On this day ...

DECEMBER 18

1707: Charles Wesley, hymnwriter and prolific preacher, was born in Lincolnshire.

1737: Antonio Stradivari, violin-maker, died in his 90s in Italy.

1865: The United States officially abolished slavery.

1912: Newspapers ran headlines of the discovery of Piltdown Man in Sussex. It was claimed to be the fossilised skull and remains of the earliest known European. In 1953 it was proved to be a hoax.

1952: Bill and Ben, the Flowerpot Men, were first seen on BBC TV, along with Little Weed.

1969: The death penalty for murder was formally abolished in Britain.

1970: Divorce became legal in Italy.

2012: The Queen capped her Diamond Jubilee year by becoming the first monarch to attend the Cabinet in more than two centuries.

2014: Ronnie Biggs, above the Great Train Robber who won worldwide notoriety for spending 36 years on the run after escaping prison, died aged 84.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge released a new family picture as they announced their daughter Charlotte would be starting nursery. BIRTHDAYS: Keith Richards, Rolling Stones guitarist, 75; Steven Spielberg, film-maker, 72; Brad Pitt, above, actor, 55; Robson Green, actor, 54; DMX (Earl Simmons), rapper, 48; Katie Holmes, actress, 40; Christina Aguilera, singer, 38; Lizzie Armitstead, cyclist, 30.