ON THIS DAY
1469: Niccolo Machiavelli, statesman and historian, was born in Florence.
1494: Christopher Columbus discovered Jamaica while in search of a westward route to the East.
1808: A duel was fought between two hot air balloonists over Paris.
1814: Louis XVIII took the throne of France after Napoleon’s defeat and exile by the allies.
1903: Bing Crosby was born in Tacoma, Washington, as Harry Lillis Crosby.
1903: The first electric train ran through the Mersey Railway tunnel between Liverpool and Birkenhead.
1934: Author HG Wells predicted there would be a major world war by 1940.
1951: The Festival of Britain was opened by King George VI on a bombsite near London’s Waterloo station.
1952: Newcastle United became the first team since 1891 to win two English FA Cup finals in succession by beating Arsenal 1-0.
1968: The first heart transplant in Britain was carried out at the National Heart Hospital, Marylebone, London.
2007: British girl Madeleine McCann disappeared from her bed in a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal.
2013: A Theropod dinosaur, dating from 161 million years ago was discovered in China.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: The Queen sent her “warmest good wishes” to the people of Northern Ireland on the date which many considered to be its centenary.
BIRTHDAYS: Frankie Valli, singer, 88; Mary Hopkin, singer, 72; Christopher Cross, singer, 71; Ben Elton, comedian, 63: Kathy Cook, former athlete, 62; Steve McClaren, football manager, 61; Rob Brydon, actor/comedian, 57; Bobby Cannavale, actor, 52; Christina Hendricks, actress, 47.