ON THIS DAY

1723: Sir Christopher Wren, English architect and designer, notably of St Paul’s Cathedral, died in London and was buried in the crypt of his cathedral. 1873: Enrico Caruso, operatic tenor, was born in Naples. His first record, On With The Motley from Pagliacci, was the first to sell a million copies. 1922: French mass murderer, Henri ‘’Bluebeard’’ Landru, was guillotined for the murder of 10 women and a teenage boy, whose bodies were never found. 1939: The first of 2.5 million Anderson air raid shelters appeared in Islington, north London. The sunken, corrugated iron huts were to protect people from bombs but were used after the war for keeping chickens, cars, garden tools, etc. 1964: Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali) won the world heavyweight boxing title for the first time, knocking out Sonny Liston in round seven in Miami. 1983: Tennessee Williams, US playwright whose plays include A Streetcar Named Desire, died . BIRTHDAYS: Sir Tom Courtenay, actor, 78; Diane Baker, actress, 77; Lord (David) Puttnam, film producer and politician, 74; Elkie Brooks, singer, 70; Lee Evans, comedian, 51; Tea Leoni, actress, 49; Ed Balls, Labour politician, 48; Julie Hesmondhalgh, actress, 45. QUOTES OF THE DAY: “I’ve done the majority of my work. I have a great future behind me” - Actor Martin Sheen, who says he is now concentrating on “activism”. “They can see grenades and things blowing up and they can see blood but they are very afraid of nipples and I find that quite strange” - Dutch Game Of Thrones star Carice van Houten is perplexed by the prudish attitude to nudity outside the Netherlands. “As regards the allegations of Channel 4 and the Daily Telegraph, I find them contemptible” - Sir Malcolm Rifkind, who faces accusations, which he denies, of cash for access. “That’s like being a dusty thing behind a bit of glass. You might as well be in the British Museum. I don’t want to be a fossil” - Dame Judi Dench hates being called a national treasure. “A little grime can be becoming in a woman” - Rowan Pelling, co-founder of The Erotic Review, comments on a report that four out of five British women do not shower every day. “I have been knocking around this planet for an awfully long time and I have learned one significant thing: throw a party whenever the opportunity arises and occasionally even when it doesn’t” - Vanessa Feltz, who describes herself as “never knowingly under-festive”. “I don’t think I’m posh enough” - Actress Julie Walters’s response to speculation that she might one day become a dame.