ON THIS DAY
1510:
Florentine painter Sandro Botticelli, whose work included The Birth Of Venus, died.
1836:
Sir Norman Lockyer, British astronomer who discovered helium, was born in Rugby.
1861:
A group of holidaymakers set off from London for Paris on the first package trip arranged by Thomas Cook.
1890:
The first weekly comic, Comic Cuts, was published in London by Alfred Harmsworth.
1900:
Mafeking was relieved by British Forces in the Boer War after 217 days.
1969:
Dubliner Tom McClean completed the first solo transatlantic crossing in a rowing boat.
1978:
Compact discs were created by Dutch electronics company Philips.
1978:
Charlie Chaplin’s coffin was found 10 miles from the Swiss cemetery where he had been buried, after it was stolen on March 2
1990:
The General Assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO) eliminated homosexuality from the list of psychiatric diseases.
2004:
The first legal same-sex marriages in the U.S. were performed in the state of Massachusetts.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR:
The Government revealed plans to invest £93 million to bring forward the opening of a new vaccinemanufacturing centre, ready to begin production if a vaccine was found.
BIRTHDAYS:
Sugar Ray Leonard, former boxer, 65; Enya (Eithne Ni Bhraonain), singer, 60; Trent Reznor, singer (Nine Inch Nails), 56; Jeremy Vine, journalist/presenter, 56; Hill Harper, actor, 55; Andrea Corr, singer, 47.