which French microbiologist, born on this day in 1822, created the first rabies vaccine?

Last week I asked: Which Nobel prize-winning author, dubbed “a giant of American letters”, died on this day in 1968, aged 66? JOHN STEINBECK.