ON THIS DAY

1759: The British under General Wolfe won the Battle of Quebec. 1874: Composer Arnold Schoenberg was born in Vienna. As a triskaidekaphobe (someone afraid of the number 13), he predicted he would die on the 13th at the age of 76 (7+6=13). He did, on July 13, 1951 at 13 minutes to midnight. His last word was “harmony”.

1909: The first performance took place of Oscar Strauss’s The Chocolate Soldier, the operetta based on Shaw’s Arms And The Man. 1915: The process for making breakfast cereal flakes was patented by Frank Martin, as previously the combination of corn, oats and grain had proved indigestible for the public. 1944: William Heath Robinson, the English artist known for his drawings of complex machinery which performed simple tasks, died.

1957: The Mousetrap, a murdermystery, became Britain’s longest running play, reaching its 1,998th performance.

1985: The World Health Organisation declared Aids a worldwide epidemic. 2008: Hurricane Ike ravaged parts of Texas and Louisiana, battering the US coast with 110mph gusts of wind and torrential rain.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: The death toll had risen to at least 31 people, as wildfires continues to rage across the West Coast of the United States.