On this day

1813: Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi, renowned for his operas, was born in Le Roncole.

1877: Motoring pioneer William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield, was born in Worcester.

1881: The Savoy Theatre, the first public building to be lit by electricity, opened with a performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Patience.

1886: The dinner jacket made its first appearance in public when it was worn by its creator at a ball at the Tuxedo Park Country Club, New York.

1903: Mrs Emmeline Pankhurst formed the Women’s Social and Political Union to fight for female emancipation in Britain.

1935: Gershwin’s Porgy And Bess opened in New York. The opera was a financial failure though an artistic triumph.

1961: A volcano erupted on the South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha and the whole population was brought to Britain.

Birthdays

Murray Walker, former motor racing commentator, 97; Judith Chalmers, TV presenter, 85;

Charles Dance, actor, 74; Chris Tarrant, broadcaster, 74; Midge Ure, rock singer, 67; Martin Kemp, actor/musician, 59;; Sir Matthew Pinsent, pictured, Olympic gold medal rower, 50.

Quotes of the day

“I’m so excited to be presenting Changing Rooms. It’s a classic. It’s the perfect time to bring it back, everyone is going DIY and decor mad. I can’t wait to see all the amazing transformations – I might even get stuck in myself if I’m allowed to be let loose with a paint brush” – Davina Mccall on being announced as the host of Channel 4’s upcoming reboot of the makeover.

“If there is one message to send out it must be that President Trump was 100% incorrect in his statements this week around flu and Covid and we must not let his words influence anything here” – Dr Nick Scriven, immediate past president of the Society for Acute Medicine, reacts to new figures which suggest Covid-19 could be more deadly than flu and pneumonia combined.