ON THIS DAY

• 1483: The date on which the two young princes, the uncrowned Edward V and his brother Richard, Duke of York, are believed to have been murdered in the Tower of London.

• 1892: Mae West, actress, was born in Brooklyn. A hat-check girl once said of her jewellery: “Goodness, what beautiful diamonds.” “Goodness,” replied West, “had nothing to do with it.”

• 1896: Gold was discovered at Bonanza Creek on the Klondike River in Canada’s Yukon Territory. This led to the great gold rush of 1898 when the settlement of Dawson would grow into a city of some 25,000 inhabitants.

• 1896: The first pedestrian to be knocked down and killed by a motor vehicle in Britain was Mrs Bridget Driscoll of Croydon. The car was travelling at 4mph.

• 1939: The much-loved film The Wizard Of Oz, starring Judy

Garland, opened in New York.

• 1978: The first transatlantic balloon crossing was successfully completed when the huge black and silver balloon Double Eagle II sank gracefully to the ground in a wheat field in Normandy.

• 1983: Ira Gershwin, lyricist to his brother George, died. Together they penned some of the world’s greatest popular songs.

• 1987: Former senior Nazi Rudolf Hess killed himself in Spandau Prison at the age of 93.

• ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Animator Richard Williams, who worked on hit Hollywood films including Roger Rabbit and the Pink Panther, died aged 86.

• BIRTHDAYS: Robert De Niro, actor, 77; Nelson Piquet, ex-racing driver, 68; Kevin Rowland, singer, 67; Robin Cousins, former skater, 63; Belinda Carlisle, singer, 62; Sean Penn, actor, 60.