on this DAY

FEAST OF ST BLAISE – patron of throats and woolcombers. An annual blessing of throats is held at St Ethelreda’s Church in London.

1488: Portuguese explorer Bartholomew Diaz became the first European to round the Cape of Good Hope.

1730: The first stock exchange quotations were published in the Daily Advertiser, London.

1762: English dandy and gambler Richard “Beau” Nash died.

1877: Chopsticks, the novelty piano piece, was registered at the British Museum.

1935: The jingle “We are the Ovaltineys, little girls and boys” was first sung on radio. Listeners were invited to join the Ovaltiney Club (with badge and rule book).

1959: Buddy Holly, US singer and guitarist, died in an air crash, aged 22. With him were fellow rock ‘n’ rollers Ritchie Valens and JP ‘Big Bopper’ Richardson.

1960: British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan made his historic “wind of change” speech to the South African Parliament in Cape Town, predicting the growth of national consciousness.

1977: The Government said it would hold referendums in Scotland and Wales on devolution.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: A flying Dutchman caught with his trousers down smuggling cocaine worth more than £2.4 million into the UK was jailed for 23 years.