ON THIS DAY
1679: The Habeas Corpus Act, stating that nobody could be held in prison without trial, was passed. 1703: Tsar Peter the Great founded St Petersburg and proclaimed it the new capital of Russia. 1818: Women’s rights campaigner Amelia Jenks Bloomer was born in New York. She caused such a stir by wearing trousers that they acquired her name – bloomers. 1837: James “Wild Bill” Hickok, US frontiersman, was born in Troy Grove, Illinois. 1840: Italian violin virtuoso Niccolo Paganini died. He was reputed to have had a hand-spread which measured a staggering 18 inches. 1900: Belgium became the first country to elect a government by proportional representation. 1936: The Queen Mary left Southampton on her maiden voyage to New York. 1937: The 4,200ft Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, was opened. 1940: Operation Dynamo – the evacuation of British and French troops from the Dunkirk beaches – began. It lasted until June 4. 1941: The German battleship Bismarck was sunk. ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: A Slovakian model who shot her British millionaire ex-boyfriend twice in the head was found guilty of his murder at a court in Spain. BIRTHDAYS: Dr Henry Kissinger, statesman, 94; Louis Gossett Jr, actor, 81; Duncan Goodhew, former swimmer, 60; Siouxsie Sioux (Susan Ballion), rock singer, 60; Neil Finn, rock singer (Crowded House), 59; Pat Cash, former tennis player, 52; Paul Gascoigne, former footballer, 50; Joseph Fiennes, actor, 47; Denise Van Outen, TV star, 43.