ON THIS DAY
1776: The oldest of the classic horse races, the St Leger, was first run at Doncaster.
1848: Branwell Bronte, brother of the Bronte sisters, died. He was the inspiration for the violent drunk, Hindley Earnshaw, in Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights (1847).
1852: The first hydrogen-filled airship, powered by a 3hp steam engine built by Henri Giffard, made its maiden flight at Versailles in 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 early 20s and died aged 44 after having two heart attacks. 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.
1975: Everest was climbed by the south-west face for the first time by Dougal Haston and Doug Scott. ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: A tiny but playable Rubik’s Cube – so little it fits on your fingertip – went on sale in Japan to mark the 40th anniversary of when the original 3D puzzle was launched.