On this day
1776: The oldest of the classic horse races, the St Leger, was first run at Doncaster.
» 1852: The first hydrogen-filled airship, powered by a 3hp steam engine built by Henri Giffard, made its maiden flight at Versailles, France.
1853: The Northern Daily Times became the first provincial newspaper in England.
1896: American writer F Scott Fitzgerald was born. He became an alcoholic in his 20s and died at
44. He wrote the definitive 1920s novel The Great Gatsby in 1925.
» 1930: The first performance of Private Lives by Noel Coward took place at the New Phoenix Theatre, London.
» 1953: The Robe, the first film made in CinemaScope, was premiered in Hollywood.
1960: First nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS Enterprise, launched in Virginia.
1975: Everest was climbed by the south-west face for the first time by Dougal Haston and Doug Scott.
BIRTHDAYS: Gerry Marsden, singer (The Pacemakers), 78; Theo Paphitis, entrepreneur (Dragons’ Den), 61; Jack Dee, comedian, 59; Victoria Pendleton, former track cyclist, 40; John Arne Riise, footballer, 40.