The List

BEST OF BRITISH: KitKat and Smarties (Nestle, Swiss); Thomas Cook travel agents (Westdeutsche Landesbank, German); Habitat (Ikea, Swedish); Ruddles beer (Grolsch, Dutch); The Daily and Sunday Telegraph (Conrad Black, Canadian); Midland Bank (Hongkong and Shanghai Bank); Harvey Nichols (Dickson Concepts, Hong Kong); Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank (National Australia Bank); County Hall, London (Shirayama, Japan); Jaguar cars (Ford); The Times (Rupert Murdoch, US citizen); HP sauce (BSN, French); Sealink ferries (Stena Line, Swedish); Glenlivet whisky (Suntory, Japanese); Rover cars (BMW, German).

TODAY is the feast of Saint Dorothy, third-century virgin, often depicted in paintings with apples and roses because of a story about her martyrdom. Fabricius, governor of Caesarea in Cappadocia, condemned her to death for refusing to recant her beliefs. On the way to her execution she was taunted by a scribe called Theophilus, who asked her to send him fruit and flowers from her heavenly garden. After her death, a child presented Theophilus with a basket of apples and roses whereupon he converted to Christianity and was himself executed.

6 February, 1564: Christopher Marlowe born in Kent, the son of a shoemaker.

1685: Death of Charles II from apoplexy.

1840: Treaty of Waitingi between Britain and Maori chiefs of New Zealand.

1865: Mrs (Isabella Mary) Beeton (above), famous for her book on household management, died aged 28. More a journalist than a household manager, she married a publisher at the age of 20, and worked on the English Woman's Domestic Magazine, a twopenny monthly. Her chief innovation was to include precise instructions on quantities and cooking times in her recipes.

1918: Women over 30 received the right to vote.

1952: Death of George VI; accession of Elizabeth II.

1961: Danny Blanchflower says 'no' to Eamonn Andrews on This is Your Life.

BIRTHDAYS: Charlotte Rampling, actress, 48; Susan Hill, novelist, 52; Frank Muir, broadcaster, 74.

DEATHS: Jo Richardson, politician, aged 70. Anona Winn, broadcaster, aged 87.