SWINDON...

1947: The Orpheus Choir’s broadcast was to be from Community House in Swindon so that members of the choir who were also in local church choirs could attend their own places of worship and also avoid transport difficulties.

1957: The cost of the proposed roundabout at the junction of Drove Road and County Road in Swindon – £69,000 – came in for more criticism at the Budget meeting of Wiltshire County Council with Colonel F W WIlliam-Fitzgerald saying the cost would be out of all proportion of what was to be achieved.

1977: Two plays received high praise and a third got a grilling when Wiltshire Drama Adviser Roy Day adjudicated at the second night of the One Act Play Festival at the Devizes Road Arts Centre in Swindon.

2013: Joseph Vinten, 22, from Haydon End, who was studying at University College Birmingham, scooped the title of Young Chef Of The Year for Oriental Cuisine, which celebrated culinary expertise of the best chefs across the Midlands.

THE WORLD...

1815: Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from Elba.

1914: HMHS Britannic, sister to the RMS Titanic, is launched at Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast.

1993: World Trade Center bombing: In New York City, a truck bomb parked below the North Tower of the World Trade Center explodes, killing six and injuring over a thousand.

2013: A hot air balloon crashes near Luxor, Egypt, killing 19 people.

BORN...

1802: Victor Hugo, French author, poet, and playwright (d.1885).

1846: Buffalo Bill, American soldier and hunter (d.1917).

1852: John Harvey Kellogg, American surgeon, co-created Corn flakes (d.1943).

1909: Fanny Cradock, English chef, author, and critic (d.1994).

1914: Robert Alda, American actor (d.1986).

1928: Ariel Sharon, Israeli general and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Israel (d. 2014)

1953: Michael Bolton, American singer-songwriter and actor (Blackjack)

1977: Shane Williams, Welsh rugby player.

DIED...

1770: Giuseppe Tartini, Italian violinist and composer (b.1692).

1989: Roy Eldridge, American trumpet player (b.1911).

1950: Harry Lauder, Scottish comedian and singer (b.1870).

2009: Wendy Richard, English actress (b.1943).