ON THIS DAY
1675: Greenwich Observatory was established by King Charles II,
who laid the foundation stone. 1787: Mozart completed his famous Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. On the same day in 1788, he finished his Jupiter Symphony. 1842: The Mines Act was passed by the British Parliament, forbidding women and children to work underground. 1889: The screw bottle top was patented by Dan Rylands of Hope Glass Works, Barnsley. 1895: The first London Promenade Concert took place, founded by Henry Wood and Robert Newman, and played by an orchestra of 80 in the Queen’s Hall. 1897: The Royal Automobile Club was founded, under the name of The Automobile Club of Great Britain. 1949: “Acid bath” murderer John Haigh, who confessed to nine killings, was executed at Wandsworth Prison. 1954: Sir Gordon Richards, champion English jockey, retired after 4,869 wins. 1961: Britain first applied for membership of the EEC. 1990: The Magellan space probe reached Venus. 2003: The highest temperature ever recorded in the UK - 38.5C (101.3F) in Kent. 2010: Archaeologists announced that they had discovered Britain’s earliest house at Star Carr, near Scarborough, believed to date back to 8,500 years BC.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR
It was announced that CCTV was to become mandatory in all slaughterhouses in England under plans to safeguard animal welfare and reassure consumers.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS
Ian Anderson, rock singer (Jethro Tull), 71; Patti Austin, singer and actress, 68; Rosanna Arquette, actress, 59; Antonio Banderas, actor, 58; Charlie Dimmock, TV gardening expert, 52; Roy Keane, former footballer, football manager, 47; Lawrence Dallaglio, former English rugby captain, 46.