On this day

1510: Florentine painter Sandro Botticelli, whose work included The Birth Of Venus, died.

1836: Sir Norman Lockyer, astronomer who discovered helium, was born in Rugby.

1861: A group of holidaymakers set off from London for Paris on the first package trip arranged by Thomas Cook.

1890: The first weekly comic, Comic Cuts, was published in London by Alfred Harmsworth. 1899: Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone of the Victoria and Albert Museum. 1900: Mafeking was relieved by British Forces in the Boer War after 217 days.

1960: The Kariba Dam on the Zambesi River was opened by the Queen Mother.

1969: Dubliner Tom Mcclean completed the first solo transatlantic crossing in a rowing boat.

1978: Charlie Chaplin’s coffin was found 10 miles from the Swiss cemetery where he had been buried, after it was stolen on March 2.

1990: The General Assembly of the World Health Organization eliminated homosexuality from the list of psychiatric diseases. 2004: The first legal same-sex marriages in America took place in the state of Massachusetts.

Birthdays

Sugar Ray Leonard, former boxer, 65; Enya (Eithne Ni Bhraonain), singer, 60; Trent Reznor, singer (Nine Inch Nails), 56; Jeremy Vine, pictured, journalist/presenter, 56; Hill Harper, actor, 55; Andrea Corr, singer, 47; Derek Hough, dancer/ choreographer, 36.

Quote of the day

“Enjoying reading can’t just be a privilege; all children should be able to access books, no matter what their background” – Manchester United footballer Marcus Rashford, who is partnering the National Literacy Trust, WH Smith and Macmillan Children’s Books on an initiative aimed at ensuring every child has a book of their own at home.