ON THIS DAY

> Birthdays: Sir Ian McKellen, Anthea Turner and Anne Heche

NATIONAL DAY OF JORDAN

1768: Captain Cook set off on his first voyage, to explore the Antipodes.

1787: The Philadelphia Convention, headed by George Washington, began drawing up the US constitution.

1840: The first drama school in Britain opened. Miss Kelly’s Theatre and Dramatic School in Dean Street, London, later became a theatre.

1871: The House of Commons passed the Bank Holiday Act, creating public holidays on Easter

Monday, Whit Monday and Christmas Day.

1935: US athlete Jesse Owens set six world records within 45 minutes at Ann Arbor in Michigan.

1951: British diplomats Burgess and Maclean were first reported missing – they had defected to Moscow.

1962: Coventry’s new cathedral, designed by Sir Basil Spence, was consecrated.

1967: Glasgow Celtic became the first British football club to win the European Cup when they beat Inter Milan 2-1 in Lisbon.

1986: Bob Geldof’s Race Against

Time had 30 million people worldwide running for Sport Aid to raise money for the starving in Africa.

BIRTHDAYS: Sir Ian McKellen, actor, 82; Alastair Campbell, former director of communications for the Labour Party, 64; Paul Weller, rock musician, 63; Julian Clary, comedian, 62; Anthea Turner, TV presenter, 61; Mike Myers, actor, writer and producer, 58; Anne Heche, actress, 52; Robert Croft, former cricketer, 51; Jamie Kennedy, actor and comedian, 51; Cillian Murphy, actor, 45; Jonny Wilkinson, former rugby player, 42.