On this day

1377:

10.

1757: George Vancouver, the explorer after whom Vancouver Island and Vancouver are named, was born.

1814: MCC beat Hertfordshire in the first major cricket match played on the present Lord’s cricket ground in St John’s Wood.

1896: Marconi patented his invention of the “wireless”.

1937: Joe Louis, above, won the world heavyweight boxing title by knocking out James J Braddock in Chicago. He successfully defended the crown 25

Richard II inherited the English throne, aged times before announcing

1 1949.

1940: France capitulated and accepted the armistice terms of Germany.

1941: The German Army invaded Russia.

1969: Singer Judy Garland was found dead in her flat in London, aged 47.

1987: Fred Astaire, above, American actor and dancer, died aged 88.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: People were surprised when a prankster dressed a sculpture of a man in the Water of Leith in Edinburgh, created by the artist Antony Gormley, in a pair of pants. his retirement on March