Anniversaries

Anniversaries

Births: Anthony Ashley Cooper, first Earl of Shaftesbury, statesman, 1621; The Rev William Archibald Spooner, originator of "spoonerisms", 1844; Frederick William Rolfe ("Baron Corvo"), writer, 1860; Stephen Vincent Benet, poet and novelist, 1898; Alexander Calder, bent-wire and metal sculptor, 1898. Deaths: Marie Francois-Xavier Bichat, anatomist, 1802; Giuseppi Piazzi, monk and astronomer, 1826; John Meade Falkner, novelist, 1932; Florenz Ziegfeld, theatrical producer, 1932; John Dillinger, "Public Enemy No 1", shot dead in an ambush 1934; Carl Sandburg, poet, 1967; Sir Robert Eric Mortimer Wheeler, archaeologist, 1976; Harold Larwood, cricketer, 1995. On this day: the English defeated the Scots, led by Wallace, at the Battle of Falkirk, 1298; the Duke of Wellington defeated the French in the Battle of Salamanca, 1812; Wiley Post completed the first round- the-world solo air flight in 7 days, 18 hours, 49 minutes, 1933. Today is the Feast Day of St John Lloyd, St Joseph of Palestine, St Mary Magdalen, St Philip Evans, St Vandrille or Wandregesilus.