Now & Then
◆ 8 FEBRUARY
1587: Mary Queen of Scots was executed after nearly 19 years of confinement for her implication in the Babington plot to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I and restore Roman Catholicism in England. The execution took place at Fotheringhay Castle, in Northamptonshire.
1765: A Russian peasant fathered his 69th child. His only wife had a series of multiple births – four lots of quadruplets, seven lots of triplets, and 16 pairs of twins. Almost all survived to adulthood. 1915: The film, The Birth Of A Nation, was released. Eighteen actors died during the filming by DW Griffith which involved a cast of 3,000 horses and 18,000 actors. Its racist portrayal of African Americans has been condemned. 1921: Jan Smuts was elected first South African prime minister. 1940: Nazis shot every tenth person in two Polish villages near Warsaw in reprisal for deaths of two German soldiers.
1949: Republic of Ireland declared it was unable to participate in Nato while Ireland remained divided. 1961: It was announced that the long-running nightly radio show Children’s Hour was to be discontinued.
1963: Rebels in Baghdad, Iraq, assassinated premier Abdul Karim Kassem, who was replaced by Abdul Salam Arif.
1964: Holland’s Princess Irene renounced her rights to throne to marry Roman Catholic Spanish prince, Carlos Hugo of Bourbonparma.
1974: Trawler Gaul vanished with its 36 crew off the North Cape of Norway.
1974: Three United States astronauts, Gerald Carr, Edward Gibson and William Pogue, returned to Earth after setting a record of 84 days in orbit in the final Skylab mission.
1989: Muslim resistance fired rocket into crowded area of Afghanistan capital of Kabul, killing seven people.
1990: Punctured oil tanker leaked more than 250,000 gallons of oil into Pacific, threatening southern California beaches.
1990: The Scout Association decided to allow girls to join Beaver, Cub and Scout groups – causing great anger in the Girl Guides Association. 1991: Panic buying began as much of Britain was covered by snow, and weathermen forecast -20°C. Schools closed and road, rail and air travel was thrown into chaos. 1991: President George Bush attacked Jordan for allegedly supporting Iraq in the Gulf War and fuelling anti-americanism.
1992: United States-european Ulysses space probe passed Jupiter.
1993: 132 people were killed when Iranian airliner collided with a jet fighter outside Tehran.
2001: Disney California Adventure Park opened to the public as part of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California.
2009: The movie Slumdog Millionaire, from British director Danny Boyle, scooped seven awards, including best film, at the Baftas.
2010: A freak storm in the Hindukush mountains of Afghanistan triggered a series of at least 36 avalanches, burying more than two miles of road, killing at least 172 people and trapping more than 2,000 travellers.
◆ BIRTHDAYS
Rachel Cusk, author, 57; John Grisham, novelist, 69; Ralf Little, actor, 44; Mary Mccormack, actress, 55; Nick Nolte, actor, 83; Mary Steenburgen, actress, 71; Abi Titmuss, actress, poker player, glamour model, 48; John Williams, conductor and composer of film scores, 92; Danielle Harmer, British actress, 35; Seth Green, actor, director, producer, 50; Vince Neil, lead vocalist of Motley Crue, 63; Ulises de la Cruz, Ecuadorian footballer and politician, 50.
◆ ANNIVERSARIES
Births: 1828 Jules Verne, novelist; 1894 King Vidor, film director; 1888 Dame Edith Evans, actress; 1921 Lana Turner, US actress; 1925 Jack Lemmon, actor; 1931 James Dean, actor; 1960 Alex Scott, racehorse trainer; 1968 Gary Coleman, actor. Deaths: 1587: Mary Queen of Scots; 1990 Del Shannon, pop singer; 1998 Enoch Powell, academic and politician; 1999 Dame Iris Murdoch, author; 2016 Margaret Forster, British author; 2016 John Disley CBE, Olympic athlete, co-founder of the London Marathon; 2017 Alan Simpson OBE, British scriptwriter and author.