NOW & THEN
17 APRIL
1421: More than 100,000 people drowned when the sea broke through dykes at Dort, in the Netherlands.
1491: Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain signed a contract with Christopher Columbus concerning his proposed voyage of discovery.
1847: The Educational Institute of Scotland was founded “to promote sound learning and advance the interests of education in Scotland”.
1860: The first world title fight took place near Farnborough when Tom Sayers took on the American John Heenan at a time when boxing was still regarded as a breach of the peace. It lasted 37 rounds and both men were seriously hurt. The match was declared a draw.
1888: The first formal meeting of the English Football League took place in the Royal Hotel, Manchester.
1937: A British attendance record at a football match was set when 149,547 watched Scotland play England at Hampden Park, Glasgow.
1953: How Much Is That Doggie In The Window?, sung by Lita Roza, reached number one in the charts.
1956: A £1 Premium Bond was introduced by Harold Macmillan, as chancellor of the Exchequer. 1961: An attempt by Cuban rebels and American forces to invade Cuba at the Bay of Pigs and overthrow the Castro Communist regime, was repulsed. 1963: Greville Wynne, a British businessman, was found guilty in Moscow of spying.
1969: Everyone in Britain over the age of 18 was allowed to vote, 21 having been the minimum age since 1928.
1969: Bernadette Devlin became the youngest woman MP when elected for Mid Ulster, six days short of her 22nd birthday.
1971: Egypt, Syria and Libya signed agreement to confederate.
1975: Communists took over rule of Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, as Cambodian War drew to end.
1980: Rhodesia became the independent nation of Zimbabwe.
1984: WPC Yvonne Fletcher was shot dead by terrorists outside the Libyan Embassy in London.
1988: Population control group said Earth faced environmental catastrophe unless developing nations stemmed rapid overpopulation.
1989: Afghanistan forces dislodged rebels from major land routes.
1989: Nigel Lawson, the chancellor, rejected proposals for economic and monetary union within the European Community. 1991: Graeme Souness quit as manager of Rangers FC to return to Liverpool FC as manager. 1995: More than 300 passengers were rescued from a French catamaran ferry which hit a rock and began sinking off Jersey. 2009: Research revealed that being even moderately obese could cut as much as four years off a person’s life.
2014: Scotland’s biggest works of art, the Kelpies, near Falkirk, by Glasgow artist Andy Scott, was launched with a spectacular special effects display.
BIRTHDAYS
Victoria Beckham OBE, singer (the Spice Girls) and fashion designer, 47; John Barrett MBE, British tennis commentator, 90; Sean Bean, British actor, 62; Damian Cronin, rugby player, 58; Clare Francis MBE, British yachtswoman and novelist,
75; Bella Freud, British fashion designer, 60; Jennifer Garner, American actress, 49; Jan Hammer, Czech composer,
73; Nick Hornby, British writer, 64; Olivia Hussey, Argentinian actress, 70; Henry Kelly, television game-show host, 75; Muttiah Muralitharan, cricketer, 49; Riccardo Patrese, Italian racing driver, 67
ANNIVERSARIES
Births: 1894 Nikita Khrushchev, Soviet leader; 1929 James Last, German bandleader; 1955 Pete Shelley, British singer/guitarist (Buzzcocks).
Deaths: 1960 Eddie Cochran, US rock’n’roll singer; 1998 Lady (Linda) Mccartney, photographer, businesswoman, musician; 2011 Michael Sarrazin, Canadian actor; 2014 Gabriel García Márquez, Colombian novelist, 87; Keith Shackleton MBE, artist and naturalist; 2016 Doris Roberts, US actress; 2018 Barbara Bush, former United States first lady; 2020 Norman Hunter, footballer.