ON THIS DAY

1788: Death of Charles Wesley, founder of Methodism with his brother John.

1849: Britain formally annexes the Punjab after the defeat of the Sikhs in India.

1867: British parliament passes the North America Act to create the Dominion of Canada.

1871: Queen Victoria opens the Royal Albert Hall in London in memory of her late consort Prince Albert.

1891: Death of French painter Georges Seurat.

1967: France launches its first nuclear submarine.

1972: Death of British filmmaker J Arthur Rank.

1994: Serbs and Croats sign a ceasefire to end the war between them in Croatia.

Birthdays: Eric Idle, British comedian and songwriter (1943-); Elle Macpherson, Australian model (1963-); Osher Gunsberg, aka Andrew Gunsberg or Andrew G, Australian TV personality (1974-).