April 11-17 Friday April 11 1814 Napoleon abdicated and was exiled to the island of Elba. 1945 Allied troops liberated the Nazi concentration camp at Buchenwald. 1959 England soccer star Billy Wright won his 100th international cap. 1

CROW ANNIVERSARIES

April 11-17

Friday April 11

1814 Napoleon abdicated and was exiled to the island of Elba.

1945 Allied troops liberated the Nazi concentration camp at Buchenwald.

1959 England soccer star Billy Wright won his 100th international cap.

1979 Uganda president Idi Amin was overthrown.

Births: George Canning, British Prime Minister, 1770; Sir Charles Halle, creator of the Halle Orchestra, 1889; Dan Maskell, the voice of tennis, 1908.

Today's birthdays: Bob Harris, broadcaster, 62; Jeremy Clarkson, presenter of Top Gear, 48; Lisa Stansfield, singer, 42; Ian Bell, England Test cricket batsman, 26.

Deaths: Joseph Carey Merrick, otherwise The Elephant Man, 1890; John O'Hara, author, 1970; Erskine Caldwell, author of Tobacco Road, 1987; Sir Harry Secombe, entertainer, 2001.

Saturday April 12

1861 The American Civil War began.

1945 Harry Truman became US President after the death of Franklin D Roosevelt.

1954 Bill Haley recorded Rock Around the Clock.

1961 Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to orbit the earth.

1981 First launch of the US space shuttle Columbia, from Cape Canaveral.

1992 Euro Disney opened in Marne-la-Vallee in France.

Today's birthdays: Monsterrat Cabelle, Spanish opera singer, 75; Alan Ayckbourn, playwright, 69; David Letterman, talk show host, 61; Tom Clancy, author of Patriot Games and The Hunt for Red October, 61; Andy Garcia, actor, 52.

Deaths: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, US President, 1945; Josephine Baker, singer and dancer, 1975; Sugar Ray Robinson, boxer, 1989.

Sunday April 13

1741 The Royal Military Academy was established at Woolwich.

1986 Jack Nicklaus won his sixth US Masters tournament.

1970 The crew of Apollo 13 reported to Houston there was a problem after an explosion occurred in a liquid oxygen tank.

1999 It was announced that the Clyde shipyard was to close.

Births: Guy Fawkes, gun powder plot conspirator, 1570; Thomas Jefferson, US President, 1743; F W Woolworth, chain store pioneer, 1852; Samuel Beckett, writer of Waiting for Godot, 1906; Howard Keel, Hollywood musical star, 1919.

Today's birthdays: Edward Fox, actor, 71; Peter Davidson, ex-Dr Who, 57.

Deaths: Jimmy Logan, comedian and entertainer, 2001.

Monday April 14

1865 US President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated while visiting the Ford Theatre in Washington.

1900 The World Exhibition opened in Paris.

1912 The Titanic struck an iceberg.

1929 First Monaco Grand Prix held in Monte Carlo.

1931 First edition of the Highway Code published.

1962 Georges Pompidou became president of France.

1981 The US space shuttle Columbia returned to earth.

Births: Sir John Gielgud, actor, 1904; Rod Steiger, actor, 1925.

Today's birthdays: Loretta Lynn, country singer, 74; Julie Christie, actress, 68; Julian Lloyd Webber, cellist, 57; Robert Carlyle, actor, 47; Sarah Michelle Gellar, otherwise Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 31; Ian Balshaw, England Rugby Union international, 29.

Deaths: George Frederick Handel, composer, 1759; Simone de Beauvoir, author, 1986; Anthony Newley, actor and singer, 1999; Jim Baxter, Rangers and Scotland soccer legend, 2001.

Tuesday April 15

1912 More than 1,500 died when the Titanic sank after hitting an iceberg on her maiden voyage.

1942 The George Cross was awarded to the island of Malta for bravery under enemy attack in the Second World War.

Births: Leonardo da Vinci, painter and sculptor, 1452; Henry James, author, 1843; Emile Durkheim, French sociologist, 1858; Bessie Smith, blues and jazz singer, 1894.

Today's birthdays: Marty Wilde, pop singer, 69; Jeffrey Archer, author, 68; Emma Thompson, actress, 49; Samantha Fox, Page 3 model, 42; Emma Watson, actress, 18.

Deaths: Abraham Lincoln, US President, 1865; Matthew Arnold, poet, 1888; Jean-Paul Sartre, writer and philosopher, 1980; Tommy Cooper, comedian, 1984; Kenneth Williams, Carry On star, 1998; Greta Garbo, Hollywood legend, 1990; Leslie Charteris, creator of The Saint, 1993; Joey Ramone, of The Ramones, 2001.

Wednesday April 16

1746 Bonnie Prince Charlie was defeated at the Battle of Culloden Moor.

1917 Vladimir Lenin returned from exile in Switzerland to lead the Russian Revolution.

1953 The Queen launched the Royal Yacht Britannia.

1954 First stock car racing meeting held in Britain, at the Old Kent Road Stadium.

Births: Wilbur Wright, aviation pioneer, 1867; Charlie Chaplin, movie legend, 1889; Spike Milligan, comedian, 1918; Sir Peter Ustinov, actor and dramatist, 1921; Kingsley Amis, author of Lucky Jim, 1922; Henry Mancini, composer, 1924; Dusty Springfield, singer, 1939.

Today's birthdays: Joan Bakewell, writer and broadcaster, 74; Ruth Madoc, from Hi-de-Hi, 65; Gerry Rafferty, musician, 61; Little Jimmy Osmond, once of The Osmonds, 45.

Deaths: Sir David Lean, director of Lawrence of Arabia, 1991.

Thursday April 17

1956 First issue of Premium Bonds

1969 The voting age in Britain was lowered from 21 to 18.

1980 Southern Rhodesia became Zimbabwe.

Births: Nikita Khrushchev, Soviet leader, 1894; Billy Fury, singer-songwriter, 1940.

Today's Birthdays: Clare Francis, yachtswoman, 62; Nick Hornby, author of Fever Pitch, 51; Victoria Beckham, Posh from the Spice Girls, 34.

Deaths: Eddie Cochran, rock singer, 1960; Benny Hill, comedian, 1992; Linda McCartney, wife of Paul McCartney, 1998.