SAINT BARTHOLOMEW'S DAY -- patron saint of bee-keepers, also of leatherworkers.

79 Vesuvius erupted, destroying the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum and killing 2,000 people. Paradoxically, the eruption not only destroyed Pompeii but also preserved it for all time.

1572 The St Bartholomew's Day massacre took place in Paris when thousands of French Huguenots were killed by order of the Catholic French court.

1724 George Stubbs, portrait and animal painter (especially horses), was born in Liverpool.

1814 British troops under General Ross invaded Washington and set fire to the White House and the Capitol.

1875 Matthew Webb, British merchant navy captain, became the first person to swim the English Channel, doing the breaststroke from Dover to Cap Gris Nez in 21 hours, 45 minutes.

1916 Eight people died when Zeppelins raided the outskirts of London.

1942 The Duke of Kent, youngest brother of King George VI, died when his Sunderland flying boat crashed en route to Iceland.

1965 The 450,000-year-old body of a man was found in a Hungarian limestone quarry.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: The Government's public-private partnership plans for the Tube are "flawed and simplistic", the controversial report on the part sell-off said.

BIRTHDAYS: Tommy Docherty, former football manager, 74; Antonia (AS) Byatt, writer, 66; Jean-Michel Jarre, composer, 54; Sam Torrance, golfer, 49; Stephen Fry, actor/writer, 45; Steve Guttenberg, actor, 44; Michael Thomas, footballer, 35.