On this DAY

1610: Henry IV of France, “Good King Henry”, was murdered by a mad monk in Paris.

1643: Louis XIV became King of France at the age of four years 231 days – and reigned for more than 72 years.

1727: Artist Thomas Gainsborough was born in Sudbury, Suffolk. 1779: The Oaks was first run at Epsom. 1796: Edward Jenner, pictured, made his first vaccination against smallpox, and laid the foundation for modern immunology. 1811: Paraguay proclaimed its independence. 1842: The British periodical Illustrated London News was first published.

1921: The British Legion was founded in London – it became the Royal British Legion in 1971.

1948: Israel was established as a Jewish state following the partition of Palestine.

1955: Eastern Bloc countries signed the Warsaw Pact.

1987: American actress Rita Hayworth died, aged 68.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Canada’s Calgary Zoo announced that it was returning two giant pandas on loan from China, as the scarcity of flights due to the coronavirus pandemic made it difficult to get enough bamboo to feed them.