ON THIS DAY

NATIONAL DAY OF PAKISTAN

■ 1861: London’s first tram cars, drawn by horses, began operating from Bayswater, designed by a Mr Train from New York.

■ 1919: In Italy, fascism became an organised political movement following the founding of Fasci di Combattimento by Benito Mussolini a month earlier.

■ 1921: Donald Campbell, who emulated his father Sir Malcolm by breaking land and water speed records, was born in Horley, Surrey.

■ 1966: The first official meeting for 400 years between the Catholic and the Anglican churches took place in Rome between Pope Paul VI and Dr Ramsey, the Archbishop of Canterbury.

■ 1971: Bangladesh, formerly East Pakistan, proclaimed its independence.

■ 1981: Englishman Mike Hailwood, nine times world motor cycling champion, died two days after a car crash in which his nine-year-old daughter was also killed.

■ 1981: All animal transportation on the Isle of Wight and in southern Hampshire was banned in a successful attempt to contain an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.

■ 1989: A 1,000ft-diameter asteroid missed the Earth by a mere 400,000 miles.

■ 1991: In a speech to Conservatives at Southport, John Major outlined plans for his Citizen’s Charter.

■ 2001: The Mir space station was disposed of. It broke up in the atmosphere before falling into the Pacific near Fiji.

■ ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Scientists discovered how a daisy native to South Africa employs deception by creating fake female flies to attract males.

■ BIRTHDAYS: Michael Nyman, composer, 80; Alan Bleasdale, playwright, 78; Chaka Khan, singer, 71; Amanda Plummer, actress, 67; Sir Steve Redgrave, retired Olympic rower, 62; Marti Pellow, singer, 59; Damon Albarn, singer, 56; Mike Atherton, former cricketer, 56; Gail Porter, TV presenter, 53; Joe Calzaghe, former boxer, 52, above; Sir Chris Hoy, six-time Olympic champion track cyclist, 48; Princess Eugenie of York, 34.