ON THIS DAY
ST VALENTINE’S DAY Circa 270: St Valentine was thought to have been martyred by Roman Emperor Claudius II. 1766: Thomas Robert Malthus, economist and author of An Essay On The Principles Of Population (1798), was born. He saw famine, disease and disaster as a method of controlling the earth’s fast-growing population. 1779: Captain James Cook, British explorer, was murdered by natives in Hawaii. 1822: Britain’s postal services had to employ extra sorters as the fashion of sending messages to loved ones on this day continued to grow in popularity. 1895: The Importance Of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde had its premiere in London. 1929: The St Valentine’s Day Massacre took place in a Chicago warehouse. Seven members of Bugs Moran’s gang were gunned down, probably by mobsters from Al Capone’s outfit. 1946: The Bank of England was nationalised. 1975: Sir Pelham Grenville (PG) Wodehouse, KBE, known affectionately as ‘Plum’ and writer of many humorous novels, notably the Jeeves series, died in the United States, aged 93. 1984: Britain’s Torvill and Dean skated their way to a gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, getting maximum points for artistic expression. 2013: Olympic and Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius was arrested on suspicion of murder after his girlfriend was shot dead at his home. ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Television cook Prue Leith was announced as the replacement to Mary Berry on The Great British Bake Off, following the show’s changes. BIRTHDAYS: Carl Bernstein, Watergate journalist, 74; Alan Parker, film director, 74; Kevin Keegan, former footballer and ex-England manager, 67; Meg Tilly, actress, 58; Simon Pegg, actor/ comedian, 48; Dean Gaffney, actor, 40; Rhydian Roberts, singer, 35; David Wheater, footballer, 31.