ON THIS DAY

■■ NATIONAL DAY OF ECUADOR

■■ 1675: Greenwich Observatory was established by King Charles II, who laid the foundation stone.

■■ 1787: Mozart completed his famous Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. On the same day in 1788, he finished his Jupiter Symphony.

■■ 1842: The Mines Act was passed by the British Parliament, forbidding women and children to work underground.

■■ 1889: The screw bottle top was patented by Dan Rylands of Hope Glass Works, Barnsley.

■■ 1895: The first London Promenade Concert took place, founded by Henry Wood and Robert Newman, and played by an orchestra of 80 in the Queen’s Hall.

■■ 1897: The Royal Automobile Club was founded, under the name of The Automobile Club of Great Britain.

■■ 1949: “Acid bath” murderer John Haigh, who confessed to nine killings, was executed at Wandsworth Prison, London.

■■ 1954: Sir Gordon Richards, champion English jockey, retired after 4,869 wins.

■■ 1961: Britain first applied for membership of the EEC.

■■ 1990: The Magellan space probe reached Venus.

■■ 2003: The highest temperature ever recorded in the UK - 38.5C (101.3F) in Kent.

■■ 2010: Archaeologists announced that they had discovered Britain’s earliest house at Star Carr, near Scarborough, believed to date back to 8,500 years BC.

■■ ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Cast members of Grease The Musical in the West End dedicated their entire run to the memory of Dame Olivia Newton-John, following her death aged 73. ■■ BIRTHDAYS: Ian Anderson, rock singer (Jethro Tull), 76; Patti Austin, singer and actress, 73; Rosanna Arquette, actress, 64; Antonio Banderas, actor, 63; Charlie Dimmock, above, TV gardening expert, 57; Roy Keane, former footballer, football manager, 52; Lawrence Dallaglio, former English rugby captain, 51.

■■ The recycled paper content of UK newspapers in 2021 was 65.7%