THURSDAY FEBRUARY 16 1959 Fidel Castro became President of Cuba. 1999 Kevin Keegan appointed England soccer boss. Birthdays: Ian Lavender, from Dad's Army, 60; Iain Banks, author of The Wasp Factory, 52; John McEnroe, ex-Wimbledon men's singles champion,

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 16 1959 Fidel Castro became President of Cuba. 1999 Kevin Keegan appointed England soccer boss. Birthdays: Ian Lavender, from Dad's Army, 60; Iain Banks, author of The Wasp Factory, 52; John McEnroe, ex-Wimbledon men's singles champion, 47; Christopher Eccleston, once Dr Who, 41; Amanda Holden, actress, 35; Cathy Freeman, Olympic sprinter, 33. FRIDAY FEBRUARY 17 1933 First edition of Newsweek published. 1958 Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) set up. 1972 MPs voted to join the Common Market. Birthdays: Patricia Routledge, actress, 77; Barry Humphries, otherwise Dame Edna Everidge, 72; Gene Pitney, singer-songwriter, 65. SATURDAY FEBRUARY 18 1885 First publication of Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. 1999 The BBC axed One Man and his Dog Birthdays: Len Deighton, author of The Ipcress File, 77; Bobby Robson, ex-England soccer boss, 73; Yoko Ono, wife of John Lennon, 73; Cybill Shepherd, actress, 56; John Travolta, star of Saturday Night Fever and Pulp Fiction, 52; Rob Andrew, ex-England rugby international, 43. SUNDAY FEBRUARY 19 1982 The De Loren car company went into receivership. 1985 First broadcast of EastEnders. Birthdays: Smokey Robinson, singer-songwriter, 66; Ray Winstone, actor, 49; Prince Andrew, 46. MONDAY FEBRUARY 20 1947 Lord Mountbatten appointed last Viceroy of India. 1962 Astronaut John Glenn orbited the earth in space capsule Friendship 7. Birthdays: Robert Altman, director of Gosford Park and Pret a Porter, 81; Sidney Poitier, actor, 79; Jimmy Greaves, ex-Spurs soccer star, 66; Mike Leigh, director, 63; Brenda Blethyn, actress, 60; Gordon Brown, Chancellor of the Exchequer, 55. TUESDAY FEBRUARY 21 1931 First edition of the New Statesman 1952 Identity cards scrapped in Britain. 1956 Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme set up. Birthdays: Jilly Cooper, author of Polo and Riders, 69; Alan Rickman, actor, 60; Tyne Daly, once of Cagney and Lacey, 59; Mary Chapin Carpenter, singer-songwriter, 48; Charlotte Church, singer, 20. WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 22 1892 Oscar Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan opened in London. 1956 First floodlight league game, between Portsmouth and Newcastle United at Fratton Park. 1991 Kenny Dalglish quit as Liverpool FC manager. Birthdays: Bruce Forsyth, presenter of Strictly Ballroom, 78; Edward Kennedy, US senator, 74; Denis Law, ex-Manchester United soccer star, 66; Julie Walters, actress, 56; Drew Barrymore, actress, 31; James Blunt, singer-songwriter, 29.