NOW & THEN
8 AUGUST
AD117: Hadrian became Emperor of Rome.
1296: Scottish Coronation Stone removed from Scone Abbey by King Edward I.
1609: The Venetian Senate examined Galileo Galilei’s telescope.
1815: Napoleon Bonaparte sailed for St Helena and life in exile.
1844: Brigham Young was chosen to head the Mormon church following the death of Joseph Smith.
1854: Smith & Wesson patented metal bullet cartridges.
1863: During the American Civil War, Tennessee’s governor – and future US president – Andrew Johnson, freed his slaves. In later years, the event was celebrated as a holiday by Tennessee’s African-american community.
1870: The first America’s Cup race took place. Magic of the United States beat Britain’s challenger, Cambria.
1876: Thomas Edison patented the mimeograph, a device which forces a stencil on to paper.
1900: The Davis Cup for tennis was contested for the first time, at Longwood Cricket Club, Massachusetts, where the USA defeated Great Britain.
1911: Five thousand troops moved to Liverpool to quell riots amid industrial and civil unrest.
1914: The first British troops landed in France.
1914: Ernest Shackleton embarked on his third polar expedition on the ship Endurance.
1918: Twenty divisions of Allied troops went into action near Amiens in the final thrust to break the Hindenburg Line.
1944: A field marshal and four generals were hanged for an attempt on Hitler’s life.
1955: Fidel Castro began his revolutionary July 26th Movement in Cuba - the name taken from the date of the failed attack on the Moncada Barracks in 1953.
1956: A fire and explosion killed 263 miners at Marcinelle, Belgium.
1958: Columbia Records signed 17-year-old singer Cliff Richard.
1960: Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini by Bryan Hyland entered the top ten in the UK music charts and hit No 1 in the US Billboard charts.
1963: The Great Train Robbery took place in Buckinghamshire. The robbers made off with a haul valued at £2.6 million.
1963: The United States, Britain and the USSR signed the Test Ban Treaty in the Kremlin.
1972: Premiere of the musical Jesus Christ Superstar at the Palace Theatre, London.
1974: Richard Nixon became the first United States president to resign, because of Watergate.
1990: Iraq announced the total annexation of Kuwait.
1991: British hostage John Mccarthy was set free in Beirut after 1,942 days in captivity.
1995: Scottish Rugby Union said it wanted to pay players to end the hypocrisy surrounding the game’s amateur status.
2001: Hollywood superstars Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise were divorced.
2008: Royal Bank of Scotland unveiled the group’s first loss in 40 years as a public company, £691 million for the first half.
2008: The 2008 Olympic Games were launched in Beijing.
BIRTHDAYS KATIE LEUNG Scottish actress, 32
Dennis Canavan, MP 19742001, 77; Keith Carradine, US actor, 70; Sarah Dunant, British broadcaster, 69; The Edge (David Evans), rock guitarist (U2), 58; Roger Federer, Swiss tennis champion, 38; Angus Fraser MBE, English cricketer, commentator, 54; Brian Harvey, pop singer, 45; Dustin Hoffman, US actor, 82; Nigel Mansell CBE, Formula 1 champion 1992, 66; Baron Smith of Kelvin KT, chancellor of University of Strathclyde, and former BBC governor, 75; Princess Beatrice of York, 31; Hannah Miley, Scottish Olympic swimmer, 30; Chris Eubank, retired world champion boxer, 53
ANNIVERSARIES
Births: 1876 Frank Richards (Charles Hamilton), creator of Billy Bunter; 1879 Emiliano Zapata, Mexican revolutionary; 1879 Robert Smith, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous; 1929 Ronald Biggs, train robber; 1931 Andy Warhol, artist.
Deaths: 1919 FW Woolworth, retail pioneer; 1975 Julian “Cannonball” Adderley, jazz saxophonist; 1979 Nicholas Monsarrat, author; 1996 Sir Frank Whittle, inventor of jet engine; 2004 Fay Wray, actress (King Kong); 2017 Glen Campbell, country singer.