ON THIS DAY
1488: Portuguese explorer Bartholomew Diaz became the first European to round the Cape of Good Hope. 1730: The first stock exchange quotations were published in the Daily Advertiser, London. 1762: Dandy and gambler Richard “Beau” Nash died. 1877: Chopsticks, the novelty piano piece, was registered at the British Museum. 1935: The jingle “We are the Ovaltineys, little girls and boys” was first sung on radio. Listeners were invited to join the Ovaltiney Club (with badge and rule book) and a coded message was given out each week. 1959: Buddy Holly, US singer and guitarist, died in an air crash, aged 22. With him were fellow rock ‘n’ rollers Ritchie Valens and JP “Big Bopper” Richardson. 1960: Prime Minister Harold Macmillan made his historic “wind of change” speech to the South African Parliament in Cape Town, predicting the growth of national consciousness. 1966: The Russians made the first rocket-assisted controlled landing on the moon with Luna 9. 1977: The Government said it would hold referendums in Wales and Scotland on devolution. 1983: UK unemployment hit a record high of 3.22 million. ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: A flying Dutchman caught with his trousers down smuggling cocaine worth more than £2.4 million into the UK was jailed for 23 years. BIRTHDAYS: Dave Davies, rock singer with The Kinks, 71; Morgan Fairchild, actress, 68; Kirsty Wark, television presenter, 63; Tim Flowers, former footballer, 51; Darren Peacock, former footballer, 50; Warwick Davis, actor, 48; Isla Fisher, actress, 42.