ON THIS DAY
1654: A meteorological office in Tuscany began daily temperature readings.
1832: Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, the French engineer who built the great landmark that bears his name for the Paris Exhibition of 1899, was born.
1890: Chief Sitting Bull, Sioux leader, was shot dead in a scuffle with Indian police.
1939: The premiere of Gone With The Wind took place at Atlanta, Georgia.
1958: The last steam locomotive was made at Crewe. No 92250 was the 7,331st locomotive to be built at the works.
1964: The maple leaf was adopted as the national flag of Canada.
1966: Walt Disney, cartoon film producer and creator, died aged 65.
1979: Two Canadians, Chris Haney and Scott Abbott, came up with the idea for a game called Trivial Pursuit. It was manufactured in 1982 and sold 45 million copies worldwide in its first five years.
1991: More than 470 people drowned when a ferry carrying mainly Egyptian pilgrims sank in the Red Sea.
2014: Nelson Mandela was buried after a funeral ceremony that included a 21-gun salute and fly-overs by military aircraft as well as a eulogy by a traditional African leader wearing an animal skin.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR:
Emma Barton revealed she was blighted by an unusual injury while taking part in Strictly Come Dancing - she pulled a muscle in her bottom!
BIRTHDAYS:
Don Johnson, actor, 71; Joe Jordan, former footballer and coach/manager, 69; Paul Simonon, musician ( The Clash), 65; Helen Slater, actress, 57; Carl Hooper, former cricketer, 54; Frankie Dettori, jockey, 50; Adam Brody, actor, 41; Michelle Dockery, actress, 39.