1728: John Gay's The Beggar's Opera was first performed, with a score derived from popular ballads of the time.

1820: George III, longest-lived and longest-reigning King of England, died at Windsor aged 81.

1856: Queen Victoria instituted Britain's highest military decoration, the Victoria Cross.

1879: WC Fields US comedian who claimed he wouldn't act with children or animals, was born in Philadelphia.

1886: Karl Benz patented the first practical car with petrol-driven internal combustion engine. It had three rubber-tyred wheels and went at 9.3mph.

1916: Zeppelins bombed Paris for the first time.

1942: Desert Island Discs started on BBC Radio, presented by Roy Plomley (pictured). His first castaway was comedian Vic Oliver.

1980: Jimmy Durante, "Schnozzle, American comedian, died aged 87.

1985: Oxford University dons refused to grant Mrs Thatcher an honorary degree.

1988: Failed opera singer Bantcho Bantchevsky leapt to his death from the balcony of New York's Metropolitan Opera House during a performance of Verdi's Macbeth.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: The food and farming industries in England were "unsustainable" and dysfunctional, a Government-appointed commission concluded.

BIRTHDAYS:

GERMAINE Greer, author, 64; Tony Blackburn, DJ, 60; Katharine Ross, actress, 60; Tom Selleck, actor, 58; Tim Healy, actor, 51; Oprah Winfrey, chat show host, 49; Paul McGann, actor, 44; Nicholas Turturro, actor, 41; Roddy Frame, rock singer, 39; Edward Burns, actor, 35; Heather Graham, actress, 33.