ON THIS DAY

• 1636: Harvarduniversitywas founded, the first in the US. It was named after John Harvard, the English-born Puritan minister who bequeathed £779 and a 300-volume library.

• 1794: Robert Liston, the S cottish physician who carried out the first operation with the aid of an anaesthetic in Britain, was born in Linlithgow.

• 1886: The Statue of Liberty Enlightening The World – to give it its full name – was dedicated by President Grover Cleveland as a monument to democracy. The French paid for the statue, the Americans for the pedestal. The statue was designed by Auguste Bartholdi.

• 1914: Polio vaccine pioneer Jonas Salk was born in New York. Within 10 years of his discovery the vaccine reduced the outbreak of polio by 95%.

• 1914: George Eastman announced the invention of a colour photograph process to be marketed by his Eastman Kodak Company.

• 1929: The collapse of the New York Stock Exchange sparked a worldeconomiccrisis.

• 1958: The State Opening of Parliament was televised for the first time.

• 1971: The House of Commons voted in favour of Britain entering the Common Market.

• ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: The first attempt by a private Chinese company to send a rocket into space failed.

• OCTOBER 28 BIRTHDAYS: Joan Plowright, actress, 90;Daviddimbleby,broadcaster, 81; Hank Marvin, guitarist (The Shadows), 78; Bill Gates, Microsoft co-founder, 64; Julia Roberts, actress, 52; Joaquin Phoenix, actor, 45; Alan Smith, footballer, 39.