On this day

1701: Anders Celsius, Swedish astronomer who created the centigrade temperature scale, was born in Uppsala.

1703: The first Eddystone Lighthouse was swept away in the Great Storm. More than 8,000 died across the country. 1914: The first two trained policewomen to be granted official status in Britain, Miss Mary Allen and Miss E F Harburn, reported for duty at Grantham.

1919: A massive meteor landed in Lake Michigan.

1942: As German troops arrived in Toulon, the French fleet was scuttled in the harbour to prevent the warships falling into enemy hands.

1944: Between 3,500 and 4,000 tons of high explosives went off in a cavern beneath Staffordshire, killing 68 people and wiping out an entire farm.

1963: The Buchanan Committee warned of future chaos as traffic in cities multiplied.

1967: President de Gaulle vetoed Britain’s entry into the Common Market.

1975: Ross Mcwhirter was shot dead by Irish gunmen at his home in London. With his twin brother, Norris, he edited The Guinness Book Of Records. 1990: John Major became prime minister at 47, the youngest PM that century.

Birthdays

John Alderton, actor, 80; Randy Brecker, jazz trumpeter, 75; Charlie Burchill, rock guitarist (Simple Minds), 61; Robin Givens, actress, 56; Roberto Mancini (pictured), football manager, 56; Gary Lucy, actor, 39.

Quotes of the day

“I happen to love deadlines. Not everyone does. I do, because they fit with my belief that art isn’t ever really complete. As the saying goes, ‘No work of art is ever finished; it can only be abandoned in an interesting place’” – musician Jeff Tweedy, of Wilco.

“Generally, we ate cold meat and potato salads, so we’d have a ham, but we’d have it cold” - food writer Kate Young on Christmas days in her native Australia.