On this day

1633: Bananas were displayed in a London shop window – the first time the fruit had been seen in Britain.

1710: The Copyright Act came into effect, allowing authors to hold exclusive rights to their work for up to 50 years after death

1829: William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, was born in Nottingham.

1849: The safety pin was patented by Walter Hunt of New York – he made it in only three hours and later sold the rights for $400 to pay debts. 1955: Ruth Ellis shot dead David Blakely outside a pub in Hampstead, north London – an act for which she was subsequently hanged.

1970: Paul Mccartney announced that he was leaving The Beatles for personal and professional reasons.

1971: In an attempt to thaw relations with the United States, the People’s Republic of China hosted the U.S. table tennis team for a week-long visit.

1998: The Northern Ireland peace deal was reached, called the Good Friday Agreement.

Birthdays

Gloria Hunniford, TV and radio presenter, 80; Paul Theroux, author, 79; Steven Seagal, actor and director 68; Lesley Garrett, pictured, soprano, 65; Nicky Campbell, TV presenter, 59; Haley Joel Osment, actor, 32.

Quotes of the day

“Your heart goes out to the medical professionals. It’s extraordinary what’s going on but also I had no idea delivery drivers are the absolute lifeline, people you maybe wouldn’t have thought about a great deal before. It’s really very humbling because you realise how useless your skill set is” – Comedian Jimmy Carr.

“I am 24 years old, I do not need you to tell me who I should and should not love and I would never in my life ever, ever tell anyone who they can and cannot love.” It is not your place and really it has nothing to do with you” – Little Women star Florence Pugh hits out at online trolls criticising her relationship with 45-year-old US actor Zach Braff.