Anniversaries

Births: Constantin-Francois de Chasseboeuf, Comte de Volney, philosopher, 1757; William Henry Harrison, ninth US President, 1773; Federico Madrazo y Kuntz, painter, 1815; Arrey von Dommer, writer on music, 1828; Sir Evelyn Henry Wood, Field Marsh al, 1838; Captain Adrian Jones, sculptor, 1845; John St Loe Strachey, editor, 1860; Mrs Patrick Campbell (nee Beatrice Stella Tanner), actress, 1865; George Ade, humorist and playwright, 1866; Amy Lowell, poet, 1874; Ronald Colman, actor, 1891; Pietro Ne nni, politician, 1891; James Francis Courage, novelist, 1903; Brendan Behan, playwright, 1923.

Deaths: Agnes Sorel, mistress of Charles VII of France, 1450; Dr Rowland Taylor, Protestant martyr, 1555; Dr John Gregory, professor of medicine, 1773; Nevil Maskelyne, astronomer royal, 1811; Francis Danby, painter, 1861; Johan Barthold Jongkind, painter, 1891; Adolf Friedrich Erdmann von Menzel, illustrator, 1905; Charles Conder, artist, 1909; Sir George Reid, portrait painter, 1913; James Gibbons Huneker, critic, 1921; Sir Frederic Truby King, baby-care specialist, 1938; Elizabeth Mary Russell (Beauchamp), Countess Russell (``Elizabeth''), novelist, 1941; George Norman Douglas, novelist and essayist, 1952; Miklos Horthy de Nagybanya, admiral and former Regent, 1957; Alexandre Nikolayevich Benois, painter and theatre designer, 1960; Sergei Vladimirovich Ilyushin, aircraft designer, 1977; Bill Haley (William John Clifton Haley), rock musician, 1981; Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov, Russian leader, 1984.