Anniversaries

Anniversaries

Births: William the Silent, Prince of Orange, 1533; Edmund Cartwright, inventor of the power loom, 1743; Anthony Trollope, author and inventor of the pillar box, 1815; Jules Egghard (Count Hardegg), pianist, 1834; Marcus Andrew Hislop Clarke, author, 1846; Philippe Petain, soldier and French leader, 1856; Arthur Christopher Benson, scholar and author, 1862; Sir Richard Stafford Cripps, lawyer, diplomat and statesman, 1889; Benjamin Whorf, linguist and anthropologist, 1897; William Joyce ("Lord Haw-Haw"), collaborator with the Nazis, 1906. Deaths: Daniel Defoe, author, 1731; Louisa Stuart Costello, artist and poet, 1870; Maria Faglioni, ballerina, 1884; Justin M'Carthy, politician, historian and novelist, 1912; George de Forest Brush, painter, 1941; Willa Cather, novelist, 1947; Gerhard Domagk, bacteriologist, 1964; Bill (William John) Edrich, cricketer, 1986; The Duchess of Windsor (Wallis Warfield), 1986. On this day: Mary, Queen of Scots, aged 16, married the Dauphin of France, 1558; the words and music of the "Marseillaise" were composed by Rouget de Lisle, 1792; the Library of Congress was established in Washington, 1800; the Garrick Theatre, London, opened, 1889; Joshua Slocum set sail from Boston, Massachusetts, on the first solo round-the-world voyage, 1895; Spain declared war on the United States, 1898; the first issue of the Daily Express appeared, 1900; the Republican insurrection in Ireland known as the Easter Rising occurred on Easter Monday, 1916; in the German general election, Nazis won many seats in large cities, 1932; the first Bandoeng Conference ended, 1955; the first performance of the musical show Man of La Mancha was presented, London, 1968; the Gambia was proclaimed a republic, 1970. Today is the Feast Day of St Egbert, St Fidelis of Sigmaringen, St Ives or Ivo, St Mary Euphrasia Pelletier, St Mellitus of Canterbury and St William Firmatus.