SWINDON...

1957: Highworth Scouts, Guides and Brownies attended a church parade at St Michael’s Church, Highworth, to commemorate their founder Lord Baden Powell.

1977: Two weeks of celebrations were planned at Chiseldon to mark the Queen’s Silver Jubilee. Children were to get commemorative coins and free teas on Jubilee Day. The fiesta would also include the annual village carnival.

2013: A group of around 30 people, led by Dave McKenna, braved the freezing temperatures to perform the Harlem Shake in Swindon. The 30-second phenomenon has had people across the globe grabbing their video cameras and dancing in their wackiest attire to the song. Shoppers in Wharf Green would have been surprised to see people dressed as Teletubbies, superheroes and animals invading the usually quiet square.

 

THE WORLD...

138: The Roman emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius, effectively making him his successor.

1570: Pope Pius V excommunicates Queen Elizabeth I of England.

1932: Adolf Hitler is naturalised as a German citizen.

1947: The State of Prussia ceases to exist.

1951: The first Pan American Games are held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

1964: North Korean Prime Minister Kim Il-sung calls for the removal of feudalistic land ownership aimed at turning all cooperative farms into state-run ones.

1991: The Warsaw Pact is declared disbanded.

 

BORN...

1934: Bernard Bresslaw, Carry On actor

1937: Tom Courtenay, actor

1950: Neil Jordan, director, screenwriter and author

1952: Joey Dunlop, motorcycle racer

1964: Lee Evans, comedian

1965: Carrot Top, comedian 

1971: Daniel Powter, singer-songwriter and pianist

1972: Jason Byrne, comedian

 

DIED...

1723: Christopher Wren, architect, designed St Paul’s Cathedral

1852: Thomas Moore, Irish poet

1983: Tennessee Williams, playwright

1993: Eddie Constantine, actor and singer