ON THIS DAY
1642: Montreal in Canada was founded.
1804: Napoleon Bonaparte was proclaimed Emperor of France.
1830: Edwin Budding of Gloucestershire signed an agreement for the manufacture of his invention, the lawn mower. The first customer was Regent’s Park Zoo.
1872: Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician, nuclear disarmer and Nobel Prize for literature winner, was born in Trelleck, Monmouthshire.
1882: The present Eddystone Lighthouse, the fourth in existence, was opened.
1909: Fred Perry, three times Wimbledon men’s singles champion, was born.
1954: The European Convention on Human Rights came into force.
1961: The first London production of The Sound Of Music opened.
1980: Mount St Helens volcano in the American state of Washington erupted, killing 100 people. A cloud of ash 2,500 miles long and 1,000 miles wide was created.
1990: A treaty was signed in Bonn introducing economic and monetary union between East and West Germany.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: The Prince of Wales paid tribute to the “inspiring” efforts of youth workers to bring about reconciliation in Northern Ireland.
BIRTHDAYS: Miriam Margolyes, actress, 81; Rick Wakeman, rock musician, 73; Chow Yun-Fat, actor, 67; Toyah Willcox, singer/actress, 64; Holly Aird, actress, 53; Martika, singer and actress, 53; Tina Fey, actress/comedian/writer, 52; Danny Mills, former footballer, 45.