On this day

1510: Florentine painter Sandro Botticelli, whose work included The Birth Of Venus, died. 1836: Sir

Norman Lockyer, British 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: Compact discs were created by Philips.

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 Organisation (WHO) eliminated homosexuality from the list of psychiatric diseases.

2004: The first legal same-sex marriages in the US were performed in the state of Massachusetts. ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Thousands of people departed on international flights after the ban on foreign holidays was lifted for people in Britain.