1756 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg. He composed 20 operas, 17 masses, 41 symphonies, 27 string quartets and 21 piano concertos - and still died a pauper in 1791, aged 35.

1778 Joseph Bramah patented the valved flush toilet.

1832 Lewis Carroll, children's author, was born in Daresbury, near Warrington, as Charles Lutwidge Dodgson.

1859 Kaiser Wilhelm II, third German emperor and grandson of Queen Victoria, was born. He was forced to abdicate after the First World War.

1879 Edison patented his electric lamp.

1885 Jerome Kern, US composer regarded as the father of the modern musical, was born in New York. His major work was Show Boat.

1901 Guiseppe Verdi, Italian composer whose operas include Rigoletto, Traviata and Aida, died aged 87.

1926 John Logie Baird gave a public demonstration of television to members of the Royal Institution in London.

1967 Round-the-world yachtsman Francis Chichester was knighted by theQueen at Greenwich with a sword which once belonged to Sir Francis Drake.

1973 America signed a ceasefire to end its military action in Vietnam.

1992 Gennifer Flowers accused Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton of being a liar after he denied having a 12-year affair with her.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Hans Blix paved the way for a second Gulf War with a damning critique of Saddam Hussein's weapons programme. In a far stronger report than expected to the United Nations, the chief weapons inspector accused the Iraqi president of playing "hide-and-seek" with UN teams.