ON THIS DAY
1789: The Bastille, the state prison in Paris, was stormed by the citizens of Paris and burned to the ground at the start of the French Revolution. 1867: Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel first demonstrated the use of dynamite. 1888: The first record company, the North American Phonograph Company, was founded in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, by businessman Jesse L Lippincott. 1902: The Campanile of St Mark’s Cathedral in Venice collapsed during a safety inspection. 1940: The Soviet Union annexed Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. 1946: Dr Benjamin Spock’s famous baby bible - Baby And Child Care - was published, and became a bestseller. Twenty-eight years later he said he no longer supported his own theories. 1958: King Faisal of Iraq was assassinated in a military coup led by General Kassem, and a Republic was established. 1959: Grock, described as the ‘’greatest clown on earth’’, died in Italy. 1967: Parliament voted to legalise abortion. BIRTHDAYS: Susan Howatch, novelist, 75; Sue Lawley, TV presenter, 69; Julia Somerville, former newsreader, 68; Bruce Oldfield, fashion designer, 65; Matthew Fox, actor, 49; Nick McCabe, guitarist (the Verve), 44; Howard Webb, professional football referee, 44, Lee Mead, musical theatre actor, 34. QUOTES OF THE DAY: “I nearly stopped breathing. I admire him so much that no air was coming out” - Actor Sir Ben Kingsley waxes lyrical about working alongside fellow actor Sir Anthony Hopkins. “I am thankful that the people who consider me to be depressing are always in themselves very dull, whereas those who understand my humour are always very bright people” - Singer Morrissey. “She is built like a man? Yeah, my husband looks just like this in a dress” - JK Rowling defends Wimbledon winner Serena Williams against critics on Twitter. “We want to say sorry to anyone whose day we’ve ruined, and we’re not saying that everybody who wants to fly is a bad person” - Ella Gilbert, one of the protesters on the runway at Heathrow. “When you wind up being married four times, there are a lot of bodies strewn in your wake” - Songwriter Burt Bacharach. “Unite is not going to see itself rendered toothless by passively submitting to unjust laws” - Len McCluskey, head of the Unite union, changes the rules to allow activists to stage illegal strikes.