ON THIS DAY

1876: The first recognisable words were transmitted by telephone over 100ft of wire. Speaking to his assistant, inventor Alexander Graham Bell said: “Mr Watson, come here, I want to see you.” 1886: The first Crufts Dog Show to be held in London was organised by Charles Cruft, general manager of a dog biscuit firm.

1906: The Bakerloo Line on the London Underground was opened. 1910: The first film made in Hollywood was released: DW Griffith’s In Old California.

1914: The Rokeby Venus by Velasquez, in London’s National Gallery, was damaged by suffragettes.

1969: James Earl Ray pled guilty to murdering American civil rights leader Martin Luther King and was sentenced to 99 years in jail.

1988: The Prince of Wales narrowly escaped death in an avalanche at Klosters in the Swiss Alps. His friend Hugh Lindsay was killed. 1990: Observer journalist Farzad Bazoft was sentenced to death by an Iraqi military court for espionage. Daphne Parish, a British nurse accused of helping him, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. 1994: Frederick West was charged with the murder of eight women after they were dug up in the garden of his Gloucester home. 2017: During a live interview on BBC World News, discussing the impeachment of South Korea’s resident Park Geun-hye, Professor Robert Kelly was comically interrupted by his two small children entering the room - the story instantly went viral.

BIRTHDAYS

Chuck Norris, actor, 78; Garth Crooks, broadcaster and former footballer, 60; Sharon Stone, pictured, actress, 60; Neneh Cherry, singer, 54; Prince Edward, 54; Edie Brickell, singer, 52; Chris Sutton, former footballer, 45; Colin Murray, radio and television presenter, 41; Rafe Spall, actor, 35; Olivia Wilde, actress, 34.

QUOTES OF THE DAY

“Don’t be a tosser” - Environment Minister Therese Coffey appeals to litter-louts.

“The truth is that we very much are alive and kicking. Labour in Scotland is back” - Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.