ON THIS DAY
1770: Poet William Wordsworth was born in Cockermouth, Cumberland. 1827: Matches, the invention of Stockton chemist John Walker, were sold for the first time. 1915: Billie Holiday – “Lady Day” – said by some to be the greatest jazz singer of all time – was born in Baltimore as Eleanora Fagan. 1947: Death of Henry Ford, American motor car manufacturer. 1949: South Pacific, by Rodgers and Hammerstein, opened on Broadway with Mary Martin and Ezio Pinza in the lead roles. 1968: British world motor racing champion Jim Clark was killed in a crash at Hockenheim, Germany. 1976: Controversial MP John Stonehouse resigned from the Labour Party. 1978: US President Jimmy Carter took the decision to postpone production of the controversial neutron bomb. 1989: A Soviet nuclear-powered submarine, Komsomolets, carrying nuclear warheads, caught fire and sank off Norway with the loss of more than 40 crew members. 2008: The Diana inquest ended with a jury concluding she was unlawfully killed because of gross negligence by drink-driver Henri Paul and the paparazzi. ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: British scientists took a first step towards mass-producing platelets – tiny cell fragments that play a vital role in blood clotting – tailored to individual patients. BIRTHDAYS: Francis Ford Coppola, film director, 78; Jackie Chan, actor and martial arts expert, 63; Russell Crowe, actor, 53; Alison Lapper, artist, 52; Michaela Strachan, TV presenter, 51; Tim Peake, astronaut, 45; Duncan James, singer (Blue), 39; Ed Speleers, actor, 29.