ON THIS DAY
1660:
England’s Long Parliament was dissolved after 20 years.
The US Military Academy at West Point was established.
The first English FA Cup Final took place. Wanderers, a team of university and ex-public school players, beat the Royal Engineers 1-0 at The Oval in London.
The first recorded sale of a manufactured motor car was to Emile Roger of Paris, who bought a petrol-driven Benz.
Sir Arthur Evans uncovered the ancient city of Knossos, Crete.
The first liquid-fuelled rocket was demonstrated in the USA, by
1802: 1872: 1888: 1900: 1926:
Dr Robert H Goddard.
Hitler renounced the Versailles Treaty and reintroduced conscription.
Almost 600,000 acres of farming land were submerged by floodwater on the Fens as the River Ouse overflowed and a million sheep died. Storm damage came to more than £20m.
Boxer Henry Cooper announced his retirement after losing his title to Joe Bugner.
Alan Minter out-pointed Vito Antuofermo of the US to win boxing’s world middleweight title.
A Loyalist gunman opened
1935: 1947: 1971: 1980: 1988:
fire indiscriminately and hurled grenades into a crowd of mourners at an IRA funeral for three people killed by the SAS in Gibraltar 10 days before.
Beef exports from Northern Ireland were to resume after a three-year ban stemming from the BSE crisis.
1998: BIRTHDAYS:
Erik Estrada, actor, 71; Graham Cole, actor, 68; Isabelle Huppert, actress, 67; Jimmy Nail, actor/singer, 66; Matthew Bannister, broadcaster and former Radio 1 controller, 63; Jenny Eclair, comedienne, 60; Theo Walcott, footballer, 31.