On this day
■ 1850: Sir Thomas Lipton, founder of Lipton’s grocery chain, who went from errand boy to millionaire by the age of 30, was born in Glasgow.
■ 1857: The Sepoy Rebellion broke out in Meerut, triggering the Indian Mutiny against British rule.
■ 1869: The first US transcontinental railroad was completed when the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railways were joined.
■ 1940: Neville Chamberlain resigned as prime minister and Winston Churchill formed a coalition wartime government, saying: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”
■ 1941: The worst night of the London Blitz when the Houses of Parliament were damaged.
■ 1941: Rudolf Hess, Hitler’s deputy, parachuted into Scotland in an effort to negotiate a peace settlement, but was arrested and imprisoned for the remainder of the war.
■ 1994: Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as the first black president of South Africa.
■ 2002: A passenger train travelling from London to Norfolk derailed at Potters Bar railway station in Hertfordshire. Seven people died.
■ ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Efforts were underway to help a small whale after it became stranded along the River Thames in London.
■ BIRTHDAYS: Barbara Taylor Bradford, novelist, 89; Lady Lucinda Lambton, TV presenter, 79; Graham Gouldman, songwriter, 76; Donovan, folk singer, 76; Maureen Lipman, actress, 76; Sly Dunbar, music producer, 70; Bono (Paul Hewson), rock singer (U2), 62; Linda Evangelista, model, 57; Jason Brooks, actor, 56; Jonathan Edwards, former triple jumper, 56; Sylvain Wiltord, former footballer, 48.