FRIDAY APRIL 27 1749 First performance of Handel s Music for the Royal Fireworks. 1828 Opening of London Zoo. 1937 The National Maritime Museum at Greenwich opened. 1937 Opening of the San Francisco Bay Bridge. 1972 Five Oxford University colleges decid

FRIDAY APRIL 27

1749 First performance of Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks.

1828 Opening of London Zoo.

1937 The National Maritime Museum at Greenwich opened.

1937 Opening of the San Francisco Bay Bridge.

1972 Five Oxford University colleges decided to admit women students.

Deaths: Peter Wright, ex-MI5 spy and author of Spycatcher, 1995.

Today's birthdays: Michael Fish, television weatherman, 63; Anna Chancellor, actress, 42; Darcy Bussell, ballet dancer, 38.

SATURDAY APRIL 28

1789 Fletcher Christian led the mutiny of the Bounty.

1919 The League of Nations was set up.

1923 First Wembley FA Cup Final, between Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United.

Deaths: Benito Mussolini, Italian dictator, 1945; Sir Alf Ramsey, England World Cup 1966 manager, 1999.

Today's birthdays: Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird, 81; James Baker, ex-US Secretary of State, 77; Jay Leno, talk show host, 57; Penelope Cruz, actress, 32; Bradley Wiggins, British Olympic cyclist, 27.

SUNDAY APRIL 29

1935 Cats' Eyes were introduced to British roads.

1945 The Germany army in Italy surrendered to the Allies.

Deaths: Alfred Hitchcock, director of The Birds and Psycho, 1980.

Today's birthdays: Peter De La Biliere, British commander in the Gulf War, 73; Jerry Seinfeld, comedian, 53; Michelle Pfeiffer, actress, 50; Daniel Day Lewis, actor, 49; Phil Tufnell, ex-England Test cricketer, 41; Andre Agassi, ex-Wimbledon men's singles champion, 37; Uma Thurman, actress, 37.

MONDAY APRIL 30

1789 George Washington became US President.

1948 The Land Rover was launched at the Amsterdam Motor Show.

1958 The musical My Fair Lady opened in London's West End.

1973 Four of President Nixon's White House aides arrested during the Watergate scandal.

1975 The Vietnam War ended.

1979 The Jubilee Line opened on the London underground.

Deaths: Edouard Manet, French painter, 1883; Adol Hitler, Nazi leader, 1945; Frankie Lymon, singer, 1968; Muddy Waters, blues musician, 1983.

Today's birthdays: Willie Nelson, country singer, 74; Dickie Davies, ex-television sports presenter, 74; Leslie Grantham, from EastEnders, 60; Kirsten Dunst, actress, 25.

TUESDAY MAY 1

1851 Queen Victoria opened the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park.

1931 Work on the Empire State Building in New York was completed.

1941 Orson Welles's Citizen Kane opened in New York.

1961 Betting shops became legal in Britain.

1971 The Daily Mail appeared for the last time as a broadsheet newspaper.

1994 Racing driver Ayrton Senna was killed during the San Marino Grand Prix.

1997 The Labour Party won the General Election with a landslide victory.

Deaths: John Dryden, poet, 1700; Anton Dvorak, composer, 1904.

Today's birthdays: Una Stubbs, actress, 70; Joanna Lumley, actress, 61; Anthony Worrall Thompson, celebrity chef, 55.

WEDNESDAY MAY 2

1885 First edition of Good Housekeeping published.

1969 The QE2 left Southampton on her maiden voyage.

1996 Glenn Hoddle took over as England boss from Terry Venables.

1997 John Major quit as leader of the Conservative Party.

1998 The Euro was launched at a summit meeting in Brussels.

Deaths: Leonardo Da Vinci, Italian artist, 1519; Joseph McCarthy, leader of communist witch-hunt in US, 1957; J Edgar Hoover, director of the FBI, 1972; Oliver Reed, actor, 1999.

Today's birthdays: Engelbert Humperdinck, singer, 71; David Suchet, actor, 61; Alan Titchmarsh, television gardener, 58; Jimmy White, snooker player, 45; Brian Lara, West Indies Test cricket batsman, 38; David Beckham, soccer superstar, 32.

THURSDAY MAY 3

1937 Author Margaret Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for her novel Gone With the Wind.

1951 The Royal Festival Hall opened on London's South Bank at the beginning of the Festival of Britain.

1999 Stephen Hendry won the world snooker championship for a record seventh time.

Deaths: Hughie Green, presenter of Double Your Money, 1997; Godfrey Evans, England Test cricket wicket keeper, 1999.

Today's birthdays: Henry Cooper, British heavyweight boxing champion, 73; Frankie Valli, singer-songwriter, 70; Ken Hom, celebrity chef, 58; Mary Hopkin, singer, 56; Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster, 49; Ben Elton, comedian and author, 48; Rob Brydon, comedian, 42.