On this day

70BC: Virgil, the greatest Roman poet, best-known for his epic Aeneid, which included the legend of the founding of Rome, was born.

1666: The first waistcoat was worn by King Charles II, according to Samuel Pepys.

1839: Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were betrothed. She proposed to him and confided to her diary: “It was a nervous thing to do, but Albert could not propose to the Queen of England. He would never presume to take such a liberty.” 1881: Novelist PG Wodehouse – later Sir – creator of Jeeves and Wooster, was born in Guildford, Surrey.

1917: Mata Hari, pictured, legendary Dutch spy who danced in the nude, was executed by a firing squad in Paris.

1940: A 500lb bomb hit Broadcasting House, London, killing seven people. Bruce Belfrage was reading the news at the time and paused for only a second before continuing.

1976: Two men from the Ulster

Defence Regiment (UDR) were jailed for 35 years in connection with the murders of members of the Miami Showband.

1987: The worst hurricane in Britain since records began hit during the night, devastating southern England and causing at least 17 deaths.

2003: China became the third country to launch a crewed spaceflight. Shenzhou 5, which was piloted by Yang Liwei, orbited Earth 14 times during the 21-hour flight.

2018: American investor and philanthropist Paul Allen, who cofounded Microsoft, died at age 65

Birthdays

Chris de Burgh, singer, 74; Tito Jackson, musician, 69; Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, 63; Stephen Tompkinson, actor, 57; Dominic West, pictured, actor, 53; Andy Cole, former footballer and coach, 51; Paul Robinson, former footballer and England goalkeeper, 43; Vincent Martella, actor, 30.