The Chronicle (South Tyneside and Durham)
ON THIS DAY
1689: Death – in the Tower of London – of the despised Judge Jeffreys, who sentenced more than 300 to death at his “bloody assizes”.
1775: American patriot Paul Revere made his famous ride from Charleston to Lexington to warn of the British Army’s advance.
1906: San Francisco was devastated by a massive earthquake.
1934: The first launderette opened in Fort Worth, Texas. It was called a Washateria.
1946: The League of Nations was formally dissolved, its assets passing to the United Nations.
1949: The Republic of Ireland Act came into force as Eire became a republic and withdrew from the British Commonwealth.
1954: Colonel Gamel Abdal Nasser became prime minister and military governor of Egypt, having seized power while President Neguib was away from the capital.
1955: Death of physicist Albert Einstein, one of the most creative intellects in history.
1966: The Sound Of Music won an Oscar after receiving an almost universal panning from the critics. It grossed £60m in its first year.
1968: London Bridge was sold for £1m to oil tycoon Robert Mccullough. He had it rebuilt at Lake Havasu in the United States.
1980: Rhodesia became the independent nation of Zimbabwe with Canaan Banana as the country’s first president.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR:
British free range eggs would soon start returning to supermarket shelves, following restrictions introduced by the government to help curb the spread of bird flu.
BIRTHDAYS:
Hayley Mills, actress, 78; James Woods, actor, 77; Rick Moranis, actor, 71; Jane Leeves, actress, 63; Eric Mccormack, actor, 61; Graham Rowntree, former rugby union player/coach, 53; Melissa Joan Hart, actress, 48; Kourtney Kardashian, 45.