1697: The new St Paul's Cathedral was opened.

1804: Napoleon was crowned Emperor in Paris by Pope Pius VII. On this day one year later, he defeated Austro-Russian forces at the Battle of Austerlitz.

1814: The Marquis de Sade, French aristocrat whose perverted lifestyle gave the word sadism to the language, died in an asylum.

1859: John Brown, anti-slavery campaigner whose soul marched on in the famous song, was executed for treason in Charleston, West Virginia.

1907: English footballers formed the Professional Footballers Association.

1923: Greek-American operatic soprano Maria Callas was born in New York.

1927: Ford's Model A went on sale as a successor to the Model T.

1954: Four years of anti-Communist witchhunts in America came to an end when its instigator, Joseph McCarthy, was condemned for conduct unbecoming a senator.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Foreign Secretary Jack Straw condemned an "abhorrent" wave of bombings in Israel which killed 26 people and injured nearly 200 more.

BIRTHDAYS: Julie Harris, actress, 77; Michael Green, chief executive, Carlton Communications, 55; Patricia Hewitt, Trade and Industry Secretary, 54; Richard Quinn, jockey, 41; Lucy Liu, actress, 35; David Batty, footballer, 34; Monica Seles, tennis player, 29; Britney Spears, pop star, 21.