ON THIS DAY
1707: The Acts of Union became law, making England and Scotland one country.
1726: Sir John Vanbrugh, playwright and architect of Blenheim Palace, Castle Howard and many castles and houses, died.
1780: The British Gazette and Sunday Monitor, the first Sunday newspaper in Britain, was published.
1827: Famously deaf composer Ludwig van Beethoven died in Vienna, aged 57. His last words were reputedly: “I shall hear in Heaven.”
1885: The first cremation in Britain took place at Woking in Surrey.
1937: Popeye the sailor-man became the first cartoon character to have his statue erected – by spinach-growers in Crystal City, Texas.
1945: David Lloyd George, who laid the foundations of the Welfare State and led Britain through the First World War, died at the age of 82.
1971: East Pakistan, under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, declared independence to become the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.
1973: The first woman stockbroker set foot on the floor of the London Stock Exchange.
1979: Israel and Egypt ended 30 years of war after a peace deal
brokered by the United States.
1981: The so-called Gang of Four (Roy Jenkins, David Owen, William Rodgers and Shirley Williams) launched the Social Democratic Party.
1992: Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson was jailed after being found guilty of one count of rape and two counts of criminal deviate conduct.
1997: The bodies of 39 members of the Heaven’s Gate cult were found after a mass suicide – they believed they would join aliens following the
Hale Bopp comet.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: A schoolboy celebrated a year camping out in his garden by urging children from across the world to join him to mark the occasion. BIRTHDAYS: Erica Jong, writer, 80; Bob Woodward, Watergate journalist, 79; Diana Ross, singer, 78; Steve Tyler, rock musician (Aerosmith), 74; Martin Short, actor, 72; Jennifer Grey, actress, 62; William Hague, Conservative politician, 61; Amy Smart, actress, 46; Keira Knightley, actress, 37.