NATIONAL DAY OF ECUADOR

1675: Greenwich Observatory was established by King Charles II, who laid the foundation stone.

1787: Mozart completed his famous Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. On the same day in 1788, he finished his Jupiter Symphony.

1842: The Mines Act was passed by the British Parliament, forbidding women and children to work underground.

1889: The screw bottle top was patented by Dan Rylands of Hope Glass Works, Barnsley.

1895: The first London Promenade Concert took place, founded by Henry Wood and Robert Newman, and played by an orchestra of 80 in the Queen’s Hall.

1897: The Royal Automobile Club was founded, under the name of The Automobile Club of Great Britain.

1949: Acid bath murderer John Haigh, who confessed to nine killings, was executed at Wandsworth Prison.

1954: Sir Gordon Richards, champion English jockey, retired after 4,869 wins.

1961: Britain first applied for membership of the EEC.

1990: The Magellan space probe reached Venus.

2010: Archaeologists announced they had discovered Britain’s earliest house at Star Carr, near Scarborough, believed to date back to 8,500 years BC.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Sixth-formers received their A-level results, which had been determined by teachers after exams were cancelled. GCSE results followed two days later.

BIRTHDAYS: Ian Anderson, rock singer (Jethro Tull), 75; Patti Austin, singer and actress, 72; Rosanna Arquette, actress, 63; Antonio Banderas, actor, 62; Charlie Dimmock, TV gardening expert, 56; Roy Keane, former footballer and manager, 51; Lawrence Dallaglio, former England rugby captain, 50.