Birthdays

1715: King Louis XIV of France, called the “Sun King”, died in Versailles after reigning for 72 years - the longest in European history.

1875: Edgar Rice Burroughs, creator of Tarzan, was born in Chicago. He never visited Africa where his stories were set.

1923: An earthquake in Japan left the cities of Tokyo and Yokohama in ruins and killed more than 300,000 people.

1939: Germany invaded Poland and bombed Warsaw at 6am. For the first time in history, the King went to Downing Street instead of the Prime Minister going to the Palace, as Neville Chamberlain needed to stay near his telephone. 1969: Colonel Gaddafi seized power in Libya, overthrowing King Idris I.

1971: The British penny and the threepenny piece coins ceased to be legal tender as decimalisation continued.

Lily Tomlin, comedienne, 81; Barry Gibb, singer (Bee Gees), 74; Bruce Foxton, rock musician, 65; Gloria Estefan, pictured, singer, 63; Ruud Gullit, former footballer/manager, 58; Scott Speedman, actor, 45; Daniel Sturridge, footballer, 31; Romeo Beckham, 18.

Quotes of the day

“Greater population density, greater travel, deforestation - all of these things make it more likely that these outbreaks will happen and then something will spread. Because of the way things have been going in the world, it’s more likely we’ll have zoonotic infections causing outbreaks in the future” – Professor Sarah Gilbert, who is leading Oxford University’s push for a coronavirus vaccine, warns of an increasing risk of disease outbreaks spreading from animals to people.

“I don’t look as good naked as I did in my 20s. But I feel better, and that’s the difference. I walk around like a foxy minx now because I feel like a foxy minx” – Davina Mccall, 52, who has had hormone replacement therapy to help her through the menopause.