On this day

1782: The 100-ton battleship HMS Royal George sank off Spithead with the loss of more than 900 lives.

1831: Michael Faraday demonstrated the production of electricity from magnetism with the first transformer.

1842: The Treaty of Nankingwas signed, ending the OpiumWar (1839-42) between China and Britain, and ceding Hong Kong to Britain.

1882: England cricketers lost to Australia in England for the first time, and from an epitaph that appeared in the Sporting Times theword “Ashes” came into being. 1885: The first motorcyclewas patented by Gottlieb Daimler in Germany.

1895: The Rugby Leaguewas formed at a meeting in the George Hotel in Huddersfield, with 21 representatives of the leading Lancashire and Yorkshire Rugby Union clubs.

1897: “Chop-suey” (meaning “various things”), the most famous Chinese dish, was devised by a New York chef to appeal to Chinese and American tastes. 1930: The Rev William Spooner, who gave theworld spoonerisms, died. 1966: The Beatles gave their last live paying concert performance in Candlestick Park in San Francisco. 2005: Michael Schumacher won his fifth consecutive Formula One Drivers’ Championship. 2012: The London 2012 Paralympic Games started with a spectacular opening ceremony. ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Tropical storm Erika killed 20 people in Dominica.