ON THIS DAY
1760: The first hanging took place at Tyburn in London. Earl Ferrers was executed for murdering his valet.
1818: Father of Communism Karl Heinrich Marx was born in Trier, Germany, the son of a Jewish lawyer.
1821: Napoleon Bonaparte died in exile on the island of St Helena.
1904: Sir Gordon Richards, English jockey, was born. He was champion jockey 26 times.
1930: Amy Johnson left Croydon in Gypsy Moth “Jason” to become the first female to fly solo to Australia, arriving on May 24.
1941: Emperor Haile Selaisse returned to Ethiopia from exile in England after liberation of his country by British forces.
1961: Commander Alan Shepard returned to Earth after becoming the first American in space.
1980: The SAS stormed the terrorist-occupied Iranian Embassy in Knightsbridge, killing four of the gunmen and rescuing 19 hostages.
2005: The UK general election took place, in which Tony Blair’s Labour Party was re-elected for a third
consecutive term.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: The Duchess of Cornwall confessed to Debbie Harry that her singing voice earned her the nickname “the growler” at school.
BIRTHDAYS: Lance Henriksen, actor, 78; Michael Palin, actor and presenter, 75; Dilys Watling, actress, 75; John Rhys-Davies, actor, 74; Richard E Grant, actor, 61; Ian McCulloch, singer (Echo & The Bunnymen), 59; James Cracknell, rowing champion, 46; Craig David, singer, 37; Henry Cavill, actor, 35; Adele, singer, 30.