ON THIS DAY
1660: The Royal Society was founded in London. 1757: William Blake, mystic and visionary English poet and painter, was born in London. 1905: The Irish political party Sinn Fein was founded in Dublin by Arthur Griffith. 1919: Viscountess (Nancy) Astor became Britain’s first woman MP, holding a safe Plymouth seat for the Tories in a by-election caused by her husband’s elevation of the peerage. 1934: Winston Churchill warned that weak defences could mean that Britain could be “tortured into absolute subjection” in any war with Germany. 1943: The Big Three - Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin - met in Tehran to “plan strategy” and discuss post-war policy, including treatment of a defeated Germany. 1967: Horseracing was suspended in Britain after an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. 1968: Enid Blyton, creator of Noddy and Big Ears among many other children’s favourites, died. 1983: The government announced an end to the monopoly by opticians on the sale of glasses. 2010: Britain shivered in record low temperatures, including a “ridiculously low” minus 17C in Wales. ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: It was revealed that a rare 17th-century map of the world found stuffed up a chimney was saved following intricate conservation work. BIRTHDAYS: Berry Gordy, Tamla Motown founder, 88; Randy Newman, singer/songwriter, 74; Alistair Darling, former chancellor of the Exchequer, 64; Kris Akabusi, former athlete and TV presenter, 59; Stephen Roche, former cyclist, 58; Judd Nelson, actor, 58; Martin Clunes, actor, 56; Jon Stewart, television host, 55; Mary Elizabeth Winstead, actress, 33; Karen Gillan, actress, 30.