ON THIS DAY
1329: Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland from 1306, died of leprosy at Cardross Castle on the Firth of Clyde, and was buried in Dunfermline Abbey under the High Altar. 1520: Henry VIII and Francis I of France met in a glittering ceremony at the Field Of The Cloth Of Gold, near Calais. 1614: The Addled Parliament was dissolved. It earned its name by failing to pass a single Bill since it first sat on April 5. 1778: “Beau” Brummell was born. Although he became a leader of fashion and a friend of the Prince Regent, he died destitute in France at the age of 62 through gambling and extravagance. 1909: Mary Pickford made her screen debut at the age of 16, in The Violin Maker Of Cremona. 1929: The Papal State, extinct since 1870, was revived as the State of Vatican City in Rome, as a result of the Lateran Treaty. 1945: Benjamin Britten’s opera Peter Grimes was premiered at Sadler’s Wells, London. 1946: Television resumed after the war, and announcer Leslie Mitchell said: “As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted...” 1970: The Who’s “rock opera” Tommy was performed at New York’s Metropolitan Opera House. 1989: Peter Shilton made his record 109th appearance for England against Denmark, passing Bobby Moore’s long-standing record. ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley admitted to a committee of MPs that he paid workers below the minimum wage. BIRTHDAYS: James Ivory, film director, 89; Virginia McKenna, actress, 86; Tom Jones, singer, 77; Ronald Pickup, actor, 77; Michael Pennington, actor and writer, 74; Orhan Pamuk, novelist, 65; Liam Neeson, actor, 65; Damien Hirst, artist, 52; Anna Kournikova, former tennis player, 36.