ON THIS DAY

1718:

William Penn, founder of The Quakers, died in Pennsylvania. 1818:

Emily Bronte, English novelist, was born. One of the three famous sisters, she wrote her single masterpiece Wuthering Heights under the name of Ellis Bell in 1846.

1863:

Henry Ford, father of the massproduced car, was born in Dearborn, Michigan. He built his first car in his spare time in a shed behind his house in Detroit.

1900:

London Underground’s Central Line was opened by the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) with a flat rate of tuppence for all destinations.

1930:

Uruguay won football’s first World Cup.

1935:

Ariel, a life of Shelley by Andre Maurois, was the first Penguin paperback book to be published, price sixpence.

1963:

Third Man Kim Philby turned up in Moscow after escaping arrest in Britain for spying. 1966:

England beat West Germany 4-2 in extra time – with a hat-trick from Geoff Hurst – to win the World Cup. 1973:

The Thalidomide Case, taken up by the Sunday Times on behalf of the victims, ended after 11 years, with compensation of £20 million.

1990:

Ian Gow, Conservative MP for Eastbourne, was murdered by an IRA bomb at his home in the Sussex village of Hankham.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR:

A baby beaver made history as the first to be born in Norfolk in more than 600 years.

BIRTHDAYS:

Buddy Guy, blues guitarist, 86; Paul Anka, singer, 81; Frances de la Tour, actress, 78; Arnold Schwarzenegger, actor and former governor of California, 75; Jean Reno, actor, 74; Harriet Harman, MP, 72; Kate Bush, singer, 64; Daley Thompson, former athlete, 64; Laurence Fishburne, actor, 61; Lisa Kudrow, actress, 59; Sean Moore, rock drummer (Manic Street Preachers), 54; Jason Robinson, former rugby player, 48.