ON THIS DAY

• 1314: The Battle of Bannockburn took place near Stirling Castle.

• 1717: The Grand Lodge of English Freemasons was formed in London.

• 1825: William Henry Smith, English newsagent and bookseller, was born. He joined his father’s newsagent business and took full control in 1846, building WH Smith, the biggest chain of newsagents in Britain.

• 1840: The Birmingham and Gloucester Railway between Cheltenham and Bromsgrove was opened.

• 1859: Henri Dunant, a Swiss businessman travelling through Italy, saw the aftermath of the Battle of Solferino and was inspired to found the International Red Cross.

• 1878: St John Ambulance was formed.

• 1895: Jack Dempsey, US world heavyweight boxing champion from 1919 to 1926, was born.

• 1947: The series of “flying saucer” stories started when a pilot, Kenneth Arnold, reported seeing nine disc-shaped objects over Mount Rainier, Washington.

• 1948: The Berlin Airlift began when the USSR blockaded Berlin, requiring the Allies to fly in food and other essential supplies.

• 1981: The bridge over the Humber Estuary opened to traffic – its official opening by the Queen took place on July 17.

• LAST YEAR: A Nasa rover on Mars had detected its largest amount of methane yet, which could be an early indication of life on the Red Planet.

• BIRTHDAYS: Jeff Beck, rock guitarist, 76; Mick Fleetwood, rock drummer, 73; Peter Weller, actor, 73; Stuart Broad, cricketer, 34.