on this day

1687: Jean-Baptiste Lully, composer who made French opera popular, died from an abscess on his foot caused by striking it with the stick he used to conduct his Te Deum.

1888: The English Football League was formed by 12 clubs meeting at a Fleet Street hotel.

1895: The first celluloid film was presented to an invited audience by Auguste and Louis Lumiere in Paris. 1907: The first cabs with taxi meters began operating in London.

1963: John Profumo denied having an affair with model Christine Keeler. The Secretary of State for War later resigned, admitting he had lied to Parliament.

1979: The British ambassador in Holland, Sir Richard Sykes, was shot dead by two IRA gunmen who opened fire outside his home in The Hague.