On this day

1582: Pope Gregory XIII announced the new Gregorian calendar, replacing the Julian calendar. It was not adopted by Britain until 1752, when a “loss” of 11 days had to be made up. 1825: Thomas Bowdler, who took out the “naughty bits” in Shakespeare’s work, died. He gave the English language the word “bowdlerise”.

1848: France became a republic for the second time, following the abdication of King Louis Philippe.

1887: The first two cities to be linked by telephone were Paris and Brussels.

1905: The Simplon Tunnel through the Alps, 12.3 miles long, was completed.

1920: American-born Nancy Astor became the first woman to speak in the House of Commons following her election as an MP two months earlier.

1923: The Flying Scotsman locomotive began hauling scheduled services between London and Scotland.

1932: Malcolm Campbell in Bluebird beat his own land speed record at Daytona Beach by reaching 253.96 mph.

1938: A nylon toothbrush, the first commercial nylon product, went on sale in New Jersey.

1991: In their first parliamentary elections under a genuine multiparty system, voters in Lithuania rejected Communist rule. blues singer/broadcaster, 79; Dennis Waterman, actor, 73; Alain Prost, racing driver, 66; Billy Zane, actor/director, 55; Lleyton Hewitt, former tennis player, 40.