Birthdays: Christian Slater, Robert Redford and Mika

1227: Genghis Khan, Mongol emperor who conquered more than a million square miles of land, died after falling from his horse.

1587: Virginia Dare became the first child born of English parents in the New World – on Roanoke Island, North Carolina – seven days after Sir Walter Raleigh’s second expedition landed.

1948: Lester Piggott, aged just 12, rode his first winner on only his seventh ride.

1960: The birth control pill was launched in America.

1964: South Africa was banned from the Olympics because of its racial policies.

1966: The Tay road bridge was opened.

1971: 28-year-old disabled Eamon McDevitt was shot dead by the Army in Strabane, Northern Ireland.

2009: Former South Korean president and 2000 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Kim Dae-jung died of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Record numbers of students were offered university places, as the latest A-level results showed the gap between boys and girls achieving the top grades had narrowed for the first time in five years.

BIRTHDAYS: Brian Aldiss, science fiction writer, 92; Roman Polanski, film director, 84; Robert Redford, actor, 81; Madeleine Stowe, actress, 59; Denis Leary, actor, 60, Edward Norton, actor, 48; Christian Slater, actor, 48; Mika, singer/songwriter, 34.