ON THIS DAY
NATIONAL DAY OF SWITZERLAND 10BC:
Roman Emperor Claudius I was born in Lyons.
Queen Anne, the last Stuart sovereign, died aged 49, to be succeeded by George I under the Act of Settlement of 1701.
The first savings bank opened, in Hamburg.
The Battle of the Nile when Nelson beat the French fleet at Aboukir Bay.
New London Bridge was opened by King William IV. It was sold to an American in 1968 and rebuilt in Arizona.
Slavery was abolished in all British dominions.
The Clay Street Hill Railroad, San Francisco’s cable-powered street car system, began running.
Martha Jane Cannary, better known as frontierswoman Calamity Jane, died near Deadwood, Dakota. Her final request was to be buried next to Wild Bill Hickok.
The first Mars bar, made in Slough, went on sale.
Family Favourites record request programme began on the BBC.
1714: 1778: 1798: 1831: 1834: 1873: 1903: 1932: 1945: 2012:
Golden girl rowers Helen Glover and Heather Stanning claimed Team GB’s first gold medal of London 2012.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR:
A 140 million-year-old bloom bearing a striking resemblance to a water lily was the mother (and father) of every flowering plant living today, scientists announced.
BIRTHDAYS:
Professor Laurie Taylor, sociologist, 82; Robert Cray, blues musician, 65; Chuck D, rapper, 58; Coolio, rapper/actor, 55; Mark Wright, former footballer and manager, 55; Sam Mendes, film and theatre director, 53; David James, footballer, 48; Nwankwo Kanu, former footballer, 42.