Anniversaries

TODAY

Births: Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, 1552; Robert Hooke, physicist, 1635; The Rev Gilbert White, naturalist and author, 1720; William Makepeace Thackeray, novelist and poet, 1811; Michelle - Ferdinande - Pauline Viardot-Garcia, mezzo-soprano and composer, 1821; Dr William Gilbert Grace, cricketer, 1848; Karl Wilhelm Julius Hugo Riemann, musicologist, 1849; Hendrik Antoon Lorentz, physicist, 1853; Philip Snowden, first Viscount Snowden, statesman, 1864; Laurence Housman, playwright, novelist and illustrator, 1865; Vidkun Quisling, Norwegian traitor, 1887; Sydney Horler, thriller writer, 1888; Clifford Odets, playwright, 1906.

Deaths: Godfrey de Bouillon, protector of the Holy Sepulchre, 1100; Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch), poet and scholar, 1374; Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, painter, 1610; Antonio Vieira, Jesuit missionary in Brazil, 1697; Jean-Antoine Watteau, painter, 1721; Peter III, Tsar of Russia, murdered 1762; John Paul Jones, American naval officer, 1792; Jane Austen, novelist, 1817; Emanuel Leutze, historical painter, 1868; Benito Pablo Juarez, president of Mexico, 1872; Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, historian and theologian, 1881; Charles-Marie Leconte de Lisle, poet, 1894; Horatio Alger, clergyman and writer, 1899; Marie Alexandra Victoria, Queen of Romania, 1938; Thomas Sturge Moore, poet and engraver, 1944; Vitezslav Novak, pianist and composer, 1949; Corneille-Jean-Francois Heymans, physiologist, 1968; Jack Hawkins, actor, 1973; Margaret Laurence (Jean Margaret Wemys), novelist, 1986.

On this day: Warren de la Rue made the first photograph of a solar eclipse, Spain, 1860; the Dogma of Papal Infallibility in matters of faith and morals was proclaimed by the Vatican Council, 1870; the Ballot Act was passed, after which the secret ballot became law, 1872; Weston's Music Hall, London (the Holborn Empire) closed, 1887; the Second Battle of the Marne was fought, 1918; the Matrimonial Causes Bill, which gave women equal divorce rights with men, received Royal Assent, 1923; the first volume of Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler was published, 1925; the Mersey Tunnel was formally opened, 1934; the Spanish Civil War began after a revolt under Emilio Mola and Francisco Franco, 1936; generation of electricity from nuclear power first took place at Schenectady, New York, US 1955; James Earl Ray (alias Ramon George Sneyd) was extradited to the US for complicity in the murder of Martin Luther King, 1968; General Arif, president of Iraq, was deposed after a military coup, 1968; John Stonehouse, former Labour Minister, returned to England to face 21 charges of fraud, forgery and conspiracy, 1975; Vietnam became a member of the United Nations, 1977.

Today is the Feast Day of St Arnoul or Arnulf of Metz, St Bruno of Segni, St Frederick of Utrecht and St Pambo.

TOMORROW

Births: Gilbert Sheldon, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1598; Garrett Colley Wellesley, first Earl of Mornington, composer, 1735; John Martin, historical painter, 1789; Vincenz Lachner, composer and conductor, 1811; Samuel Colt, inventor of the revolver, 1814; Gottfried Keller, poet and novelist, 1819; Hilaire Germaine Edgar Degas, painter, 1834; Edward Charles Pickering, astronomer, 1846; Lizzie Andrew Borden, alleged axe murderess, 1860; Charles Horace Mayo, surgeon and co-founder of the Mayo Clinic, 1865; Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky, poet, 1894; Dr Archibald Joseph Cronin, novelist, 1896; Herbert Marcuse, political theorist, 1898.

Deaths: Dr John Caius (Keys), physician, founder of the Cambridge college, 1573; Matthew Flinders, explorer of Australia, 1814; Georges-Maurice de Guerin du Cayla, poet, 1839; Thomas Cook, travel agent, 1892; Samuel Insull, industrialist, 1938; Thomas ('Tom') Walter Hayward, cricketer, 1939; Edward Knoblock, playwright, 1945; Syngman Rhee, Korean president, 1965.

On this day: Edward III of England defeated the Scots at the Battle of Halidon Hill, 1333; the Mary Rose, flagship of King Henry VIII, sank in the Solent with the loss of 700 lives, 1545; the Spanish Armada was sighted off the coast of England, 1588; William III of England was defeated at Landen (Neerwinden) by the French Marshal Luxembourg, 1693; Queen Caroline was forcibly prevented from appearing at the Coronation of King George IV, 1821; the Great Western steamship was launched at Bristol, 1837; the Franco-German conflict began after France declared war, 1870; the first Wimbledon Men's Singles Tennis final was played at Wimbledon, 1877; the Metro in Paris was opened, 1900; the building of Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral was started, 1904; Liverpool Cathedral was consecrated, 1924; Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold pleaded guilty to murdering 14-year-old Bobbie Franks, in their pursuit of committing 'the perfect crime', US 1924; Laos became independent, 1949; the XVth Olympic Games opened in Helsinki, 1952; Brunel's iron ship, the SS Great Britain was brought back to England from the Falkland Islands, 1970; the Sandinista forces of Nicaragua entered Managua, 1979.

Tomorrow is the Feast Day of St Ambrose Autpert, St Arsenius the Great, St James of Nisibia, St John Plesington, Saints Justa and Rufina, St Macrina the Younger and St Symmachus, Pope.