ON THIS DAY
1413: Henry IV, also known as Henry of Bolingbroke, died aged 45 after suffering a stroke at Westminster Abbey. 1549: Death of Thomas Seymour, Lord High Admiral of England, who married Henry VIII’s widow Catherine Parr.
When she died, he planned to marry Princess Elizabeth – but was arrested for treason and executed. 1806: The foundation stone of Dartmoor prison in Devon was laid by Thomas Tyrwhitt. 1815: After his banishment to Elba, Napoleon returned to regain power in France. It was his ‘’Last Hundred Days’’, ended by defeat at Waterloo. 1819: The famous and exclusive Burlington Arcade opened in London. 1852: Uncle Tom’s Cabin, an anti-slavery novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe, was published. It became the best-selling novel of the 19th century. 1890: Beniamino Gigli, great Italian tenor, who succeeded Caruso at the New York Met, was born in Recanati, near Ancona. 1969: Beatle John Lennon married Yoko Ono in Gibraltar. 1974: An attempt to kidnap Princess Anne was made by a gunman who fired six shots, then tried to drag her from her car in Pall Mall. He was later charged with attempted murder. 1980: The pirate radio station Radio Caroline, on the ship Mi Amigo, sank after 16 years of broadcasting. 1989: The IRA killed two senior Royal Ulster Constabulary officers in an ambush. ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: It was revealed that television cameras were to be allowed into Crown Courts for the first time. BIRTHDAYS: Dame Vera Lynn, singer, songwriter, actress, charity worker and ‘Forces Sweetheart’, 100; Brian Mulroney, former Canadian prime minister, 78; William Hurt, actor, 67; Spike Lee, actor/director, 60; Holly Hunter, actress, 59; Paul Merson, former footballer, 49; Michael Rapaport, actor, 47; Alex Kapranos, singer and guitarist (Franz Ferdinand), 45; Jane March, actress, 44; Freema Agyeman, actress, 38.