ON THIS DAY

• 1190: Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I drowned in a river on his way to the Holy Land on the Third Crusade.

• 1692: The first of the Salem witches was hanged. She was Bridget Bishop, one of 150 respectable citizens accused of witchcraft by a hysterical band of young girls in the isolated Puritan community in Massachusetts.

• 1829: The first Oxford and Cambridge boat race took place, two miles from Hambleden Lock to Henley Bridge. It was won easily by Oxford.

• 1909: The SOS signal was first used in an emergency. The call was recognised by two steamers who went to the aid of the Cunard liner SS Slavonia, wrecked off the Azores.

• 1922: Actress and singer Judy Garland – A Star Is Born, The Wizard Of Oz – was born at Grand Rapids, Minnesota.

• 1943: Ballpoint pens, devised by Hungarian Laszlo Biro, were patented in the United States.

• 1983: Margaret Thatcher won her second term as prime minister.

• 1986: Bob Geldof and John Paul Getty II were made honorary knights by the Queen.

• 1989: Britain’s last lightship was towed from its position northwest of Guernsey to Harwich, ending an era of 157 years for the vessels.

• ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: At least 95 people were killed in a massacre in central Mali blamed on tensions between ethnic militias.

• BIRTHDAYS: Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, 99; Rich Hall, comedian, 66; Mark-anthony Turnage, composer, 60; Elizabeth Hurley, actress, 55; David Platt, former footballer , 54.