ON THIS DAY
1707: The Acts of Union became law, making England and Scotland one country.
1726: Sir John Vanbrugh, playwright and architect of Blenheim Palace, Castle Howard and many castles and houses, died.
1780: The British Gazette And Sunday Monitor, the first Sunday newspaper in Britain, was published.
1827: Composer Ludwig van Beethoven died in Vienna, aged 57.
1885: The first cremation in Britain took place at Woking in Surrey.
1945: David Lloyd George, who laid the foundations of the Welfare State and led Britain through the First World War, died at the age of 82.
1971: East Pakistan, under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, declared independence to become the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.
1973: The first woman stockbroker set foot on the floor of the London Stock Exchange.
1979: Israel and Egypt ended 30 years of war after a peace deal brokered by the United States.
1981: The so-called Gang of Four (Roy Jenkins, David Owen, William Rodgers and Shirley Williams) launched the Social Democratic Party.
1997: The bodies of 39 members of the Heaven’s Gate cult were found after a mass suicide – they believed they would join aliens following the Hale Bopp comet.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR:
The UK’s greenhouse gas emissions had fallen 3.6% over the previous year as renewables climbed to new record highs, official figures showed.
BIRTHDAYS:
Erica Jong, writer, 79; Bob Woodward, Watergate journalist, 78; Diana Ross, singer, 77; Steve Tyler, rock musician (Aerosmith), 73; Martin Short, actor, 71; Jennifer Grey, actress, 61; William Hague, Conservative politician, 60; Amy Smart, actress, 45; Keira Knightley, actress, 36.