ON THIS DAY
250: Emperor Decius begins a widespread persecution of Christians. Pope Fabian is martyred. 1265: The first English Parliament met at Westminster Hall. 1649: Charles I of England goes on trial for treason and other “high crimes”. 1779: David Garrick, actor and theatre manager, died and was buried in Westminster Abbey. 1783: Great Britain signs a peace treaty with the United States, officially ending hostilities in the American Revolutionary War. 1841: Hong Kong Island is occupied by the British. 1892: The first game of basketball was played at the YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts. 1900: John Ruskin, painter and social reformer, died at Coniston in the Lake District. 1936: George V died, and Edward VIII acceded to the throne. He abdicated after 325 days. 1944: The RAF dropped 2,300 tons of bombs on Berlin. 1961: John F Kennedy was inaugurated as the 35th president of the United States. 1986: In the United States, Martin Luther King, Jr Day is celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time. 1993: Bill Clinton was sworn in as
Nicky Wire and Heather Small 42nd president of the United States. BIRTHDAYS: Dr Edwin “Buzz” 2009: Barack Obama was sworn in Aldrin, former astronaut, 88; Tom as the first black US president in Baker, actor, 84; David Lynch, film front of huge crowds in Washington director, 72; Liza Goddard, actress, DC. 68; Sophie, Countess of Wessex, 53; THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Star Wars: Heather Small, singer, 53; Nicky The Force Awakens officially Wire, rock bassist (Manic Street became the UK’s most successful Preachers), 49; Skeet Ulrich, actor, film of all time. 48; Gary Barlow, singer, 47.