ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

March 2

❑ 1 year ago… Terror tragedy

The public inquiry into the Manchester Arena terror attack in 2017 finds that MI5 missed crucial chances to stop the bomber, Salman Abedi, before he struck killing 22 people.

❑ 7 years ago… Footballer guilty

Former Man City and Sunderland winger Adam Johnson, who had also played for England, is found guilty of sexual activity with a child and later sentenced to six years in prison.

❑ 25 years ago… Singer dies

Dusty Springfield, known for 1960s hits like You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me, dies aged 59 from cancer. ❑ 29 years ago… Rogue trader

British trader Nick Leeson is arrested in Germany after the collapse of Barings Bank and would serve four years in a Singapore prison.

❑ 41 years ago… CD debuts

Following their release in Japan, compact discs – developed by Philips and Sony – are sold in the UK for the first time.

❑ 55 years ago… Concorde flies

The Anglo-French supersonic airliner makes its first test flight from Toulouse, France, piloted by Andre Turcat.

❑ 59 years ago… The Sound Of Music debuts

The musical about the von Trapp family and their escape from the Nazis, starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, opens in cinemas.

❑ 80 years ago… Casablanca Oscar glory

The World War Two romantic film, starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, wins three Academy Awards including Best Picture. ❑ 91 years ago… King Kong unleashed

The iconic monster movie, starring Fay Wray, premieres in New York. It would later be rated as the greatest horror film of all time.

❑ 93 years ago… Mikhail Gorbachev born

The future leader of the Soviet Union, who would be its last head of state, is born in Russia. He would die in 2022 aged 91.

❑ 142 years ago… Queen Victoria shooting

The Queen narrowly escapes an assassination attempt by Roderick Maclean who fires a gun at her in Windsor.

❑ 227 years ago… First pound note

The Bank of England prints its first pound note to help pay for the war with France. They would be phased out in 1984.