NOW & THEN
19 AUGUST
1272: Coronation of Edward I took place.
1399: King Richard II of England surrendered to his cousin Henry.
1561: Mary, Queen of Scots, landed at Leith from France after an absence of 13 years, following the death of her husband, King Francis II.
1685: Judge Jeffreys sentenced hundreds to death at what became known as the Bloody Assize.
1745: After travelling from France, Prince Charles Edward Stuart raised his father’s standard at Glenfinnan to start the ’45 Rising.
1796: Spain and France signed an anti-british alliance.
1849: The New York Herald reported the discovery of gold in California, thus turning the gold rush into a stampede as approximately 300,000 prospectors converged on the area.
1855: The first international voluntary organisation, the YMCA World Alliance, formed in Paris.
1897: The London Electric Cab Co began operating the first taxi-cab service in London’s West End and City. The black and yellow electric cars went at 9mph and cost 25 shillings for a whole day, including driver.
1936: British government banned export of arms to Spain.
1942: British prime minister Winston Churchill visited Fieldmarshal Montgomery at his headquarters in Burg-al-arab, Egypt.
1953: England, under captain Len Hutton, won the Ashes for the first time since the controversial bodyline tour of 1932-3.
1960: Sputnik 5 carried two dogs and three mice into orbit, the first animals launched in a round trip into space.
1979: Soviet cosmonauts Vladimir Lyakov and Valery Ryumin returned to Earth aboard Soyuz 34 after a record 175 days in space.
1987: Michael Ryan shot dead 16 people in the Berkshire town of Hungerford, and then shot himself.
1991: Soviet hardliners toppled president Mikhail Gorbachev in a sudden and dramatic coup.
1994: Graeme Obree, from Irvine, riding a home-made bike, broke the world record and became world pursuit champion over 4,000 metres in Hamar, Norway.
1998: Archbishop Desmond Tutu issued documents revealing an alleged plot by western countries to assassinate United Nations secretary general Dag Hammarskjold.
1999: In Belgrade, tens of thousands of Serbs rallied to demand the resignation of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia president Slobodan Milosevic.
2002: A Russian Mi-26 helicopter carrying troops was hit by a Chechen missile outside of Grozny, killing 118 soldiers.
2008: Edinburgh cyclist Chris Hoy became the first Briton in a century to win three gold medals at the same Olympic Games. He won the sprint to add to his golds from the keirin and team sprint.
2010: Operation Iraqi Freedom ended, as the last of the US combat teams crossed the border into Kuwait.
BIRTHDAYS
Bill Clinton, 42nd United States president (1993-2001), 74; Darius Danesh, Scottish singersongwriter and actor, 40; John Deacon, rock guitarist (Queen) and songwriter, 69; Ian Gillan, rock singer (Deep Purple), 75; Richard Ingrams, editor of Private Eye 1963-86, 83; Billy J Kramer, singer (The Dakotas), 77; Matthew Perry, actor, 51; Baroness Scotland of Asthal, shadow Attorney General for England and Wales 2010-11, 65; Simon Bird, actor and comedian, 36; Jim Carter OBE, actor, 72; Jennie Bond, TV journalist, 70; Renee Richards, tennis player, 86; Johnny Nash, singer-songwriter, 80.
ANNIVERSARIES
Births: 1560 James Crichton, Dumfriesshire-born athlete, scholar, poet and linguist (the “Admirable Crichton”); 1631 John Dryden, poet; 1646 John Flamsteed, first Astronomer Royal; 1808 James Nasmyth, Edinburgh-born inventor of steam hammer; 1860 John Kane, West Calder-born painter; 1871 Orville Wright, aviation pioneer; 1983 Reeva Steenkamp South African model (murdered); 1883 Coco Chanel, fashion designer; 1902 Ogden Nash, poet; 1919 Malcolm Forbes, publisher of Forbes magazine; 1930 Frank