ON THIS DAY
1726: Sir John Vanbrugh, playwright and architect of Blenheim Palace, Castle Howard and many castles and houses, died. 1780: The British Gazette And Sunday Monitor, the first Sunday newspaper in Britain, was published. 1827: Famously deaf composer Ludwig van Beethoven died in Vienna, aged 57. His last words were reputedly: ‘’I shall hear in Heaven.’’ 1885: The first cremation in Britain took place at Woking in Surrey. 1937: Popeye the sailor-man became the first cartoon character to have his statue erected - by spinach growers in Crystal City, Texas. 1945: David Lloyd George, who laid the foundations of the Welfare State and led Britain through the First World War, died at the age of 82. 1971: East Pakistan, under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, declared independence to become the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. 1973: The first woman stockbroker set foot on the floor of the London Stock Exchange. 1979: Israel and Egypt ended 30 years of war after a peace deal brokered by the United States. 1981: The so-called Gang of Four (Roy Jenkins, David Owen, William Rodgers and Shirley Williams) launched the Social Democratic Party. 1992: Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson was jailed after being found guilty of one count of rape and two counts of criminal deviate conduct. 1997: The bodies of 39 members of the Heaven’s Gate cult were found after a mass suicide - they believed they would join aliens following the Hale Bopp comet. BIRTHDAYS: Erica Jong, writer, 74; Bob Woodward, Watergate journalist, 73; Diana Ross, singer, 72; Steven Tyler, rock musician (Aerosmith), 68; Martin Short, actor, 66; Jennifer Grey, actress, 56; William Hague, Conservative politician, 55; Amy Smart, actress, 40; Keira Knightley, actress, 31. QUOTES OF THE DAY: “I feel deep contentment when I have tidied out my knicker drawer while listening to the Radio 4 afternoon play” - TV’s Lorraine Kelly. “I’ve lost some weight and I’m ready to get fat again” - MasterChef judge Gregg Wallace. “A snivelling coward” - Ted Cruz attacks Donald Trump, his Republican rival, for having a dig at his wife. “Well, it depends on how good looking the girls are. If they are really attractive, they’re very, very welcome. The uglier ones, I’m afraid not” - Republic of Ireland football manager Martin O’Neill when asked whether wags would be welcome at team hotels during Euro 2016. “On my first day in New York a guy asked me if I knew where Central Park was. When I told him I didn’t he said, ‘Do you mind if I mug you here?’” - Comedian Paul Merton.