SWINDON...

1947: During the war the Highworth Knitting Party sent more than 2,000 comfort parcels to fighting men of this parish in all parts of the world. The Highworth Knitting Party gave a Welcome Home supper to 80 of those men who have been demobbed.

1957: The mayor of Swindon, Coun H Dimont, was set to switch on the power plant at the Bath and West Powerhouse ready for the show.

1977: It is no wonder Steve Whatley, 17, of County Road, Swindon, felt on top of the world as he had been chosen to dance through the summer in Marti Caine’s show on Wellington Pier in Great Yarmouth.

2013: A tapestry depicting the working life in Swindon was currently touring various company premises in the town. The work, entitled The Swindon Enterprise Tapestry, depicted 100 Swindon businesses with a painting and a photo of each. It was the brainchild of painter Timothy Cummings and photographer Nigel Hudson.

 

THE WORLD...

585 BC: A solar eclipse occurred, as predicted by the Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes was battling Cyaxares in the Battle of Halys, leading to a truce. It is one of the cardinal dates from which other dates can be calculated.

1830: The US President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act which relocated Native Americans.

1974: Northern Ireland’s power-sharing Sunningdale Agreement collapsed following a general strike by loyalists.

1987: The 19-year-old West German pilot Mathias Rust evaded Soviet Union air defenses and landed a private plane in the Red Square in Moscow, Russia. He was immediately detained and would not be released until August 3, 1988.

2011: Malta voted on the introduction of divorce.

 

BORN...

1759: William Pitt the Younger, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1806).

1908: Ian Fleming, English journalist and author, creator of James Bond (d. 1964).

1960: Mary Portas, English retail expert and broadcaster.

1961: Michelle Collins, English actress.

1964: David Baddiel, American-English comedian, actor, and author.

1968: Kylie Minogue, Australian singer-songwriter, producer and actress.

1980: Mark Feehily, Irish singer-songwriter and pianist (Westlife).

1985: Carey Mulligan, English actress.

 

DIED...

576: Germain of Paris, French bishop and saint (b. 496).

1811: Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, Scottish lawyer and politician (b. 1742).

1849: Anne Brontë, English author and poet (b. 1820).

1972: Edward VIII of the United Kingdom (b. 1894).

1984: Eric Morecambe, English actor and singer (b. 1926).

2008: Beryl Cook, English painter (b. 1926).

2010: Gary Coleman, American actor (b. 1968).