ON THIS DAY
1536: William Tyndale, English religious reformer and translator of the Bible, was burned at the stake as a heretic in Brussels.
1820: Jenny Lind, soprano known as the Swedish Nightingale, was born in Stockholm.
1829: Trials began at Rainhill for a locomotive to use on the Liverpool to Manchester Railway. The winner was Stephenson’s Rocket.
1927: The first full-length talking picture, The Jazz Singer, opened in New York. Al Jolson sang Toot Toot Tootsie, Goodbye, Mammy and Blue Skies in a soundtrack that was almost entirely music.
1968: British drivers took the first three places in the US Grand Prix: Jackie Stewart, Graham Hill and John Surtees.
1981: Muslim extremists assassinated Egyptian president Anwar Sadat.
1991: In California, Elizabeth Taylor married for the eighth time - her husband was Larry Fortensky, a builder.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Human organs had been whittled down to fit on a biochip that can be used to test new drugs, scientists revealed.
BIRTHDAYS: (Lord) Melvyn Bragg, broadcaster and author, 79; Britt Ekland, actress, 76; Richard Caborn, politician, 75; Bruce Grobbelaar, former footballer, 61; Niall Quinn, former footballer, 52; Ioan Gruffudd, actor, 45; Ricky Hatton, former boxer, 40.