ON THIS DAY
UNITED NATIONS DAY NATIONAL DAY OF ZAMBIA 1648: The Treaty of Westphalia was signed, ending the Thirty Years’ War.
1857:
The first football club, Sheffield FC, was formed by a group of Harrow old boys meeting in Sheffield.
Actress Dame Sybil Thorndike was born in Gainsborough, Lincs.
A letter purporting to be from Grigori Zinoviev of the USSR calling for socialists to start a revolution was leaked to the British press on the eve of a general
1882: 1924:
election. The letter, later denounced as a forgery, helped give the Tories a huge victory.
Al Capone’s gangster career ended when he was sentenced to 11 years for tax evasion. He was released in 1939 and died in 1947.
The United Nations Charter came into force.
Franz Lehar, Hungarian composer of operettas including The Merry Widow, died in Vienna aged 78.
Northern Rhodesia became the Republic of Zambia.
Richard Burton bought his wife, Elizabeth Taylor, a 69.42 carat
1931: 1945: 1948: 1964: 1969:
diamond, costing more than $1m.
1989: US television preacher Jim Bakker was given a 45-year jail sentence and fined $500,000 for swindling his followers of millions of dollars.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Experts revealed that elephant poaching in Africa had declined for the fifth year in a row.
BIRTHDAYS: Bill Wyman, ex-Rolling Stone bassist, 82; Kevin Kline, actor, 70; Sarah Greene, TV presenter, 60; Jonathan Davies, rugby commentator, 56; Caprice, model, 47; Dervla Kirwan, actress, 47; Wayne Rooney, footballer, 33.