ON THIS DAY
NATIONAL DAY OF TOGO
■ 1296: The English beat the Scots at the battle of Dunbar.
■ 1521: Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan was killed by natives in the Philippines at the Battle of Mactan.
■ 1737: Edward Gibbon, English historian who wrote The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire, was born in London.
■ 1791: Samuel Morse, inventor of the Morse Code, was born in Massachusetts. He made his living as a portrait painter.
■ 1810: Beethoven’s piano piece Fur Elise was published.
■ 1828: The London Zoological Gardens in Regent’s Park were opened.
■ 1937: Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco was completed. At 4,200ft long, it was the longest in the world at the time.
■ 1939: In Britain, conscription was introduced for the first time since th First World War.
■ 1950: Apartheid in South Africa (the Group Areas Act), was passed, formally segregating races.
■ 1968: Abortion was legalised in Britain.
■ 1992: Betty Boothroyd became the first woman to be elected Speaker of the British House of Commons in its 700-year history.
■ 1994: The first democratic general election was held in South Africa, in which black citizens could vote.
■ ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR:
Astronaut brickies may be needed to set up the first bases on Mars, it was reported.
■ BIRTHDAYS: Anouk Aimee, actress, 86; Michael Fish, former TV weatherman, 74; Ann Peebles, singer, 71; Sheena Easton, singer, 59; Darcey Bussell, retired ballet dancer, 49; Mica Paris, singer/TV presenter, 49; Jenna-Louise Coleman, actress, 32.