ON THIS DAY

1533: Henry VIII divorced Catherine of Aragon to marry Anne Boleyn, wife number two. The result was a break with the church in Rome. 1701: Dundee-born pirate William Kidd was hanged at Execution Dock in London for piracy. 1706: Marlborough defeated the French at the Battle of Ramilles in Belgium. 1795: Sir Charles Barry, architect, was born in Westminster. With assistant Augustus Pugin, he designed the new Houses of Parliament. 1873: The North West Mounted Police were established in Canada - the name was changed to The Royal Canadian Mounted Police in 1920. 1887: The French crown jewels went on sale and raised six million francs. 1934: Bank robbers Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were shot dead in an ambush by Texas Rangers near Gibland, Louisiana. 1945: Heinrich Himmler, Hitler’s minister of the interior, committed suicide. 1960: The Israelis announced the capture of war criminal Adolf Eichmann. BIRTHDAYS: Joan Collins, actress, 82; Johnny Ball, presenter, 77; Anatoly Karpov, chess champion, 64; Marvin Hagler, former boxer, 61; Drew Carey, actor, 57; Graeme Hick, cricketer, 49; Phil Selway, rock drummer (Radiohead), 48; Jewel, singer, 41. QUOTES OF THE DAY: “These days, political correctness decrees that only politicians, Alzheimer’s sufferers, animals and blondes are allowed to be the subject of jokes. I guess the thinking behind today’s unspoken rule is that politicians have no feelings to hurt, Alzheimer’s sufferers won’t remember the slur, and blondes and animals are too dumb to notice” - Actress Maureen Lipman. “I am not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I am not dumb - and I am not blonde either” - Singer Dolly Parton. “We lost our shadow chancellor but most people thought we had lost our balls before the election” - Liz Kendall, a Labour leadership contender. “Never take your first drink until the seventh song” - The advice given by Sir Terry Wogan to Graham Norton, his successor as the BBC’s Eurovision commentator. “I keep in shape to stay alive, not in order to impress someone with a great body” - Actor Sir Michael Caine, 82. “This tasteless choreography” - How Charles Moore, Margaret Thatcher’s biographer, described the Prince of Wales-Gerry Adams handshake. “These talks will not be easy. They will not be quick. There will be different views and disagreements along the way” - Prime Minister David Cameron on his bid to reform the EU.