ON THIS DAY
1583: 1815:
The first life insurance policy was sold in London.
The Battle of Waterloo was fought, where combined forces led by the Duke of Wellington and the Prussian Field Marshal Blucher defeated Napoleon.
1817:
London’s Waterloo Bridge was opened. It was originally called Strand Bridge but was re-named on the anniversary of the Battle.
1822:
London’s first nude statue was unveiled in Hyde Park. The bronze figure of Achilles was sculpted by Sir Richard Westmacott. Achilles later acquired a bronze fig-leaf.
1903:
Jeanette MacDonald, star of countless 1930s musicals with Nelson Eddy, was born in Philadelphia.
1940:
With France collapsing before German forces, the Battle of Britain was about to begin, with Winston Churchill saying: “Let us brace ourselves to our duties and so bear ourselves that if the British Commonwealth and Empire lasts a thousand years, men will still say, ‘ This was their finest hour’.” 1963:
Henry Cooper floored Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali) in Round Four at Wembley Stadium. But by the fifth, with Cooper badly cut, the fight was stopped.
1978:
Garfield, the world’s favourite fat cat created by Jim Davis, was born. The name came from Davis’s grandfather, James A Garfield Davis.
2010:
John Lennon’s handwritten lyrics for Beatles hit A Day In The Life sold for £810,000 at auction.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR:
The Duchess of Cambridge launched her own Centre for Early Childhood in a landmark step aimed at signalling her lifetime commitment to transforming society.
BIRTHDAYS:
Delia Smith, TV cook, 81; Sir Paul McCartney, musician, 80; Thabo Mbeki, South African politician, 80; Fabio Capello, former England football manager, 76; Isabella Rossellini, actress/model, 70; Ralph Brown, actor, 65; Alison Moyet, singer, 61; Blake Shelton, American country singer, 46.