ON THIS DAY
1567: Mary Queen of Scots abdicated after defeat by the Protestants at Carberry Hill. 1704: Admiral Sir George Rooke captured Gibraltar from the Spanish. 1802: Alexandre Dumas, French creator of The Three Musketeers, was born near Soissons. 1824: The first public opinion poll was conducted in Wilmington, Delaware, on voting intentions in the forthcoming US presidential election. 1883: Matthew Webb, the first man to swim the English Channel in 1875, drowned attempting to swim the rapids below Niagara Falls. 1908: Some 56 runners began the London Marathon from the east lawn of Windsor Castle. An extra 385 yards was added to the 26-mile course so that they finished in front of the Royal Box at White City Stadium. 1925: Six-year-old Patricia Cheeseman was the first person to be successfully treated with insulin, at Guy’s Hospital in London. 1935: Greetings telegrams were introduced by the GPO. If they were in a gold envelope they cost an extra threepence. 1980: Peter Sellers died in hospital, two days after suffering a heart attack attending a reunion lunch with fellow Goons Spike Milligan and Harry Secombe. THIS DAY LAST YEAR: The Duke of Cambridge revealed his son Prince George was ‘’far too spoilt’’ and received ‘’too many presents’’ on his third birthday as he and the Duchess visited Sir Ben Ainslie’s America’s Cup headquarters in Portsmouth. BIRTHDAYS: Chris Sarandon, actor, 75; Lynda Carter, actress, 66; Chris Smith, Baron Smith of Finsbury, politician, 66; Gus Van Sant, director, 65; Joe McGann, actor, 59; Kerry Dixon, former footballer, 56; Martin Keown, former footballer, 51; Jennifer Lopez, singer and actress, 48; Anna Paquin, actress, 35.