On this day
■ 1610: Henry IV of France, “Good King Henry”, was murdered by a mad monk in Paris.
■ 1643: Louis XIV became King of France at the age of four years 231 days – and reigned for more than 72 years.
■ 1727: Artist Thomas Gainsborough was born in Sudbury, Suffolk.
■ 1779: The Oaks was first run at Epsom.
■ 1796: Edward Jenner made his first vaccination against smallpox, and laid the foundation for modern immunology.
■ 1811: Paraguay proclaimed its independence.
■ 1842: The British periodical Illustrated London News was first published.
■ 1921: The British Legion was founded in London – it became the Royal British Legion in 1971.
■ 1948: Israel was established as a Jewish state following the partition of Palestine.
■ 1955: Eastern Bloc countries signed the Warsaw Pact.
■ 1987: American actress Rita Hayworth died.
■ ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Amazon announced plans to create more than 10,000 new jobs in the UK and launch a £10 million programme to help employees gain new skills.
■ BIRTHDAYS: Chay Blyth, round-the-world yachtsman, 82; George Lucas, filmmaker, 78; Francesca Annis, actress, 77; David Byrne, musician (Talking Heads), 70; Robert Zemeckis, film director, 70; Tim Roth, actor, 61; Ian Astbury, singer (The Cult), 60; Cate Blanchett, actress, 53; Olly Murs, singer, 38; Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook co-founder, 38.