IT HAPPENED TODAY
1697:
The new St Paul’s Cathedral was opened.
1804:
Napoleon was crowned Emperor in Paris by Pope Pius VII. On this day one year later, he defeated Austro-Russian forces at the Battle of Austerlitz.
1814:
The Marquis de Sade, French aristocrat whose perverted lifestyle gave the word sadism to the language, died in an asylum.
1859:
John Brown, anti-slavery campaigner whose soul marched on in the famous song, was executed for treason in Charleston, West Virginia.
1901:
King Camp Gillette patented the safety razor.
1907:
English footballers formed the Professional Footballers’ Association.
1923:
Greek-American operatic soprano Maria Callas (above) was born in New York.
1927:
Ford’s Model A went on sale as a successor to the Model T.
1954:
Four years of anti-Communist witch-hunts in America came to an end when the instigator, Joseph McCarthy, was condemned for conduct unbecoming a senator.
1990:
West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl (above) won the first all-German election since 1933.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR:
Three missing people were reunited with their families in time for Christmas after their faces were displayed on posters on the backpacks of Deliveroo riders, it was reported.
BIRTHDAYS:
Patricia Hewitt, former health secretary and Labour Party politician, 71; Lucy Liu, actress, director and artist, 51; David Batty, former footballer, 51; Monica Seles, former world number one tennis player, 46; Nelly Furtado, singer and songwriter, 41; Christopher Wolstenholme, musician with Muse, 41; Britney Spears (above), pop star, 38.