ON THIS day

■ 1668: John Dryden was appointed the first Poet Laureate.

■ 1732: Birth of Frederick, Lord North, who as prime minister levied the tax on tea that incensed the American colonists and provoked the Boston Tea Party.

■1742: The first public performance of Handel’s Messiah in Dublin. ■1852: Frank Winfield Woolworth, merchant and founder of the chain store, was born in New York.

■1912: The Royal Flying Corps was instituted by Royal Charter.

■1936: Joe Payne scored 10 goals for Luton Town against Bristol Rovers on his debut as centre forward – a record for one man in one game.

■1964: Sidney Poitier became the first black man to win an Oscar for best actor, in The Lilies Of The Field.

■1980: Four days after his 23rd birthday, Severiano Ballesteros won the US Masters, becoming the event’s youngest winner. The record was beaten by 21-year-old Tiger Woods in 1997.

■ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Three women who were applying suntan lotion publicly in the nude at a Florida rest stop were arrested after leading police on a 21-mile chase before driving a car at one deputy and threatening another with a bat.

■BIRTHDAYS: Edward Fox, actor, 83; Marjorie Yates, actress, 79; Al Green, above left, soul singer, 74; Peabo Bryson, singer, 69; Peter Davison, actor, 69; Stephen Byers, former Labour MP, 67; Garry Kasparov, above right, former chess champion, 57; Rick Schroder, actor, 50; Lou Bega, singer, 45.

Let us know your community events

Write to What’s On, South Wales Echo, Six Park Street, Cardiff CF10 1XR or email ecletters@walesonline. co.uk including your name, address and daytime contact number. Don’t forget to tell us where and when your event is taking place and what it’s all about.

■ The recycled paper content of UK newspapers in 2016 was 62.8%