ON THIS DAY
NATIONAL DAY OF SWITZERLAND 10BC: Roman Emperor Claudius I was born in Lyons. 1714: Queen Anne, the last Stuart sovereign, died aged 49, to be succeeded by George I under the Act of Settlement of 1701. 1778: The first savings bank opened, in Hamburg. 1798: The Battle of the Nile when Nelson beat the French fleet at Aboukir Bay. 1831: New London Bridge was opened by King William IV. It was sold to an American in 1968 and rebuilt in Arizona. 1834: Slavery was abolished in all British dominions. 1873: The Clay Street Hill Railroad, San Francisco’s cable-powered street car system, began running. 1903: Martha Jane Cannary, better known as frontierswoman Calamity Jane, died near Deadwood, Dakota. Her final request was to be buried next to Wild Bill Hickok. 1932: The first Mars bar, made in Slough, went on sale. 1945: Family Favourites record request programme began on the BBC. 2012: Golden girl rowers Helen Glover and Heather Stanning claimed Team GB’s first gold medal of London 2012. ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Research was released which showed that swapping animal for plant protein in your diet can lead to a longer life. BIRTHDAYS: Professor Laurie Taylor, sociologist, 81; Robert Cray, blues musician, 64; Chuck D, rapper, 57; Coolio, rapper/actor, 54; Mark Wright, former footballer and manager, 54; Sam Mendes, film and theatre director, 52; David James, footballer, 47; Nwankwo Kanu, former footballer, 41.