ON THIS DAY

1689: Death – in the Tower of London – of the despised Judge Jeffreys, who sentenced more than 300 to death at his “bloody assizes”.

1775: American patriot Paul Revere made his famous ride from Charleston to Lexington to warn of the British Army’s advance.

1906: San Francisco was devastated by a massive earthquake.

1934: The first launderette opened in Fort Worth, Texas. It was called a Washateria.

1946: The League of Nations was formally dissolved, its assets passing to the United Nations.

1949: The Republic of Ireland Act came into force as Eire became a republic and withdrew from the British Commonwealth.

1955: Death of physicist Albert Einstein.

1966: The Sound Of Music won an Oscar after receiving an almost universal panning from the critics. It grossed £60m in its first year.

1968: London Bridge was sold for £1m to oil tycoon Robert McCullough. He had it rebuilt at Lake Havasu in the United States.

1980: Rhodesia became the independent nation of Zimbabwe.