NATIONAL DAY OF ARGENTINA
1191: Richard I (the Lionheart) married Berengaria, reputed to be extremely
ugly. Although Queen, she never set foot on English soil.
1540: Henry VIII divorced his fourth wife Anne of Cleves, nicknamed The
Flanders Mare, after six months of marriage. She at least managed to keep her
head.
1819: Elias Howe, inventor of the domestic sewing machine, was born in
Massachusetts. He sold the British rights of his machine to a Cheapside
corset-maker.
1872: The first doughnut cutter was patented in America by John Blondel. A sea captain, he is said to have invented the hole so he could slip the doughnut over the handle of the ship’s wheel and enjoy his snack while steering.
1877: Wimbledon staged its first lawn tennis championship, at its original site
in Worple Road.
1938: Gas masks were issued to Britain’s civilian population in anticipation of
the war with Germany. Some 35 million went into the shops.
1951: As the McCarthy witchhunts gathered pace in the USA, crime novelist
Dashiell Hammett was jailed for contempt when he refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee.
1954: Australia’s Peter Thomson, at 24, became the youngest winner of the
British Open Golf Championship.
1955: Bill Haley And His Comets went to No 1 in the US pop charts with Rock
Around The Clock.
1984: A bolt of lightning set fire to York Minster. The 700-year-old building
suffered serious damage to the south transept but the famous Rose Window
survived.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Research revealed that developing cancer is now more common than getting married or having a first baby.
JULY 9 CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS: David Hockney, artist, 81; Dean Koontz, novelist, 73; OJ Simpson, former actor and American football player, 71; Jimmy Smits, actor, 63; Marc Almond, singer, 61; Tom Hanks, actor, 62; Kelly McGillis, actress, 61; Jim Kerr, singer (Simple Minds), 59; Courtney Love, singer/actress, 54; Jack White, musician (The White Stripes), 43.
