On this day

1804: Napoleon Bonaparte was proclaimed Emperor of France. 1830: Edwin Budding of Gloucestershire signed an agreement for the manufacture of his invention, the lawn mower. The first customer was Regent’s Park Zoo.

1872: Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician, nuclear disarmer and Nobel Prize for literature winner, was born in Trelleck, Monmouthshire.

1909: Fred Perry, three times Wimbledon men’s singles champion, was born. 1961: The first London production of The Sound Of Music opened.

1980: Mount St Helens volcano in the American state of Washington erupted, killing 100 people.

1990: A treaty was signed in Bonn introducing economic and monetary union between East and West Germany.

Birthdays

Miriam Margolyes, actress, 80; Rick Wakeman, rock musician, 72; Chow Yun-fat, actor, 66; Toyah Willcox, singer/actress, 63; Holly Aird, actress, 52; Martika, singer and actress, 52; Tina Fey, pictured, actress/ comedian/writer, 51; Danny Mills, former footballer, 44.

Quotes of the day

“People want the big screen, they want the sound, the seats, the whole experience, the popcorn that goes with it, and they recognise you can’t get that from your sofa” – Toby Bradon, general manager of Vue entertainment in UK and Ireland.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that prices will rise, particularly during the peaks of the bank holiday weekends, the school holiday travel period, but that won’t affect bookings for summer 2021. In 2021 prices will never be cheaper because all the airlines are running with much lower advanced bookings than we have ever had before because of the travel restriction” – Ryanair chief executive Michael O’leary.