this is the week that was

4 March:

1908: The New York Board of Education bans the use of the whip in schools.

1919: Oxford University drops compulsory Greek for entrance.

1924: The song "Happy Birthday to You" is first published.

1944: Following tests on 3,341 children in Bath, it is claimed that those conceived in winter are more intelligent.

5 March:

1946: Winston Churchill coins the term "iron curtain" in a speech in Missouri.

1986: Villagers in Malaysia beat to death a dog in the belief that it is one of a gang of thieves who transform themselves into animals.

6 March:

1899: Aspirin is patented by Felix Hoffman.

1902: The British army permits soldiers to wear glasses both on and off duty.

1924: Pope Pius XI is the first to have a wireless installed in the Vatican.

1930: Frozen foods, developed by Clarence Birdseye, first go on sale in Massachusetts.

1946: The Food Ministry issues a recipe for squirrel pie.

7 March:

1900: Fire destroys the roof of Buckingham Palace.

1912: Henri Seimet makes the first non-stop flight from Paris to London.

1969: The Victoria Line opens on the London underground.

8 March:

1910: Elise Deroche and JTC Moore Brabazon (later Baroness de Laroche and Lord Brabazon of Tara) are the first to obtain pilot's licences.

1927: A 5,000-year-old manicure set is found in Iran.

9 March:

1562: Kissing in public is banned in Naples, on penalty of death.

1796: Napoleon marries Josephine.

1831: King Louis Philippe founds the French Foreign Legion.

1961: The Russians launch the first dog in space. It happens on the 27th birthday of Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space.

1988: Death of Richard C Adams, inventor of the paint roller.

10 March:

1886: The first Cruft's Dog Show opens in London.

1910: China abolishes slavery.

1974: A Japanese soldier is discovered on Lubang Island in the Philippines, who believed that World War Two was still being fought.