On this day

1556: An earthquake in Shensi Province, China, killed 830,000 people.

1806: William Pitt the Younger, twice British Prime Minister, died aged 47. 1900: The Battle of Spion Kop was fought during the Boer War.

1931: Anna Pavlova, Russian prima ballerina, famous as the Dying Swan, died aged 49 at her home in Hampstead Heath.

1943: The British captured Tripoli from the Germans.

1956: Sir Alexander Korda, Hungarianborn British film producer and director, died.

1963: Kim Philby, double agent, defected to Russia.

1976: Paul Robeson, US actor/singer, died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, aged 77. 1985: A House of Lords debate was televised live for the first time.

1990: Gales of up to 115mph caused great damage and at least four deaths in Britain.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: A professor warned there were likely to be “many more cases” of the suspected new coronavirus across the UK, as a handful of people underwent tests.