ON THIS DAY

ST CRISPIN AND CRISPINIAN’S DAY: Crispin and Crispinian were brother shoemakers who were martyred by being pricked to death by cobblers’ awls. They are the patrons of shoemakers.

1400: Geoffrey Chaucer, author of The Canterbury Tales, died. 1415: The Battle of Agincourt took place at which the heavily outnumbered English Army of Henry V defeated the French.

1825: Johann Strauss the Younger, Austrian composer of waltzes such as The Blue Danube and operettas including Die Fledermaus, was born in Vienna.

1881: Pablo Picasso, Spanish painter and creator of Cubism, was born in Malaga, Andalusia. Spanish artist Pablo Picasso

1900: Britain annexed the former Boer South African Republic and renamed it the Transvaal Colony.

1936: The first radio request programme was broadcast. A station in Berlin introduced You Ask - We Play.

1951: Margaret Thatcher was, at 26, the youngest candidate to stand at a general election. The Tories won overall by a narrow margin but she failed to win her seat.

1961: The first edition of Private Eye, the British satirical magazine, was published.

1964: President Kaunda took power in Zambia.

1983: US Marines invaded Grenada.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR

Prince Harry started a two-day visit to Copenhagen by meeting the Queen of Denmark.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Alan Smith, former cricketer, 82; Helen Reddy, singer, 77; Anne Tyler, novelist, 77; Fred Housego, TV personality, 74; Jon Anderson, singer (Yes), 74; Glynis Barber, actress, 63; Phil Daniels, actor, 60; Michael Lynagh, former rugby player, 55; Mathieu Amalric, French actor, 53; Zadie Smith, author, 43; Natasha Khan, singer, 39; Shaun Wright-Phillips, footballer, 37; Katy Perry, American singer, 34. YOUR CHRONICLE: If you have any queries regarding the quality of production of this newspaper, please do not hesitate to contact our Newspaper Sales Department on 0191 232 7500 or write to the Newspaper Sales Department, ncjMedia, 2nd Floor, INTU Eldon Square, Eldon Court, Percy Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7JB