ON THIS DAY

1189: Richard theLionheart was crowned king of England at Westminster after the death of his father, Henry II.

1651: Oliver Cromwell’s army defeated Royalist forces at the Battle ofWorcester during the English CivilWar.

• 1658: Oliver Cromwell, Puritan leader and Lord Protector of England, died of pneumonia.

1783: Britain recognised the United States of America bysigning the Treaty of Paris, endingtheAmericanWar of Independence.

1916: The first pilot to shoot down aZeppelinwas Captain William Leefe Robinson. During a raid on London, his tiny biplane attacked the airshipwhich caught fire and crashed in Hertfordshire. He was later awarded the VC.

1939: Britain, Australiaand France declaredwar on Germany.

• 1962: TheTrans-Canada highway, 4,800miles fromSt John’s, Newfoundland, toVictoria, British Columbia, was opened.

1976: TheUS spacecraft VikingII landedon Mars after a journeylastingsix days short of one year.

• 2004: After three days, the Beslan school siege endedwhen special forces stormed the building. The Russian massacre claimed the lives of more than 330 people – about halfofthem children.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR:

•

A revolutionary gene therapy that can restore sight in children with a certain inherited eye condition would beavailableon the NHS, it was announced.

• BIRTHDAYS: PaulineCollins, actress, 80; AlJardine, singer, 78; Valerie Perrine, actress, 77; Derek Redmond, former athlete, 55; Charlie Sheen, actor, 55.