On this day...

1628: Charles Perrault, French writer and collector of fairy tales was born in Paris. His Tales Of Mother Goose included Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty and Puss In Boots.

1879: The British-Zulu War began.

1948: The London Co-op opened the first supermarket in Britain at Manor Park.

1959: Henry Cooper became the British and European heavyweight boxing champion when he defeated Brian London on points.

1960: Nevil Shute, popular author, notably of A Town Like Alice, died in Melbourne, Australia, where he had emigrated in 1950.

1976: Dame Agatha Christie, the world’s most successful detective story writer, died, aged 85. 1982: Mark Thatcher disappeared in the Sahara while on the Paris-Dakar rally.