1440: Eton College was founded by Henry VI for 25 poor and needy scholars. Prefects were warned to look out for "ill-kempt heads, unwashed faces, foul clothes".

1818: Richard Gatling, American inventor of the revolving battery gun, was born in North Carolina.

1878: Cleopatra's Needle, an ancient Egyptian obelisk, 68ft of granite, was presented to Britain and erected on the Thames Embankment. Inside the pedestal were placed some important reminders of the British Empire, including Bradshaw's Railway Guide, Whitaker's Almanack and a dozen pin-ups of Victorian ladies.

1888: Maurice Chevalier, legendary French entertainer and actor, was born. He appeared in many films - including Gigi, in which he sang Thank Heaven For Little Girls.

1910: The world's first policewomen began work when Alice Stebbin Wells joined the Los Angeles Police Department.

1935: US multi-millionaire Howard Hughes achieved the first of several aviation records he established before going into self-enforced seclusion, flying a plane of his own design at 352.46mph.

1953: Senator John Kennedy - later to be president - married Jacqueline Lee Bouvier in Newport, Rhode Island.

1970: Concorde landed at Heathrow Airport for the first time to a barrage of complaints about noise.

1977: South African black activist Steve Biko died after six days in police detention in Port Elizabeth.

On this day last year: Britain wanted a United Nations resolution on Iraq containing "a clear ultimatum" to Saddam Hussein that he would face military action unless he dismantled his weapons of mass destruction, Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon indicated.

BIRTHDAYS: Sir Ian Holm, actor, 72; Wes Hall, politician and former cricketer, 66; Linda Gray, actress (Dallas), 63; Patrick Mower, actor, 63; Maria Aitken, actress, 58; Bertie Ahern, Prime Minister of Ireland, 52; Scott Hamilton, jazz saxophonist, 49; Rachel Ward, actress, 45; Ben Folds, musician, 37.