ON THIS DAY
622:
The traditional starting day of the Islamic Era, when a persecuted Muhammad fled from Mecca to Medina.
1723: Sir Joshua Reynolds, English portrait painter who was elected first President of the Royal Academy in 1768, was born.
1821: Mary Baker Eddy, US religious leader who founded the Christian Science movement, was born.
1918: The last Russian Tsar, Nicholas II, was murdered by the Bolsheviks along with his entire family in the cellar of a house in Ekaterinburg.
1935: The world’s first parking meters went into service in Oklahoma, devised by newspaper editor Carlton Magee.
1945: The first atomic bomb was detonated at an airbase in the desert of New Mexico.
1953: Hilaire Belloc, writer of many talents, died. He had written his own epitaph, which read: “When I am dead, I hope it may be said, his sins were scarlet but his books were read.”
1965: The seven-mile Mont Blanc road tunnel was opened, linking France with Italy.
1970: The first state of emergency in Britain since 1926 was called by Prime Minister Edward Heath as dockers went on strike.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR:
A new project was announced to record the Earth’s ‘pulse’ on the ocean floor, by placing 50 highly sensitive measuring tools on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean.
BIRTHDAYS:
Sir George Young, Leader of the House of Commons and Lord Privy Seal, 81; Frank Field, MP, 80; Ruben Blades, actor, 74; Lorraine Chase, actress, 71; Stewart Copeland, rock musician ( The Police), 70; Michael Flatley, dancer, 64; Miguel Indurain, former cyclist, 58; Johnny Vaughan, TV and radio presenter, 56.