NOW & THEN
29 MARCH
1461: England’s bloodiest battle raged for ten hours around the village of Towton in Yorkshire – it was fought in a blinding snowstorm, and 28,000 soldiers were said to have died. Henry VI was deposed, and Edward became Edward IV.
1783: The Royal Society of Edinburgh incorporated by charter.
1801: Britain seized Danish and Swedish islands in West Indies.
1849: Britain annexed Punjab in India by treaty with Maharajah of Lahore.
1864: Ionian Islands were ceded by Britain to Greece.
1867: Independence of Canada began when parliament created the Dominion of Canada.
1871: The Royal Albert Hall, London, built in memory of Prince Albert, was opened by Queen Victoria. One of the prince’s own compositions was played at the opening.
1886: The first batch of Coca Cola was brewed over a wood fire by graduate chemist John S Pemberton. Launched as an “Esteemed Brain Tonic and Intellectual Beverage”, it was recommended for headaches, hangovers and as a general pickme-up.
1903: Regular news service between London and New York began using Marconi’s wireless.
1928: The House of Commons overwhelmingly passed the Equal Franchise Bill, giving the vote to all women aged 21 or over.
1939: The Spanish Civil War was declared to have ended. Franco was named Caudillo, or leader of the nation.
1940: Metal strips were introduced into Bank of England £1 notes as an anti-forgery device.
1946: New constitution in Gold Coast, which became first British African colony with majority of Africans in legislature.
1951: First performance of The King And I at St James’s Theatre, Broadway, with Yul Brynner as the King and Gertrude Lawrence as Anna.
1973: Last American troops left South Vietnam, ending direct military role of United States in Vietnam war.
1981: The first London Marathon was run.
1986: World’s first test-tube quins were born in London.
1989: Two Czechoslovak teenagers hijacked Hungarian airliner from Prague to Frankfurt in attempt to reach United States.
1990: Prime minister Bob Hawke claimed victory in Australian election, becoming first Labour winner of four consecutive terms.
1993: The president of Hoover Europe was dismissed after a free-travel sales promotion, heavily over-subscribed, ended in chaos.
2004: The Republic of Ireland became the first country in the world to ban smoking in all work places, including bars and restaurants.
2004: Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia joined Nato as full members.
2008: Thirty-five countries and more than 370 cities joined Earth Hour for the first time, raising awareness of global warming.
2010: Thirty-nine people were killed and more than 60 injured in two suicide bomb attacks on the Moscow Metro during the morning rush hour. Jennifer Capriati, American tennis player, 45; Julie Goodyear MBE, British actress, 79; Terry Jacks, Canadian singer, 77; Dianne Kay, American actress, 69; Christopher Lambert, Americanborn French actor, 64; Lucy Lawless, New Zealand actress, 53; Elle Macpherson, Australian model, 57; Sir John Major, MP 1979-2001, Conservative prime minister 1990-7, 78; Annabella Sciorra, American actress (Blue Bloods), 61; John Suchet, television reporter, 77; Lord Tebbit of Chingford, MP 19701992 and Cabinet minister,
90; Vangelis (Evangelos Papathanassiou), composer, 78.
ANNIVERSARIES
Births: 1902 Sir William Walton, composer; 1913 Jack Jones MBE, trade unionist; 1914 Chapman Pincher, British journalist; 1915 George Chisholm, jazz trombonist; 1918 Pearl Bailey, American singer; 1935 Ruby Murray, singer; 1936 Sir Richard Rodney Bennett CBE, British composer. Deaths: 1788 Charles Wesley, evangelist; 1891 Georges Seurat, artist; 1912 Captain Robert Falcon Scott; 1970 Vera Brittain, author; 1972 Lord Rank (J Arthur Rank), industrialist and builder of film organisation; 2013 Richard Griffiths OBE, British actor.