ON THIS DAY
1485: Morte D’Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory, was published. He wrote the tale of knightly love and chivalry while in prison for armed assault and rape.
1635: British public inland postal services were established, with charges of two to eight pence.
1910: Wife-poisoner Dr Hawley Crippen was arrested on the SS Montrose as it was entering Quebec. He had left his wife’s dismembered body in a cellar at home and was travelling with Ethel le Neve, his mistress, who was dressed as a boy. Crippen was the first criminal to be captured by the use of wireless telegraphy.
1912: The world’s first film censorship law was passed in the United States. It was not against obscenity but the interstate transportation of films showing prize fights.
1919: The Weimar Republic was established in post-war Germany.
1950: Britain’s first self-service store, Sainsbury’s, opened in Croydon.
1956: At Old Trafford, England bowler Jim Laker took all 10 Australian wickets in the second innings for 53 runs, after a first innings haul of 9 for 37.
1964: American country singer Jim Reeves was killed in an air crash.
1965: Cigarette advertising on British TV was banned.
1975: Irish pop group the Miami Showband were ambushed and murdered by Protestant gunmen near Newry in Northern Ireland.
2010: A four-strong British rowing team smashed a 114-year-old record for crossing the North Atlantic. Their time - 43 days, 21 hours, 26 minutes and 48 seconds - beat the previous 55-day record set in 1896 by Norwegian fishermen George Harbo and Frank Samuelsen.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR
A special constable who was filmed “dad dancing” at a music festival became an internet hit.
JULY 31 CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Geraldine Chaplin, actress, 74; Jonathan Dimbleby, broadcaster, 74; Evonne Cawley, former tennis player, 67; Andrew Marr, journalist, broadcaster and political commentator, 59; Wesley Snipes, actor, 56; Norman Cook, record producer (aka Fat Boy Slim), 55; JK Rowling, author, 53; Dean Cain, actor, 52; Emilia Fox, actress, 44.