ON THIS DAY
1653: Oliver Cromwell made himself Lord Protector, becoming an uncrowned king for the next four years. 1773: The Boston Tea Party, in which Samuel Adams and 150 ‘Sons of Liberty’ protested against British taxes on tea and other goods, took place. 1775: Novelist Jane Austen, whose works include Emma and Pride And Prejudice, was born in Steventon, Hampshire. 1850: The first immigrant ship, the Charlotte Jane, arrived at Lyttelton, New Zealand. 1899: Noel Coward, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, producer and director, was born in Teddington, Middlesex. 1929: The first all-talking feature film was made in Britain. Called The Clue Of The New Pin, it featured a young actor, John Gielgud, as the villain. 1937: The first performance took place in London of Noel Gay’s Me And My Girl, which introduced The Lambeth Walk. 2010: Rare first editions of Ian Fleming’s James Bond spy book sold for almost £30,000 when they went under the hammer at Dominic Winter auctioneers in Gloucestershire. The book that introduced 007 to the world, Casino Royale, sold for £19,000. ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Len Goodman confirmed that the then-current series of Strictly Come Dancing would be his last. BIRTHDAYS: Tony Hicks, rock guitarist (The Hollies), 72; Benny Andersson, musician (Abba), 71; Christopher Biggins, actor and media personality, 69; Joel Garner, former cricketer, 65; Benjamin Bratt, actor, 54; Dennis Wise, former footballer, 51; Joe Absolom, actor, 39.