SWINDON

1952: It was reported that 87,000 new ration books were issued for people living in Swindon and the surrounding villages. To cope with the extra work the normal Food Office staff of 35 had doubled but people were still being advised to collect their ration books before the queues begin to build.

1962: Mr Arthur Walter Markham, 49, of High Street, Chiseldon, took his wife on a 4,000-mile trip to Athens in his home-made car. Two years ago the couple spent their holidays touring the South of France in the car. Mr Markham stripped the 1937 saloon car down to its chassis and rebuilt it as a sports car.

1972: Swindon college students presented cheques totalling £435 to local charities. They raised the money during their recent Rag Week and it was handed over at a special ceremony attended by the College Principal, Mr William Gillespie, staff, students and representatives of the various charities.

THE WORLD

1587: Sir Francis Drake sailed into Cadiz harbour and sank the Spanish fleet - an action known as “singeing the King of Spain’s beard”.

1775: In Lexington, the opening shot was fired - by a British general - in the American War of Independence. This was the shot “heard around the world”.

1824: Poet Lord Byron died of a fever at Missolonghi while aiding Greek insurgents against the Turks in their fight for independence. He was 36.

1882: Death of biologist Charles Darwin, whose theory of evolution revolutionised scientific thinking.

1906: Pierre Curie, French physicist who worked with his wife on magnetism and radioactivity and who discovered radium, was killed in a carriage accident in Paris.

1927: Mae West was found guilty of indecent behaviour in her Broadway production of Sex. She was sentenced to 10 days in prison and fined $500 dollars.

1956: Prince Rainier III of Monaco married actress Grace Kelly.

1958: Footballer Bobby Charlton made the first of 106 appearances for England. In the match, against Scotland, he scored the first of his record 49 international goals.

1987: The Simpsons premiered as a short cartoon on the Tracy Ullman Show 1995: Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols carried out a bomb attack on Oklahoma City, USA killing 168 people.

2005: Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected as the successor to Pope John Paul II. The new Pope took the name Pope Benedict XVI.

2011: Fidel Castro resigned from the Cuban Communist Party and stepped down as party leader after 45 years of holding the title.

2017: Scientists revealed that an asteroid nicknamed ‘The Rock’, that could have been big enough to devastate much of the UK, was making its closest approach to Earth in 400 years.

BIRTHDAYS Alan Price, musician, 76; Tim Curry, actor, 72; Ruby Wax, comedienne, 65; Trevor Francis, former footballer and manager, 64; Sue Barker, sports broadcaster, 62; Ashley Judd, actress, 50; Jason Gillespie, former cricketer, 43; Kate Hudson, actress, 39; Hayden Christensen, actor, 37; Kelly Holmes, former Olympic athlete, 48; Maria Sharapova, tennis player, 31.