ON THIS DAY
NATIONAL DAY OF BURMA 1493: Christopher Columbus sailed from America to Spain in the Nina. 1809: Louis Braille, inventor of the alphabetic system for the blind which bears his name, was born in Paris. 1813: Isaac Pitman, publisher and inventor of shorthand, was born in Trowbridge, Wiltshire. 1884: The Fabian Society was founded to promote socialist ideals. 1885: The first successful appendix operation was performed by Dr William West Grant, in Iowa. 1929: Australian cricketer Don Bradman made his first Test century, playing against England in Melbourne. 1936: Billboard magazine in New York published the first popular music chart. 1958: Sir Edmund Hillary, with a New Zealand party, reached the South Pole, the first man to do so overland since Captain Scott. 1967: Donald Campbell died attempting to break the world water speed record on Coniston Water in the Lake District. 1972: Rose Heilbron became Britain’s first woman judge at the Old Bailey. 1986: Christopher Isherwood, novelist and playwright, died. His novel Goodbye To Berlin was adapted as the musical Cabaret. 1993: P&O European Ferries announced the closure of its passenger service between Dover and Boulogne after 170 years. 2009: Colin Freeman, the Sunday Telegraph’s chief foreign correspondent, was released by Somalian kidnappers after 40 days in captivity. 2014: Adventurer Richard Parks, the former Wales rugby player, claimed a record for the fastest ever solo, unsupported journey to the South Pole by a Briton. ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Living close to a busy road increases the risk of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia by up to 12%, a major study found. BIRTHDAYS: Rick Stein, chef and broadcaster, 71; Bernard Sumner, rock musician (New Order), 62; Michael Stipe, rock singer (REM), 58; Guy Forget, former tennis player, 53; Julia Ormond, actress, 53; Tim Wheeler, rock musician (Ash), 41; David Millar, British road cyclist, 41; James Milner, footballer, 32.