ON THIS DAY
1307: Edward I, having conquered the Welsh, died on his way to Scotland to fight Robert the Bruce.
1814: The first authentic historical novel, Sir Walter Scott’s Waverley, was published.
1816: Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Irish-born playwright of School for Scandal (1777), died. He became manager of the Drury Lane Theatre as well as a politician but died in poverty.
1860: Composer Gustav Mahler was born in Kaliste, Bohemia.
1927: Christopher Stone became the first “disc jockey” on British radio when he presented his Record Round-up from Savoy Hill.
1967: Using Sir Francis Drake’s sword, the Queen knighted Francis Chichester, who had sailed solo round the world in Gypsy Moth IV.
2005: A series of explosions ripped through London in co-ordinated terrorist strikes. Suicide attacks on three London Underground trains and a double-decker bus killed 56, including the bombers, and more than 700 were injured.
2013: Andy Murray made history as he became the first British man to take the Wimbledon singles title
in 77 years.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: 10 people, including three police officers, were taken to hospital after a chemical attack outside a Leicestershire pub in the early hours of the morning.
BIRTHDAYS: Ringo Starr, ex-Beatle, 80; Michael Howard, former Conservative Party leader, 79; Bill Oddie, comic actor/wildlife presenter, 79; Tony Jacklin, former golfer, 76; Michael Ancram, former MP, 75; Shelley Duvall, actress, 71; Rob Newman, comedian/author/ political activist, 56.