ON THIS DAY
1582: Pope Gregory XIII announced the new Gregorian calendar, to replace the Julian calendar. It was not adopted by Britain until 1752, when a “loss” of 11 days had to be made up. 1825: Thomas Bowdler, who took out the “naughty bits” in Shakespeare’s work, died. He gave the English language the word “bowdlerise”. 1848: France became a republic for the second time, following the abdication of King Louis Philippe. 1887: The first two cities to be linked by telephone were Paris and Brussels. 1905: The Simplon Tunnel through the Alps, 12.3 miles long, was completed. 1920: American-born Nancy Astor became the first woman to speak in the House of Commons, following her election as an MP two months earlier. 1923: The Flying Scotsman locomotive began hauling scheduled services between London and Scotland. 1932: Malcolm Campbell in Bluebird beat his own land speed record at Daytona Beach by reaching 253.96 mph. 1938: A nylon toothbrush, the first commercial nylon product, went on sale in New Jersey. 1991: In their first parliamentary elections under a genuine multiparty system, voters in Lithuania rejected Communist rule. ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: A Francis Bacon triptych once owned by the celebrated author Roald Dahl sold for $51.7m. Birthdays: Phil Knight, billionaire co-founder of Nike, 80; Denis Law, commentator/former footballer, 78; Paul Jones, blues singer/broadcaster, 76; John Stapleton, journalist/TV presenter, 72; Dennis Waterman, actor, 70; Alain Prost, racing driver, 63; Billy Zane, actor/director, 52; Lleyton Hewitt, former tennis player, 37.