ON THIS DAY
1642: The city of Montreal in Canada was founded.
1804: Napoleon Bonaparte was proclaimed Emperor of France.
1830: Edwin Budding of Gloucestershire signed an agreement for the manufacture of his invention, the lawn mower. The first customer was Regent’s Park Zoo.
1872: Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician, nuclear disarmer and Nobel Prize for literature winner, was born in Trelleck, Monmouthshire.
1882: The present Eddystone Lighthouse, the fourth in existence, was opened.
1909: Fred Perry, three times Wimbledon men’s singles champion, was born.
1954: The European Convention on Human Rights came into force.
1961: The first London production of The Sound Of Music opened.
1980: Mount St Helens volcano in the American state of Washington erupted, killing 100 people. A cloud of ash 2,500 miles long and 1,000 miles wide was created.
1990: A treaty was signed in Bonn introducing economic and monetary union between East and West Germany.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR:
An earthquake struck a Swedish mine, with officials saying it was one of the strongest ever measured in the country.
BIRTHDAYS:
Miriam Margolyes, actress, 80; Rick Wakeman, rock musician, 72; Chow Yun-Fat, actor, 66; Toyah Willcox, singer/actress, 63; Holly Aird, actress, 52; Martika, singer and actress, 52; Tina Fey, actress/comedian/ writer, 51; Danny Mills, former footballer, 44.