ON THIS DAY
1274:
Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland who defeated the English at Bannockburn, was born at Turnberry, Ayrshire.
1690:
William of Orange defeated the deposed Catholic King James II at the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland.
1754:
Shakespearean censor Thomas Bowdler was born. Though he loved the Bard’s works, he considered some to be vulgar and “unfit to be read by a gentleman in the company of ladies”. His solution was to cut lumps wholesale – and from this came the verb “to bowdlerise”.
1776:
Explorer Captain James Cook set sail from Plymouth on his third voyage of discovery, in search of a passage around the the northern coast of America from the Pacific side.
1937:
George Gershwin, American composer, whose work included Rhapsody In Blue and Porgy And Bess, died aged 38 of a brain tumour.
1949:
The first film made specially for British television, A Dinner Date With Death, was shot at Marylebone Studios between July 11 and 14.
1950:
Puppets Andy Pandy, Teddy and Looby Loo first appeared on BBC Television.
1975:
China’s great Terracotta Army was
uncovered near the ancient capital of Xian. More than 6,000 life-sized warriors were made around 206BC to guard the tomb of the first emperor.
1979:
America’s Skylab I returned to Earth after 34,981 orbits in six years.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR:
Billionaire Sir Richard Branson successfully reached the edge of space on board his Virgin Galactic rocket plane.
BIRTHDAYS:
Giorgio Armani, fashion designer, 88; John Kettley, TV weatherman, 70; Richie Sambora, rock guitarist (Bon Jovi), 63; Suzanne Vega, singer, 63; Craig Charles, comedian/actor, 58; Tony Cottee, former footballer, 57; Lil Kim, Rapper and pop star, 48.