ON THIS DAY
NATIONAL DAY OF DENMARK 755: English missionary Boniface and 53 companions were murdered in Germany by unbelievers. 1916: Lord Kitchener, British general and conqueror of the Sudan, was lost at sea when his ship HMS Hampshire struck a mine off Orkney, en route to Russia. There were no survivors. 1944: The Cafe Gondree was the first place to be liberated from the Germans on the eve of the D-Day landings when paratroopers from the 6th Brigade dropped on the town on Benouville to seize the vital canal bridge. 1947: US Secretary of State George Marshall announced the Marshall Plan to help Europe recover from near-bankruptcy following the war. 1963: War minister John Profumo resigned, admitting he misled the House of Commons about his relationship with Christine Keeler. 1967: The Six-Day War between Israel and Egypt began. 1968: Robert Kennedy, American senator and younger brother of the late President John F Kennedy, was shot in the Hotel Ambassador in Los Angeles by a Jordanian Arab, Sirhan Bishara Sirhan, and died the following day. 1975: Egyptian president Sadat reopened the Suez Canal to all but Israeli shipping, after eight years of closure. 1975: In Britain’s first referendum, a large majority voted to stay in the Common Market – more than 17 million voted Yes and almost 8.5 million voted No. 1989: In Poland, Solidarity defeated the Communists in the first free elections since the end of the Second World War. ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: A service was held on Orkney to mark 100 years since the sinking of First World War ship HMS Hampshire with the loss of 737 lives. BIRTHDAYS: Margaret Drabble, author, 78; Nigel Rees, broadcaster/ writer, 73; Laurie Anderson, musician, 70; Sir David Hare, playwright, 70; Ken Follett, writer, 68; Kenny G, saxophonist, 61; Ron Livingston, actor, 50; Mark Wahlberg, actor, 46; David Weir, Paralympic athlete, 38.