ON THIS DAY
17AD: Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso), the celebrated poet, died in Rome - as did the historian Livy, who wrote a 142-book history of the city. 1492: The Spanish army recaptured Granada from the Moors. 1757: Clive of India captured Calcutta after it had been seized by the Nawab of Bengal. The latter imprisoned 146 British prisoners in the notorious “black hole”. Only 23 survived. 1932: The Japanese set up the republic of Manchukuo after occupying Manchuria. 1946: King Zog was deposed as ruler of Albania. 1947: Cupro-nickel coins were issued by the British Mint to replace silver. 1952: Pope Pius XII declared that television was a threat to family life. 1971: Sixty-six people were crushed to death when a barrier collapsed at Glasgow Rangers’s Ibrox Park ground. 1974: Tex Ritter, American singing cowboy of stage and screen, died. He sang the title song for the classic western High Noon. 1987: The publishers of Enid Blyton’s Noddy books bowed to pressure groups and agreed to expunge all “racism” from them. 2011: Oscar-nominated actor Pete Postlethwaite died after a long fight with cancer. ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Retailers revealed they were hit by a drastic drop in the number of bargainhunting shoppers passing through their doors on New Year’s Day. BIRTHDAYS: David Bailey, photographer, 80; David Graveney, leading figure in English cricket, 65; Tia Carrere actress, 51; James Marshall, actor, 51; Cuba Gooding Jr, actor, 50; Christy Turlington, model, 49; Lucy Davis, actress, 45; Kate Bosworth, American actress, 35.