ON THIS DAY
1375:
Death of Giovanni Boccaccio, Italian poet and author who wrote The
Decameron. 1804:
Benjamin Disraeli, twice prime minister, was born in London. 1846:
Robert Liston used anaesthetic (ether) for the first time in a British operation at University College Hospital, London, to perform an amputation of a leg.
1879:
The first performance took place of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House at the Royal Theatre, Copenhagen.
1913:
The first crossword puzzle was published – in the New York World, compiled by Liverpool-born Arthur Wynne. 1937:
Walt Disney’s Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, the first full-length animated cartoon with colour and sound, was premiered in the USA. 1945:
American war hero General George ‘Old Blood and Guts’ Patton died as the result of a car crash.
1988:
Terrorists blew up a Pan-Am jumbo jet which crashed on top of the Scottish town of Lockerbie. The plane was en route from London to New York when it exploded, killing all 259 people on board and 11 people on the ground. 1989:
US troops invaded Panama to oust dictator Manuel Noriega.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR:
New Zealand authorities said their country will be a safer place, after owners handed in more than 50,000 guns during a buyback programme following a ban on assault weapons.
BIRTHDAYS:
Jane Fonda, actress and keep-fit expert, 83; Albert Lee, guitarist, 77; Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor, 76; Samuel L Jackson, actor, 72; Chris Evert, former tennis player, 66; Kiefer Sutherland, actor, 54; Tom Payne, actor, 38.