On this day

FEAST OF SAINT CECILIA, PATRON OF MUSIC

1428: Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, so-called Kingmaker who was the power behind the throne during the Wars Of The Roses, was born. He died at the Battle of Barnet in 1471.

1497: The Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope in his search for a route to India.

1718: Edward Teach, English pirate who sailed under the name of Blackbeard, was killed off the coast of North Carolina.

1808: Thomas Cook, who pioneered the holiday package tour, was born in Derbyshire.

1819: Mary Ann Evans, who took the pseudonym George Eliot and wrote The Mill On The Floss, was born in Arbury, Warwickshire. 1830: Container transport was introduced by Pickfords, the carriers, in an agreement with the Liverpool & Manchester Railway Company.

1913: Composer Benjamin Britten was born in Lowestoft.

1946: The first ballpoint pen went on sale, invented by Hungarian Laszlo Biro. 1963: John F Kennedy, president of the United States, was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, during the run-up to the 1964 presidential campaign, left.

1975: The monarchy was restored in Spain when Juan Carlos was sworn in as king in Madrid.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Prince Harry returned to the Caribbean paradise island of Barbuda where he once holidayed with his mother.

CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS: John Bird, actor and satirist, 81; Terry Gilliam, animator/ film-maker, 77; Tom Conti, actor, 76; Billie-Jean King, former tennis player, 74; Jamie Lee Curtis, actress, 59; Boris Becker, former tennis player, 50.