FRIDAY JANUARY 11 1972 East Pakistan became the independent nation of Bangladesh. 1973 First degrees awarded by the Open University. 2004 Fiona Thornewill completed her 24-day solo trek to the South Pole. Births: Fred Archer, legendary jockey, 1857; Hen

FRIDAY JANUARY 11

1972 East Pakistan became the independent nation of Bangladesh.

1973 First degrees awarded by the Open University.

2004 Fiona Thornewill completed her 24-day solo trek to the South Pole.

Births: Fred Archer, legendary jockey, 1857; Henry Gordon Selfridge, department store pioneer, 1858.

Today's birthdays: Melvyn Hayes, from It Ain't Half Hot Mum, 73; Bryan Robson, ex-England and Manchester United soccer star, 51; Mary J Blige, singer-songwriter, 37.

Deaths: Thomas Hardt, author of Far From the Madding Crowd, 1928; Richmal Crompton, creator of the Just William books, 1969.

SATURDAY JANUARY 12

1904 Henry Ford set a new land speed record of 99.37mph, at Lake St Clair.

1959 Henry Cooper defeated Brian London to become British and European heavyweight boxing champion.

1963 The Beatles released Please Please Me.

1967 Plans were announced for the development of Milton Keynes new town.

1977 EMI said it would no longer promote Sex Pistols records.

1982 Prime Minister's son Mark Thatcher went missing in the Sahara desert during the Paris-Dakar rally.

Births: Edmund Burke, statesman and philosopher, 1729; Herman Goering, Nazi leader, 1893; PW Botha, ex-South African president, 1916.

Today's birthdays: Des O'Connor, entertainer, 76; Michael Aspel, presenter of the Antique Roadshow, 75; Joe Frazier, ex-heavyweight world champion, 64; Brendan Foster, athletics commentator, 60; Heather Mills McCartney, ex-model, 40.

Deaths: Neville Shute, author of A Town Called Alice, 1960; Agatha Christie, crime writer, 1976; Maurice Gibb, of the Bee Gees, 2003.

SUNDAY JANUARY 13

1893 Keir Hardy created the Independent Labour Party.

1933 The controversial Bodyline Ashes series between England and Australia began in Adelaide.

1972 Naval officer David Bingham was jailed for 21 years for selling secrets to the Russians.

Births: Ted Willis, playwright and creator of Dixon of Dock Green, 1918.

Today's birthdays: Michael Bond, creator of Paddington Bear, 81; Suggs, of Madness, 47; Stephen Hendry, snooker player, 39; Orlando Bloom, actor, 31.

Deaths: Thomas Lord, creator of Lord's cricket ground, 1832; Wyatt Earp, wild west lawman, 1929; James Joyce, author of Ulysses, 1941; Hubert Humphrey, US Presidential candidate, 1978.

MONDAY JANUARY 14

1900 First performance of Puccini's opera Tosca.

1907 An earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, killed more than 1,000 people.

1943 US President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met in Casablanca.

1954 Baseball legend Joe DiMaggio married Marilyn Monroe.

1969 Sir Matt Busby retired as manager of Manchester United.

Births: Hugh Lofting, writer who created Dr Dolittle, 1886; Hal Roach, Hollywood producer, 1892.

Today's birthdays: Warren Mitchell, actor, 81; Richard Briers, from The Good Life, 74; Trevor Nunn, theatre director, 68; Faye Dunaway, actress, 67; Emily Watson, actress, 41.

Deaths: Edmund Halley, astronomer, 1742; Lewis Carroll, creator of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, 1898; Humphrey Bogart, star of Casablanca and The African Queen, 1957; Anthony Eden, Prime Minister, 1977.

TUESDAY JANUARY 15

1759 The British Museum opened at Montague House in Bloomsbury.

1926 Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin announced plans to set up a "national grid" for electricity supplies.

1927 First live rugby commentary on BBC radio.

1967 First Superbowl took place at the Memorial Coliseum between the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs.

1973 US President Richard Nixon called a halt to America's Vietnam offensive.

Births: Moliere, dramatist, 1622; Ivor Novello, composer and actor, 1893; Martin Luther King, civil rights leader, 1929.

Today's birthdays: Frank Thornton, actor from Are You Being Served?, 87; Pete Waterman, record producer, 61; Mary Pierce, French tennis player, 33.

Deaths: Emma Hamilton, mistress to Lord Nelson, 1815; Jack Teagarden, jazz musician, 1964; Shelley Winters, actress, 2006.

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 16

1547 Ivan the Terrible became Tsar of Russia.

1854 Paddington station opened.

1908 First edition of Scouting for Boys published.

1925 Leon Trotsky was dismissed as chairman of the Revolutionary Council of the USSR.

1939 First appearance of the Superman comic strip.

1957 The Cavern Club opened in Matthew Street, Liverpool.

1967 Last edition of The Boy's Own Paper published.

Births: Eric Liddell, Olympic 400m champion in Paris, 1902; Ethel Merman, singer and actress, 1909.

Today's birthdays: Cliff Thorburn, snooker player, 60; Kate Moss, model, 34.

Deaths: Bernard Lee, M from the James Bond movies, 1981; Auberon Waugh, journalist, 2001.

THURSDAY JANUARY 17

1827 The Duke of Wellington was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the British Army.

1912 Explorer Robert Falcon Scott reached the South Pole a month after Norwegian Roald Amundsen had been there.

1929 First appearance of Popeye in a comic strip.

1983 First broadcast of the BBC's Breakfast Time show.

Births: Anne Bronte, author of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, 1820; David Lloyd George, Prime Minister, 1863; Mack Sennett, silent movie director, 1880; Tommy Handley, war-time radio comedian, 1892; Al Capone, gangster, 1899; Neville Shute, novelist, 1899.

Today's birthdays: Eartha Kitt, singer, 81; Muhammad Ali, legendary world heavyweight boxing champion, 66; Paul Young, singer-songwriter, 52; Keith Chegwin, television presenter, 51; Jim Carrey, actor, 46.

Deaths: Virginia Mayo, Hollywood star of the 1940s and 1950s, 2005.