THURSDAY FEBRUARY 23 1981 Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer announced their engagement. 1997 The Roslin Institute in Edinburgh announced it had cloned a sheep. Birthdays: Peter Fonda, star of Easy Rider, 66; Anton Mosimann, chef, 59; Howard Jones, sin

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 23 1981 Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer announced their engagement. 1997 The Roslin Institute in Edinburgh announced it had cloned a sheep. Birthdays: Peter Fonda, star of Easy Rider, 66; Anton Mosimann, chef, 59; Howard Jones, singer-songwriter, 51. FRIDAY FEBRUARY 24 1917 Start of the Russian Revolution. 1923 The Flying Scotsman went into service. 1946 Juan Peron elected President of Argentina. Birthdays: Jean Alexander, of Coronation Street, 80; Paul Jones, once of Manfred Mann, 64; Dennis Waterman, actor, 58; Alain Prost, Grand Prix racing driver, 51. SATURDAY FEBRUARY 25 1957 Buddy Holly recorded That'll Be the Day. 1964 Cassius Clay became world heavyweight boxing champion. Birthdays: David Puttnam, director of Chariots of Fire and Memphis Belle, 65; Elkie Brooks, singer, 61; Nick Leeson, ex-Barings banker, 39. SUNDAY FEBRUARY 26 1797 First £1 note issued by the Bank of England. 1839 First running of the Grand National, at Aintree. 1993 A bomb exploded at the World Trade Center in New York. 1995 Barings Bank went into receivership with losses of £500 million. Birthdays: Sandie Shaw, singer, 59; Shane Williams, Wales and British Lions rugby player, 29. MONDAY FEBRUARY 27 1976 The Post Office planned to scrap Sunday collections. 1991 The Gulf War came to an end with the liberation of Kuwait. Birthdays: Elizabeth Taylor, actress, 74; Paddy Ashdown, ex-leader of the Liberal Democrats, 65; Steve Harley, singer-songwriter, 55; Timothy Spall, actor, 49. TUESDAY FEBRYARY 28 1749 First publication of Henry Fielding's novel Tom Jones. 1966 The Cavern Club in Liverpool closed. Birthdays: Peter Alliss, the voice of golf, 75; Barry McGuigan, boxer, 45. WEDNESDAY MARCH 1 1954 First H-bomb test by the US 1966 A Soviet spacecraft landed on Venus. Birthdays: Harry Belafonte, singer, 79; Roger Daltrey, of The Who, 62; Nik Kershaw, singer-songwriter, 48.