ON THIS DAY
1536: William Tyndale, English religious reformer and translator of the Bible, was burned at the stake as a heretic in Brussels.
1820: Jenny Lind, soprano known as the Swedish Nightingale, was born in Stockholm.
1829: Trials began at Rainhill for a locomotive to use on the Liverpool to Manchester Railway. The winner was Stephenson’s Rocket.
1927: The first full-length talking picture, The Jazz Singer, opened in New York. Al Jolson sang Toot Toot Tootsie, Goodbye, Mammy and Blue Skies in a soundtrack that was almost entirely music. 1968: British drivers took the first three places in the US Grand Prix – Jackie Stewart, Graham Hill and John Surtees.
1981: Muslim extremists assassinated Egyptian president Anwar Sadat. 1991: In California, Elizabeth Taylor married for the eighth time – her husband was Larry Fortensky, a builder.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: A school named after slave trader Edward Colston would change its name following a consultation involving staff and students, it was announced.