Swindon

1951: A comprehensive talk about the Jewish faith, followed by questions from the audience, was given to more than 100 members of the Christ Church (Swindon) Men’s Society at their meeting in the parish hall. The speaker was the Rev I Sichel, the German-Jewish minister for the Hebrew Congregation in Reading. Pat Williams presided and and others present included the society’s president, Canon FW Thomas, the vicar of Christ Church, and the Rev Bob Parker, from Chippenham.

1961: RAF Lyneham was preparing for an official visit by the Duchess of Gloucester. The station was described as the RAF’s equivalent of London Airport in terms of traffic volume. The duchess was due to see some of the operational life of the base and survey its Britannia and Comet aircraft,which were among the largest in service at the time.

1971: The new curate of St Mary’s Church, in Rodbourne Cheney, took up his post. He was the Rev Dudley Powell, 27, who for the past two and a half years had been an assistant curate in Blackburn. The move to Swindon brought the young clergyman closer to family and friends who lived locally. He was married with a baby daughter, and the family lived in Moredon.

the world

1399: The Order of the Bath was constituted.

1521: Pope Leo X conferred the title of Defender Of The Faith on Henry VIII, pictured. Twelve years later Henry broke with Rome to marry Anne Boleyn.

1844: Baked beans magnate HJ Heinz was born of German parents in Pittsburgh.

1899: The Boer War began between the British Empire and the Republics of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal.

1919: The first airline meals were served on a Handley-Page flight from London to Paris. They were pre-packed lunch boxes at three shillings each (15p).

1957: The Radio telescope at Jodrell Bank, Cheshire, planned by Sir Bernard Lovell, went into operation.

1958: The BBC TV sports programme Grandstand was first transmitted.

1973: The start of the Yom Kippur War in the Middle East.

1986: Nuclear weapons negotiations between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev opened in a summit in Reykjavik. They ended in failure.

2016: Samsung was forced to discontinue one of its flagship phones - the Note7 - after a new wave of concerns over the device’s safety.

BIRTHDAYS

Sir Bobby Charlton, former footballer, 80; John Nettles, actor, 74; Alan Pascoe, former athlete, 70; David Morse, actor, 64; Dawn French, actress and comedienne, 60; Joan Cusack, actress, 55; Stephen Moyer, actor, 48; Emily Deschanel, actress, 41.