Today’s birthdays

The King of the Belgians is 61.

Sir Kenneth Bloomfield, National Governor, BBC Northern Ireland, 1991-99, 90; Sir Patrick Gillam, former company chairman, 88; Mr Peter Freeth, etcher and printmaker, 83; Miss Claudia Cardinale, photographer and actress, 83; Prof Michael Gibbons, Secretary-general, Association of Commonwealth Universities, 1996-2004, 82; Lord Archer of Weston-super-mare, author, 81; Sir David Keene, a former Lord Justice of Appeal, 80; Sir Tim Lankester, President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, 2001-09, 79; Baroness Linklater of Butterstone 78; Prof Sir David Omand, Security and Intelligence Co-ordinator, Cabinet Office, 2002-05, 74; Sir Martin Broughton, Chairman, British Airways, 2004-14, 74; Mr Mark Damazer, Master of St Peter’s College, Oxford, 2010-19; Controller, BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 7, 2004-10, 66; Mr Justice Newton 63; Prof Benjamin Zephaniah, poet, 63; Dame Emma Thompson, actress, 62; Gen Sir Gordon Messenger, Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, 2016-19, 59; Mr

Ben Clarke, former England rugby union player, 53; Mr Steve Williams, adventurer and former rower; double Olympic champion, 45; and Miss Emma Watson, actress, 31.

Today is the anniversary of the birth of Leonardo da Vinci in 1452. It is also the anniversary of the sinking of RMS Titanic in 1912.