Anniversaries

TODAY: Vespasian, Roman Emperor, AD 9; Louis-Jacques Mande Daguerre, photographic pioneer, 1789; Ignaz Jan Paderewski, pianist, composer and statesman, 1860; George Horace Gallup, public opinion pollster, 1901. Deaths: Reginald, Cardinal Pole, 1558; Dr Thomas Frognall Dibdin, bibliographer, 1847; Marcel Proust, writer, 1922; Mervyn Laurence Peake, writer and artist, 1968. On this day: William Caxton issued his first dated, printed book, 1477; St Peter's, Rome, was consecrated, 1626; the first Mickey Mouse cartoon, Steamboat Willie, was shown, 1928; fire broke out at King's Cross underground station, and 30 people died, 1987; Terry Waite, held hostage in Beirut for four years, was released, 1991. Today is the Feast Day of St Mawes or Maudez, St Odo of Cluny and St Romanus of Antioch.

TOMORROW: Births: Charles I, King of England and Scotland, 1600; James Abram Garfield, 20th US president, 1831; Indira Gandhi, stateswoman, 1917. Deaths: Nicolas Poussin, painter, 1665; Claude Nicolas Ledoux, architect, 1806; Franz Peter Schubert, composer, 1828. On this day: Pope Paul III issued a Bull to summon the Council of Trent, 1544; President Lincoln delivered his speech at Gettysburg, 1863; the first general conference of Unesco was held in Paris, 1946; the lunar module from the US spacecraft Apollo 12 touched down on the Moon, 1969; in Paris, the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces was signed between Nato and members of the Warsaw Pact, thus ending the "cold war", 1990. Tomorrow is the Feast Day of St Barlaam of Antioch, St Ermenburga and St Nerses I.