FRIDAY MAY 18 1936 First women announcers – Jasmine Bligh and Elizabeth Cowell – employed by the BBC. 1955 First Wimpy hamburger restaurant opened, in London. 1969 Graham Hill won the Monaco Grand Prix for a record fifth time. Deaths: Elizab

FRIDAY MAY 18

1936 First women announcers - Jasmine Bligh and Elizabeth Cowell - employed by the BBC.

1955 First Wimpy hamburger restaurant opened, in London.

1969 Graham Hill won the Monaco Grand Prix for a record fifth time.

Deaths: Elizabeth Montgomery, star of Bewitched, 1995.

Today's birthdays: Nobby Stiles, England World Cup 1966 hero, 65; Rick Wakeman, musician, 58, Toyah Willcox, singer, 49; John Higgins, snooker player, 32.

SATURDAY MAY 19

1536 Anne Boleyn, wife of Henry VIII, beheaded for adultery.

1649 Oliver Cromwell declared England a republican state.

1935 Col T E Lawrence who became known as Lawrence of Arabia after leading the Desert Revolt in the First World War was killed in a motor cycle accident.

1988 The Special Jury Prize at Cannes was awarded to Monty Python's Meaning of Life.

Deaths: Nathaniel Hawthorne, novelist, 1864; William Gladstone, Prime Minister, 1898; Ogden Nash, American poet, 1971; Sir John Betjeman, Poet Laureate, 1984; Jackie Kennedy Onassis, wife of US President John F Kennedy, 1994.

Today's birthdays: James Fox, actor, 68; Pete Townshend, of The Who, 62; Victoria Wood, writer and comedienne, 54.

SUNDAY MAY 20

1944 Nazi officers attempted to assassinate Hitler at a staff meeting.

1967 The BBC banned the Beatles song A Day in the Life, claiming it could encourage drug-taking.

1975 The 500th edition of Z Cars was screened.

2000 The last FA Cup Final - between Chelsea and Aston Villa - played at Wembley before the stadium was demolished under re-development plans.

Deaths: Jon Pertwee, actor who played Dr Who, 1996.

Today's birthdays: Joe Cocker, gravel-voiced singer-songwriter, 63; Cher, singer and actress, 61; Greg Dyke, ex-director general of the BBC, 60; Earl Spencer, brother of Diana, Princess of Wales, 43.

MONDAY MAY 21

1827 First edition of the London Evening Standard published.

1894 The 36-mile Manchester Ship Canal was opened.

1904 FIFA was set up.

1927 Charles Lindenburgh became the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic.

1930 Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic.

1956 The US dropped the first H-bomb from a plane on Bikini Atoll in the south Pacific.

1991 Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated.

Deaths: Henry VI, 1471; Lord Kenneth Clark, historian, 1983; Dame Barbara Cartland, romantic novelist, 2000; Sir John Gielgud, actor, 2000.

Today's birthdays: Barry Norman, movie critic, 74; Mary Robinson, ex-President of Ireland, 63; Leo Sayer, singer-songwriter, 59; Andrew Neil, broadcaster and journalist, 58.

TUESDAY MAY 22

1955 Fats Domino's concert in Bridgeport, Connecticut, was banned because of worries about a riot.

1972 Richard Nixon became the first US President to visit Russia.

Deaths: Cecil Day Lewis, Poet Laureate, 1972; Dame Margaret Rutherford, actress, 1972; Max Wall, entertainer, 1990.

Today's birthdays: Sir Menzies Campbell, Liberal Democrats leader, 66; Morrissey, singer-songwriter, 48; Naomi Campbell, model, 37.

WEDNESDAY MAY 23

1931 Whipsnade Zoo opened.

1934 Outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were killed in a police ambush.

1947 Britain decided to partition India.

Deaths: Henrik Ibsen, creator of A Doll's House and Peer Gynt, 1906; John D Rockefeller, tycoon, 1937.

Today's birthdays: Joan Collins, actress, 74; John Newcombe, ex-Wimbledon men's singles champion, 63; Anatoli Karpov, chess grand master, 56.

THURSDAY MAY 24

1930 The planet Pluto was officially recognised.

1956 First Eurovision Song Contest took place, in Lugano in Switzerland.

Deaths: Duke Ellington, jazz legend, 1974; Harold Wilson, Prime Minister, 1995.

Today's birthdays: Bob Dylan, singer-songwriter, 66; Priscilla Presley, actress and widow of Elvis Presley, 62; Jim Broadbent, actor, 58; Kristin Scott Thomas, actress, 47.