ON THIS DAY

1170: Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered in his own cathedral by four knights, believing that they were acting on Henry II’s orders. 1721: Madame de Pompadour, infamous mistress of Louis XV, was born in Paris. 1809: William Ewart Gladstone was born in Liverpool. Four times British prime minister, he is remembered not only for politics but for the Gladstone bag and the Gladstone collar. 1860: The world’s first iron-clad warship, Warrior, was launched at Blackwall on the Thames. 1890: The Battle of Wounded Knee in South Dakota took place, the last major conflict between Native American Indians – Sioux – and US troops. 1940: German bombers dropped 10,000 bombs on London on one of the worst nights of the Blitz. 1972: Life Magazine ended publication after 36 years as the leading weekly pictorial magazine. It restarted quarterly issues in 1974. 2006: UK settles its Anglo-American loan of post-World War II debt. 2014 :AsuicidebombatRussia’s Volgograd train station killed at least 18 people and wounded 40 others. BIRTHDAYS: Bernard Cribbins, comedy actor, 88; Mary Tyler Moore, actress, 80; Jon Voight, actor, 78; Marianne Faithfull, singer/actress, 70; Ted Danson, actor, 69; Yvonne Elliman, singer, 65; Martin Offiah, pundit and former rugby league player, 51; Jude Law, actor, 44. QUOTES OF THE DAY: “As the prime minister of Japan, I offer my sincere and everlasting condolences to the souls of those who lost their lives here, as well as to the spirits of all the brave men and women whose lives were taken by a war that commenced in this very place” - Shinzo Abe during a historic visit to Pearl Harbour with President Barack Obama. “The bitchy answer is ‘the business is over-crowded ... don’t join it and take away my work’” - Actress Olivia Williams on the advice she would give to would-be actors. “No matter how I go, I want it reported that I drowned in moonlight, strangled by my own bra” - Actress Carrie Fisher, who died earlier this week, in a recent comment. “When you get old people don’t want to make you look ridiculous. You get treated with respect - God it’s awful being treated with respect” - Actress Sheila Hancock, 83. “We used to have good-quality books, good-quality music, good-quality television and good-quality cinema, only. Now we have rubbish across the board” - Jonathan Creek star Alan Davies. “Ihavetosteponawettowelinmy socks before I race” - Olympic goldmedal winning cyclist Laura Kenny reveals one of her superstitions.