216 Hannibal defeated the Romans at the Battle of Cannae.

1492 Christopher Columbus left Andalusia, Spain, on his first voyage to America. He was actually searching for a land called India.

1778 La Scala Opera House in Milan, the work of Giuseppe Piermarini, was opened.

1829 The cornet was first used in an orchestra, in a performance of Rossini's William Tell in Paris.

1887 The soldier poet Rupert Brooke was born in Rugby. His early death on active service during the First World War made him a legendary figure but he never heard a shot fired in anger - he died from the combined results of a mosquito bite and sunstroke.

1914 The first ship passed through the Panama Canal.

1916 Sir Roger Casement, Irish nationalist, was hanged in London for treason because of his attempts to induce Germany to support the cause of Irish independence.

1926 Traffic lights were installed at Piccadilly Circus, the first in Britain.

1955 Samuel Beckett's now-acknowledged classic Waiting For Godot was performed for the first time in London at the Arts Theatre. The performance was punctuated throughout with the clatter of seats as half the audience walked out.

1966 American comedian Lenny Bruce was found dead from a drugs overdose.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: A teenager was found guilty of murdering his elderly neighbour and drinking her blood in a vampire ritual. Art student Mathew Hardman, 17, was jailed for a minimum of 12 years.

BIRTHDAYS: Baroness (PD) James, writer, 83; Tony Bennett, singer, 77; Steven Berkoff, actor, director, writer, 66; Terry Wogan, TV presenter, 65; Martin Sheen, actor, 63; Josh Gifford, racehorse trainer, 62; Jack Straw, Foreign Secretary, 57; John Landis, film-maker, 53; Ossie Ardiles, football manager, 50; James Hetfield, rock singer (Metallica), 40; Skin, rock singer, 36.