On this day

1533: Henry VIII divorced Catherine of Aragon to marry Anne Boleyn, wife number two. The result was a break with the church in Rome.

1701: Scottish pirate William Kidd was hanged at Execution Dock in London for piracy.

1706: English soldier the Duke of Marlborough defeated the French at the Battle of Ramilles in Belgium.

1795: Sir Charles Barry, architect, was born in Westminster. With assistant Augustus Pugin, he designed the new Houses of Parliament, pictured.

1873: The North West Mounted Police were established – the name changed to Royal Canadian Mounted Police in 1920. 1887: The French crown jewels went on sale and raised six million francs. 1931: Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire opened. 1934: Bank robbers Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were shot dead in an ambush by Texas rangers near Gibland, Louisiana. 1945: Heinrich Himmler, Hitler’s minister of the interior, committed suicide.

1960: The Israelis announced the capture of war criminal Adolf Eichmann.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Former James Bond star Sir Roger Moore died aged 89, following a battle with prostate cancer.

BIRTHDAYS: Dame Joan Collins, actress, 85; Johnny Ball, presenter, 80; Anatoly Karpov, chess champion, 67; Marvin Hagler, former boxer, 64; Drew Carey, actor, 60; Graeme Hick, former cricketer, 52; Phil Selway, rock drummer (Radiohead), 51; Rubens Barrichello, former F1 driver, 46; Jewel, singer, 44.