On this day ...

JANUARY 11

1567: The first state lottery was held in England - 40,000 lots at 10 shillings each were available from St Paul’s Cathedral.

1753: Sir Hans Sloane, British physician and naturalist, whose collection formed the nucleus of the British Museum, died.

1858: H Gordon Selfridge, founder of the London Department Store, was born in Wisconsin.

1917: A patriotic appeal was launched for the nation to subscribe to the new War Loan, to finance the staggering cost of the conflict (£5.7 million a day).

1922: Insulin was first used successfully in the treatment of diabetes.

1928: Thomas Hardy, English poet and novelist, died in his native Dorset aged 87.

1973: The Open University awarded its first degrees.

1974: The first surviving sextuplets were born in South Africa.

1993: Richard Branson, above, won a legal victory after British Airways apologised for a”dirty tricks campaign” against Virgin Atlantic Airways.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Police in Paris recovered some jewels stolen from the Ritz Hotel in a multimillioneuro robbery, but were still searching for two thieves and the rest of the missing luxury merchandise.

BIRTHDAYS: Arthur Scargill, above, former mineworkers’ union leader, 81; Anna Calder-Marshall, actress, 72; Ben Crenshaw, golfer, 67; John Sessions, comic/actor, 66; Phyllis Logan, actress, 63; Bryan Robson, football manager, 62; Jason Connery, actor, 56; Mary J Blige, rap singer, 48; Emile Heskey, footballer, 41.