SWINDON...

1947: Swindon Musical Society’s production of the 19th century Rimsky Korsakov opera ballet, Mlada, was performed at the Empire in Swindon. A folk opera that was rarely seen, it was enriched by the work of producer Jak Carter.

1957: The first turf of the site of the proposed Queen’s Drive Methodist Church, Park South, was cut by the Rev A Paul Kimber. The site was for the new church, Sunday school hall and manse. Representatives from most of the churches in the Swindon Methodist circuit attended.

1977: The first Video Arts Festival ever screened in the Swindon area was put out by Swindon Viewpoint, and anyone in the town who was interested in television was asked to take part. The public got the chance to be the video critics.

2013: Villagers in Wanborough raised fears as the owners of Redlands Farm and Airfield promoted it for a housing development – claiming the main road to the village could take traffic from up to 500 homes at the site. In a bid to close the airfield, which has provoked noise complaints, Coun Dale Heenan, the cabinet member for strategic planning and sustainability, moved the settlement boundary to include Redlands in Swindon Council’s final version of the Local Plan, which sets out the vision for Swindon until 2026.

 

THE WORLD...

978: Edward the Martyr, King of England from 975, was murdered at Corfe Castle, Dorset, apparently at the instigation of half-brother Ethelred, who wanted the crown for himself.

1949: The text of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) was made public, two weeks before its signature in Washington DC by 12 countries including Canada, Britain, Iceland and the United States.

1958: The last debutantes were presented to the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

1967: The oil tanker Torrey Canyon ran on to rocks near Land’s End, spilling 120,000 gallons of crude oil into the sea.

1975: The Cabinet decided by 16 votes to seven to advise the nation to vote in the forthcoming referendum to keep Britain in the Common Market.

1990: East Germany’s first election since the Nazi takeover of 1933 ended in overwhelming victory for the three-party conservative alliance.

 

BORN...

1858: Rudolf Diesel, the German engineer who invented the diesel engine

1869: Neville Chamberlain, Prime Minister at the outbreak of the Second World War

1893: Wilfred Owen, First World War poet

1932: John Updike, author and poet

1949: Alex Higgins, snooker player

1964: Courtney Pine, saxophonist

1970: Queen Latifah, actress

1979: Adam Levine, singer-songwriter, (Maroon 5)

 

DIED...

1584: Ivan the Terrible, the first ruler of Russia to assume the title of Tsar

2007: Bob Woolmer, South African cricketer

2011: Warren Christopher, former United States Secretary of State

2013: Frank Thornton, actor