ON THIS DAY

● 1792: The Mint of the United States was established, striking its first silver dollars.

● 1801: Nelson put a telescope to his blind eye at the Battle of Copenhagen and thus ignored the command to cease fighting. He continued the action until the pro-French Danish fleet was totally subdued.

● 1805: Hans Christian Andersen, master of the fairy tale, was born in Odense, Denmark.

● 1873: British trains were fitted with toilets – but only in sleeping cars.

● 1877: The first human cannonball act was performed at London’s Amphitheatre, when acrobatic Lady Zazal was shot by elastic springs into a safety net.

● 1954: Britain’s first TV soap opera, The Grove Family (named after Lime Grove Studios), was transmitted.

● 1977: Charlotte Brew on Barony Fort became the first woman to ride in a Grand National. Her mount refused at the 27th fence. The winner was Red Rum, scoring his third win, the only horse ever to do so.

● 1982: Argentinian forces invaded and occupied the British Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic.

● ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: A baby fox was rescued by firefighters after getting stuck in a cavity wall at a market.

● BIRTHDAYS: Penelope Keith, actress, 80; Camille Paglia, social critic and author, 73; Paul Gambaccini, DJ and broadcaster, 71; Linford Christie, Olympic gold medal-winning athlete and athletics coach, 60; Keren Woodward, singer (Bananarama), 59; Dermot Reeve, former cricketer/commentator, 57; Teddy Sheringham, former footballer, 54.