Birthdays

1437: James I was assassinated by a group of dissident nobles led by Sir Robert Graham.

1595: Robert Southwell, English poet and Jesuit martyr, was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn.

1613: Michael Romanov was elected Tsar of Russia, founding the house of Romanov which ruled until the revolution in March 1917.

1910: Sir Douglas Bader, Second World War fighter pilot, was born. Despite losing both legs, he continued to fly, and is regarded as a hero of the Battle of Britain. 1916: Germany launched an all-out attack on the French fortress of Verdun.

1952: Identity cards were abolished in Britain.

1965: American Black Muslim leader Malcolm X was shot dead while addressing a meeting in New York.

Jilly Cooper, author, 83; David Geffen, entertainment mogul, 77; Tyne Daly, actress, 74; William Baldwin, actor, 57; James Dean Bradfield, rock singer (Manic

Street Preachers), 51; Jennifer Love Hewitt, actress/director, 41; Charlotte Church, pictured, singer and TV presenter, 34.

Quotes of the day

“I don’t want to damage anyone by supporting them so I have made up my mind that I am not going to give an opinion on which candidate. I think whatever happens there is going to be a significant improvement” – former prime minister Tony Blair on the Labour leadership campaign.

“I’m quite proud really. Was he half my age? Or was he even less than that? But it didn’t last very long, which was a good thing for me though, I think” – 102-year-old Second World War veteran

John Cox, who wrestled with a burglar and forced him to run away.

“Shock. First of all, shock. And I thought ‘Right’. Then you hold on to the positive, which was that he said ‘We can fix this’” – Dame Julie Walters recalls the moment when she was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer.