FEAST OF SAINT CECILIA, PATRON OF MUSIC

1428: Richard Nevill, Earl of Warwick, so-called Kingmaker who was the power behind the throne during the Wars Of The Roses, was born. He died at the Battle of Barnet in 1471.

1497: The Portguese explorer Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope in his search for a route to India.

1718: Edward Teach, English pirate who sailed under the name of Blackbeard, was killed off the coast of North Carolina.

1808: Thomas Cook, who pioneered the holiday package tour, was born in Derbyshire.

1819: Mary Ann Evans, who took the pseudonym George Eliot and wrote The Mill On The Floss, was born in Arbury, Warwickshire.

1830: Container transport was introduced by Pickfords, the carriers, in an agreement with the Liverpool & Manchester Railway Company.

1913: Composer Benjamin Britten was born in Lowestoft.

1946 The first ballpoint pen went on sale, invented by Hungarian Laslo Biro.

1963: John F Kennedy, United States President, pictured, was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, during the run-up to the 1964 Presidential campaign.

1975: The monarchy was restored in Spain when Juan Carlos was sworn in as King in Madrid.

On this day last year: Fierce fighting raged around the Taliban stronghold of Kunduz despite reports of a surrender, while Foreign Secretary Jack Straw confirmed British troops were operating with US special forces hunting Osama bin Laden.

BIRTHDAYS: Sir Peter Hall, theatre director, 72; Robert Vaughn, actor, 69; John Bird, actor, 66; Terry Gilliam, animator/film-maker, 62; Tom Conti, actor, 60; Billie-Jean King, tennis player, 59; Jamie Lee Curtis, actress, 44; Boris Becker, tennis player, 35; Kyran Bracken, rugby union player, 31.