ON THIS DAY
1796: Robert Burns, national poet of Scotland, died in Dumfries, aged 37, from endocarditis induced by rheumatism.
1809: Daniel Lambert died, weighing out at 52 stone 11lb.
He passed away in a ground-floor room at the Wagon and Horses Inn at Stamford, Lincolnshire, and a wall and window had to be demolished to get him out.
1868: Harry Relph, English music hall star better known as Little Tich, was born. He was 4ft 6in tall and had six digits on each hand.
1896: The first Royal Command Film Performance was held at Marlborough House, London, when an assortment of 20 films was shown to 40 guests on the eve of the wedding of Princess Maud.
1897: The Tate Gallery in London was officially opened, built on the site of the former Millbank Prison.
1904: The Trans-Siberian railway was finally completed. The 4,607 miles of track took 13 years to lay.
1962: The Rolling Stones made their first appearance, at the Marquee club in London.
1984: The man who popularised jogging, James Fixx, had a heart attack and died while out running in Vermont. He was 52.
2011: America’s space shuttle programme passed into history with the words “wheels stop” crackling over the cockpit radio for the last time.
In an end to the 30-year-old programme, Atlantis and its four astronauts glided to a landing after one last visit to the International Space Station, completing the 135th and final shuttle flight. ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: The UK Government said that tiny plastic pieces known as ‘microbeads’ were to be banned from cosmetics and toiletries, as part of efforts to stop plastic waste entering the oceans.
BIRTHDAYS: Norman Jewison, film director, 92; Jonathan Miller, theatre director, 84; Julian Pettifer, TV presenter, 83; Yusuf Islam, activist and former singer (Cat Stevens), 70; Ross Kemp, actor, 54; Chris Bisson, actor, 43; Josh Hartnett, actor, 40; Paloma Faith, singer, 37.