Anniversaries

Births: Friedrich August Kummer, composer, 1797; Alexander William Kinglake, historian and traveller, 1809; Edward John Eyre, administrator and explorer of Australia, 1815; Henri-Rene-Albert-Guy de Maupassant, author, 1850; Harold Holt, politican, 1908.

Deaths: Louis III, King of France, 882; James Gibbs, architect, 1754; Alexis-Benoit Soyer, master cook and writer, 1858; Thomas Henry Wyatt, architect, 1880; Friedrich Engels, political writer, 1895; George Butterworth, composer, 1916; Joseph Holbrooke, composer, 1958; Marilyn Monroe (Norma Jean Mortenson), actress, 1962; Richard Burton (Richard Walter Jenkins), actor, 1984.

On this day: Sir William Wallace, leader of the Scots, was captured by the English, 1305; Sir Humphrey Gilbert took possession of Newfoundland for England, 1583; German forces entered Warsaw, 1915; polygamy was abolished in Turkey, 1924; the British transatlantic air-mail service was started, 1939; the musical show Salad Days was first produced, London 1954; the European Monetary Agreement was signed, 1955; the French colony of Upper Volta became independent, 1960; a nuclear test ban treaty was signed by Britain, the US and the Soviet Union, 1963.

Today is the Feast Day of Saints Addai and Mari, St Afra and St Nonna.

Sir Richard Norman

A memorial service for the late Sir Richard Norman KBE MA D Phil D Sc FRS, Rector of Exeter College and Honorary Fellow of Balliol and Merton Colleges, will be held in the University Church of St Mary the Virgin, Oxford, on Tuesday 21 September 1993 at 2.30pm.

Patrick Furse

A celebration of the life of Patrick Martin Furse will be held at St George's Church, Hanover Square, London W1, on Saturday 18 September at 10.30am. All are welcome to attend.

Luncheons

HM Government

Baroness Chalker of Wallasey, Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and Minister for Overseas Development, was host at a luncheon held at Admiralty House, London SW1, yesterday for Mr Bakary Dabo, Gambian Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs.