1725 Giovanni Casanova, Italian adventurer, gambler, secret agent and "world's greatest lover", was born in Venice.

1792 The Mint of the United States was established, striking its first silver dollars.

1801 Nelson put a telescope to his blind eye at the Battle of Copenhagen and thus ignored the command to cease fighting. He continued the action until the pro-French Danish fleet was totally subdued.

1805 Hans Christian Andersen, master of the fairy tale, was born in Odense, Denmark.

1873 British trains were fitted with toilets - but only in sleeping cars.

1877 The first human cannonball act was performed at London's Amphitheatre, when acrobatic lady Zazal was shot by elastic springs into a safety net.

1946 The Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst was founded.

1954 Britain's first TV soap opera, The Grove Family (named after Lime Grove Studios), was transmitted.

1977 Charlotte Brew on Barony Fort became the first woman to ride in a Grand National. Her mount fell at the 27th fence. The winner was Red Rum, scoring his third win, the only horse ever to do so.

1982 Argentinian forces invaded and occupied the British Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Comedian and writer Jeremy Hardy described how several Britons put themselves into the line of fire by acting as human shields in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, which has been invaded by Israeli tanks.

BIRTHDAYS: Sir Jack Brabham, racing driver, 77; Penelope Keith, actress, 63; Linda Hunt, actress, 58; Sue Townsend, author, 57; Emmylou Harris, country singer, 56; Camille Paglia, author and academic, 55; Paul Gambaccini, DJ, 54; Linford Christie, athletics coach and Olympic champion runner, 43; Karen Woodward, singer (Bananarama), 42; Dermot Reeve, cricket commentator, 40; Teddy Sheringham, footballer, 37.