On this day

1874: Arthur Orton, claimant to the Tichborne estate, was found guilty of perjury and sentenced to 14 years of hard labour.

1900: In the Boer War, General Buller relieved Ladysmith, besieged by Boer forces for 118 days.

1912: The world’s first parachute jump from an aeroplane was made over Missouri, USA, by Albert Berry.

1940: Sandy’s Half Hour began on radio, with Sandy MacPherson at the organ. It was the start of the modern listeners’ request programme.

1975: A train from Drayton Park crashed through buffers at Moorgate tube station and killed 42 people.

1986: Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was shot dead by an unknown assassin in Stockholm.