ON THIS DAY

1669: Volcano Etna in Italy erupted, killing 15,000

1682: The Chelsea Hospital for old soldiers (Chelsea Pensioners), also the venue for the world-famous flower show, was founded.

1702: The first successful English daily newspaper, a single broadsheet called the Daily Courant,waspublished.

1819: Sir Henry Tate, a sugar refiner who left his art collection to the nation and which formed the basis for the Tate Gallery, was born in Chorley, Lancashire. 1845: In New Zealand, a Maori uprising against the British began.

1855: Bowery Boys gang leader William Poole aka “Bill the Butcher” is buried in Brooklyn with 155 carriages and 6,000 mourners 1864: The Bradfield Reservoir, near Sheffield, burst its banks, killing 270 people.

1945: The huge Krupps factory in Germany was destroyed when 1,000 Allied bombers took part in the biggest ever daylight raid.

2004: Terrorists exploded simultaneous bombs on Madrid’s rail network ripping through a commuter train and rocking three stations, killing 190 ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Lego was voted the UK’S strongest brand, as the previous winner British Airways fell from the top 20 ranking entirely.

MARCH 11 CELEBRITY

BIRTHDAYS: Rupert Murdoch, media magnate, 88; Bobby Mcferrin, singer, 69; Shane Richie, actor and presenter, 55; Laurence Llewelyn-bowen, interior designer and TV personality, 54; Lisa Loeb, singer, 51; Thora Birch, actress, 37.