ON THIS DAY

1603: Elizabeth I died, aged 69, after nearly 45 years as Queen.

1834: Artist and poet William Morris was born in London.

1877: The University Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge ended in a dead heat. On the same date in 1951, the race was called off when the Oxford boat sank. It was rerun two days later, when Cambridge won by 12 lengths.

1887: Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle, US silent film comedian, was born. In 1921 he was involved in a sex scandal that ruined his career.

1944: The breakout of prisoner of war camp Stalag Luft III by 76 inmates began. The event was the inspiration for the movie The Great Escape.

1946: Alastair Cooke read his first Letter From America on BBC Radio.

1953: Queen Mary, widow of George V, died after a lengthy illness.

1956: In the Grand National, the Queen Mother’s horse Devon Loch collapsed after clearing the final fence in first place. The unlucky rider was Dick Francis.

1958: Elvis Presley, 23, signed up for the US Army in Memphis, Tennessee.

1965: David Steel, aged 26, won Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles for the Liberals to become Britain’s youngest MP.

1973: Rock band Pink Floyd released The Dark Side Of The Moon, which went on to become one of the biggest-selling albums of all time.

1976: President Isabel Peron of Argentina was deposed in a bloodless military coup.

1989: The Exxon Valdez tanker ran aground on a reef in Prince William Sound off the Alaskan coast and released 11 million gallons of crude oil into the sea.

BIRTHDAYS: David Irving, military historian, 83; Patrick Malahide, actor, 76; Archie Gemmill, coach and former footballer, 74; Lord (Alan) Sugar, businessman, 74; Nick Lowe, musician, 72; Tommy Hilfiger, fashion designer, 70; Kelly LeBrock, actress, 61; Lara Flynn Boyle, actress, 51; Alyson Hannigan, actress, 47; Jessica Chastain, actress, 44; Lake Bell, actress, 42.