ON THIS DAY
1437: James I, King of Scotland, was assassinated by a group of dissident nobles led by Sir Robert Graham. 1595: Robert Southwell, English poet and Jesuit martyr, was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn. 1613: Michael Romanov was elected Tsar of Russia, founding the house of Romanov which ruled until the revolution in March 1917. 1849: Britain annexed the Punjab at the end of the Second Sikh War. 1858: The first electric burglar alarm was installed by Edwin T Holmes of Boston, Massachusetts. 1910: Sir Douglas Bader, Second World War fighter pilot, was born. Despite losing both legs, he continued to fly, and is regarded as a hero of the Battle of Britain. 1916: Germany launched an all-out attack on the French fortress of Verdun. 1949: A Woman To Remember, one of the first television soap operas, began in the United States. 1952: Identity cards were abolished in Britain. 1965: American Black Muslim leader Malcolm X was shot dead while addressing a meeting in New York. 1988: The grave of Boadicea, the warrior queen who fought the Romans almost 2,000 years ago, was located by archaeologists under Platform 8 at King’s Cross railway station. ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: The Queen said she was “very grateful” for the country’s prayers and that she has felt God’s “faithfulness” throughout her reign. BIRTHDAYS: Robert Mugabe, president of Zimbabwe, 93; Jilly Cooper, author, 80; David Geffen, entertainment mogul, 74; Tyne Daly, actress, 71; William Baldwin, actor, 54; James Dean Bradfield, rock singer (Manic Street Preachers), 48; Jennifer Love Hewitt, actress/ director, 38; Charlotte Church, singer and TV presenter, 31.