SWINDON...

1947: First prize in Rhyl Poster Resort Publicity Association was awarded to Mervyn Algar, son of Mr and Mrs G F Algar of Ipswich Street, Swindon. Mervyn was the leading artist at Swindon Signcraft Ltd.

1957: St Barnabas Church Scouts, Cubs Guides and Brownies had their annual St George’s Day parade and service at the church. The service was conducted by the Vicar the Rev W F Blissett and the lesson was read by a member of the Brownies.

1977: The day after Colin Pike married Carole Rogers he went off to play football. For Colin, who was married at St Philips Church in Upper Stratton, Swindon, plays for two local sides and did not want to let his team-mates down.

2013: Swindon Town spent the week training at the County Ground so as to avoid picking up injuries on the bumpy surfaces at Liddington. The players were put through their paces at their home ground to rule out the risk of an untimely knock ahead of the League One play-off semi-final first leg against Brentford.

THE WORLD...

1670: King Charles II granted a permanent charter to the Hudson’s Bay Company to open up the fur trade in North America.

1942: HMS Edinburgh was sunk in the Barents Sea off Norway. Its cargo of gold bars lay in 803 feet of water until salvaged in 1981.

1952: The first jet passenger service began between London and Johannesburg.

1953: Stanley Matthews, at 38, won his first FA Cup winners medal as Blackpool beat Bolton 4-3 after trailing 3-1.

1969: The Queen Elizabeth II sailed from Southampton on her maiden voyage.

1982: The Argentine cruiser General Belgrano was sunk by British submarine HMS Conqueror off the Falklands.

BORN...

1729: Catherine the Great, wife of Peter III of Russia (d. 1796)

1859: Jerome K. Jerome, author (d. 1927)

1915: Peggy Mount, actress (d. 2001)

1936: Engelbert Humperdinck, singer

1945: Judge Dread, singer (d. 1998)

1946: David Suchet, actor

1949: Alan Titchmarsh, gardener and television presenter

1960: Stephen Daldry, director and producer

1961: Phil Vickery, chef and author

1962: Jimmy White, English snooker player

1975: David Beckham, footballer

DIED...

1519: Leonardo da Vinci, Italian artist (b. 1452)

1964: Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor, politician (b. 1879)

1972: J. Edgar Hoover, first director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (b. 1895)

1990: David Rappaport, actor (b. 1951)

1995: Michael Hordern, actor (b. 1911)

1999: Oliver Reed, actor (b. 1938)

2001: Ted Rogers, English comedian and actor (b. 1935)

2011: Osama bin Laden, terrorist, founded Al-Qaeda (b. 1957)