On this day

1422: King Henry V of England died in Vincennes, France, struck down with dysentery. He was succeeded by his ninemonth-old infant son, Henry VI. 1888: Mary Ann “Polly” Nichols, first victim of Jack the Ripper, was found mutilated in Buck’s Row in the East End.

1900: Coca-cola first went on sale in Britain.

1908: At the age of 60, and after a career spanning 43 years, the legendary WG Grace retired from first-class cricket. He scored 54,896 runs (126 centuries), took 2,879 wickets and held 871 catches.

1936: Elizabeth Cowell, Britain’s first woman TV announcer, made her debut at Alexandra Palace.

1957: Malaya became independent. On this same day in 1962, Trinidad and Tobago in the West Indies also became independent.

1962: Chris Bonington and Ian Clough became the first Britons to conquer the north face of the Eiger.

1968: Gary Sobers (now Sir

Garfield) of Nottinghamshire became the first cricketer to score six sixes off an over, at Swansea against Glamorgan. The hapless bowler was Malcolm Nash.

1969: Rocky Marciano, pictured, American world heavyweight boxing champion from 1952 to 1956, who retired undefeated, was killed in an air crash in Iowa. 1997: Diana, Princess of Wales was killed in a car crash in central Paris along with Dodi Fayed.

2012: The German manufacturer of anti-morning sickness drug thalidomide apologised for the thousands of children born without limbs as a result of its use.

Birthdays

Martin Bell, former broadcaster and MP, 83; Clive Lloyd, former cricketer, 77; Van Morrison, singer, 76; Richard Gere, actor, 72; Edwin Moses, former athlete, 66; Todd Carty, actor, 58; Debbie Gibson, singer, 51; Padraig Harrington, golfer, 50; Ian Harte, footballer, 44.