ON THIS DAY
ST FRANCES DAY - the Patron Saint of housewives, motorists and bachelors.
1562: Kissing in public was banned in Naples, contravention being punishable by death.
1763: William Cobbett, political journalist and author of Rural Rides, was born in Farnham, Surrey.
1796: Napoleon married society beauty Josephine de Beauharnais.
1831: The French Foreign Legion was founded by King Louis Philippe, with headquarters at Sidi-bel-Abbes in Algeria.
1862: The Battle of Hampton Roads, the first battle between iron-clad ships, took place during the American Civil War.
1917: Foreign intervention in the Russian Revolution begins as British troops land in Murmansk.
1956: Britain deported Archbishop Makarios from Cyprus for “actively fostering terrorism”.
1973: In a referendum boycotted by most Catholics, Northern Ireland voted in favour of staying in the UK by a majority of 90-1.
1993: Rodney King testified at the federal trial of four Los Angeles police officers accused of violating his civil rights.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR:
British-based scientists delivered the first live video broadcast from deep below an ocean’s surface.
BIRTHDAYS: Neil Hamilton, Conservative AM 71; Bill Beaumont, broadcaster and former rugby player, 68; Baron
Willetts, member of the House of Lords, 64; Martin Fry, singer (ABC), 62; Juliette Binoche, actress, 56; Martin Johnson, former England rugby union team manager, 50; Kerr Smith, actor, 48; Juan Sebastian Veron, former footballer, 45; Oscar Isaac, actor, 41.