ON THIS DAY
1035: Death of Canute, Danish King of England.
1660: John Bunyan, author of The Pilgrim’s Progress, was jailed for preaching without a licence.
1840: Sculptor Auguste Rodin was born in Paris.
1859: The man who invented the leotard Jules Leotard - gave the world’s first flying trapeze display in Paris.
1911: The Rev Chad Varah, founder of the Samaritans, was born.
1919: The first flight from England to Australia began from Hounslow with Ross and Keith Smith in a Vickers Vimy. They landed safely on December 10.
1931: Abbey Road recording studio in London was opened by Sir Edward Elgar.
1944: Tirpitz, last of Hitler’s fleet of “unsinkable battleships”, was sunk off the Norwegian coast by Lancaster bombers.
1979: In response to the hostage situation in Tehran, US president Jimmy Carter ordered a halt to all petroleum imports into the United States from Iran.
1990: Crown Prince Akihito was formally installed as Emperor Akihito of Japan, becoming the 125th Japanese monarch.
1997: Ramzi Yousef was found guilty of masterminding the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR
The Duke of Cambridge met with internet and technology bosses in his campaign against cyber bullying.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS
Booker T Jones, soul musician, 74; Neil Young, singer/ songwriter, 73; Kevin Ratcliffe, former footballer, 58; Nadia Comaneci, former gymnast, 57; Mariella Frostrup, TV presenter, 56; Tonya Harding, former figure skater, 48; Anne Hathaway, actress, 36.