SWINDON...

1947: A report by the Medical Officer of Health for Swindon showed that the infant mortality rate in 1945 was the lowest in the history of the town and there were no maternal deaths during the year.

1955: As part of a plan to widen Newport Street, Swindon Corporation were set to demolish a house adjoining the temporary car park.

1975: More than 15,000 people were waiting for consultations or treatment in the Swindon Group of Hospitals, as a result of the specialist work-to-contract.

2013: Free information packs were made available in supermarkets in Swindon to give people with Type 2 diabetes advice about the condition.

THE WORLD...

1692: Salem witch trials: Bridget Bishop was hanged at Gallows Hill near Salem, Massachusetts, for “certaine Detestable Arts called Witchcraft & Sorceries”.

1829: The first Boat Race between the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge took place.

1924: Fascists kidnapped and killed Italian Socialist leader Giacomo Matteotti.

1935: Dr. Robert Smith took his last drink, and Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in Akron, Ohio, United States, by him and Bill Wilson.

1940: World War II: Italy declared war on France and the United Kingdom.

1977: The Apple II one of the first personal computers, went on sale.

1990: British Airways Flight 5390 landed safely at Southampton Airport after a blowout in the cockpit caused the captain to be partially sucked from the place. There were no fatalities.

2003: The Spirit Rover was launched, beginning NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover mission.

BORN...

1921: Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
1922: Judy Garland, American actress and singer (d. 1969)
1941: Shirley Owens, American singer (Shirelles)
1954: Rich Hall, American comedian and actor
1959: Carlo Ancelotti, Italian footballer and manager
1964: Ben Daniels, English actor
1965: Elizabeth Hurley, English model and actress
1992: Kate Upton, American model and actress

DIED...

323 BC: Alexander the Great, Macedonian king (b. 356 BC)
1901: Robert Williams Buchanan, Scottish poet, author, and playwright (b. 1841)
1934: Frederick Delius, English composer (b. 1862)
1967: Spencer Tracy, American actor and singer (b. 1900)
1993: Les Dawson, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1934) 
2002: John Gotti, American mob boss (b. 1940)
2004: Ray Charles, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor (b. 1930)