Now & Then
◆ 1 APRIL
April Fool’s Day; in Scots, Hunt-the-gowk.
1572: Start of Dutch War for Independence.
1764: The racehorse Eclipse was foaled during an eclipse. He was unbeaten in 26 outings, could run four miles in eight minutes, yet had a career of only 17 months before being put to stud. When Eclipse died at 25, his heart was found to weigh nearly 14lb.
1852: Second Burmese War broke out after British ultimatum to King of Burma.
1867: East India Company rule in Malay Straits Settlements ended, and they became Crown Colony of Britain.
1902: The use of the treadmill in British prisons was finally suspended.
1908: The Territorial Force came into existence. The name was changed to Territorial Army in 1920.
1918: The Royal Air Force was formed by the amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service.
1933: Persecution of Jews began in Germany.
1947: School-leaving age was raised to 15 years in Britain.
1948: Britain’s electricity industry was nationalised.
1964: François Duvalier had himself installed as president of Haiti for life.
1967: Britain’s first ombudsman, Sir Edmund Compton, started work.
1973: Value Added Tax was introduced.
1979: The last Royal Navy warship left Malta, ending British military ties with the island.
1980: Brighton opened a nudist beach.
1988: Sikh gunmen killed 37 people in India’s Punjab.
1989: South Africa reported major clashes with guerrillas in Namibia on the eve of cease-fire.
1990: The longest prison riot in British history began at Strangeways, Manchester, and lasted until 25 April. One remand prisoner died.
1993: A poll of Australians showed that 69 per cent wanted the country to become a republic. 1994: A British and New Zealand crew set a record for sailing round the world. They reached Ushant in 74 days 22 hours 17 minutes and 22 seconds.
1995: The National Lottery jackpot topped £22 million and was shared by two people.
1999: Anthony Sawoniuk, 78, was sentenced to two life terms for the murder of 18 Jews during the Second World war, in Britain’s first full war crimes trial.
2001: Same-sex marriage became legal in the Netherlands, the first country to allow it.
2006: The Serious Organised Crime Agency, dubbed the “British FBI”, was created in the UK. 2009: A Super Puma helicopter crashed into the North Sea about 15 miles off Peterhead, killing all 16 people on board. The crashed helicopter was returning from BP’S Miller field, 168 miles northeast of Aberdeen.
2009: Croatia and Albania joined Nato.
2011: After protests against the burning of the Koran turned violent, a mob attacked a United Nations compound in Mazar-isharif, Afghanistan, resulting in the deaths of 13 people.
◆ BIRTHDAYS
Susan Boyle, West Lothian-born singer, 63; Jimmy Cliff, Jamaican singer, 80; Chris Evans, British broadcaster, 58; Anders Forsbrand, Swedish golfer, 63; David Gower OBE, English cricketer and broadcaster, 67; Milan Kundera, Czech novelist, 95; Ali Macgraw, US actress, 85; Michael Praed, British actor, 64; Phillip Schofield, British TV presenter, 62; Barry Sonnenfeld, US film director, 71; Hannah Spearritt, British actress and pop singer (S Club 7), 43.
◆ ANNIVERSARIES
Births: 1578 William Harvey, physician who discovered circulation of the blood; 1815 Prince Otto von Bismarck, first German Chancellor; 1873 Sergei Rachmaninov, Russian composer; 1883 Lon Chaney, silent-screen actor; 1921 Steve Race OBE, musician and broadcaster; 1931 George Baker MBE, British actor; 1932 Debbie Reynolds, US actress; 1949 Gil Scott-heron, US singer. Deaths: 1976 Max Ernst, Surrealist painter; 1984 Marvin Gaye, soul singer; 1994 Gordon Cameron, Scottish painter; 2010 John Forsythe, US acto