FRIDAY OCTOBER 5 1930 The British airship R101 crashed in France. 1936 The Jarrow March of unemployed ship workers started its journey from the north-east to London. 1962 Dr No opened in London. 1962 First Beatles single Love Me Do released. 1967 T

FRIDAY OCTOBER 5

1930 The British airship R101 crashed in France.

1936 The Jarrow March of unemployed ship workers started its journey from the north-east to London.

1962 Dr No opened in London.

1962 First Beatles single Love Me Do released.

1967 The British Lawn Tennis Association proposed to abolish the distinction between amateur and professional status.

Today's birthdays: Bob Geldorf, once of Boomtown Rats and Live Aid creator, 53; Laura Davies, British golfer, 43; Kate Winslet, actress, 32.

Deaths: Leonard Rossiter, actor, 1984; Denis Quilley, actor, 2003.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 6

1927 First talking movie, The Jazz Singer, opened in New York.

1978 First woman driver started work on the London Underground.

1998 UEFA announced plans to expand the European Champions League.

Today's birthdays: Richie Benaud, ex-Australian Test captain and cricket commentator, 77; Melvyn Bragg, writer and broadcaster, 68; Britt Ekland, actress, 65; Gerry Adams, president of Sinn Fein, 59; Ricky Hatton, boxer, 29.

Deaths: Alfred Tennyson, poet laureate, 1892; Walter Hagan, gold legend, 1969; Bette Davis, actress, 1989; Denholm Elliott, actor, 1992.

SUNDAY OCTOBER 7

1946 First broadcast of Woman's Hour.

1949 The German Democratic Republic of East Germany was established.

1958 First photograph of the dark side of the moon transmitted from the Soviet Lunik I.

1986 First edition of The Independent published.

Today's birthdays: Desmond Tutu, Archbishop of Cape Town and peace campaigner, 76; Thomas Keneally, author of Schindler's List, 72; Clive James, writer and broadcaster, 68; Vladmir Puton, Russian president, 55; Simon Cowell, from Pop Idol and The X Factor, 48; Jermaine Defoe, Spurs and England striker, 25.

Deaths: Edgar Allen Poe, author and poet, 1849; Anna Politkovskaya, Russian journalist, 2006.

MONDAY OCTOBER 8

1932 First concert of the London Philharmonic Orchestra under its creator Sir Thomas Beecham.

1952 A rail disaster at Harrow saw 112 people killed and more than 200 injured.

1973 Commercial radio station LBC began broadcasting.

Today's birthdays: Betty Boothroyd, former Speaker of the House of Commons, 78; Jesse Jackson, US politician and ex-presidential candidate, 66; Sigourney Weaver, actress, 58; Ardal O'Hanlon, comedian, 42; Matt Damon, actor, 37.

Deaths: Henry Fielding, author of The History of Tom Jones, 1754; Clement Attlee, British Labour Prime Minister, 1967; Willy Brandt, ex-German Federal Chancellor, 1992.

TUESDAY OCTOBER 10

1940 St Paul's Cathedral damaged during a bombing raid.

1986 The musical Phantom of the Opera opened in London.

1999 Work began on lifting the London Eye into place on the bank of the Thames.

Today's birthdays: Donald Sinden, actor, 84; Don McCullin, war photographer, 72; Brian Blessed, actor, 70; Steve Ovett, Olympic 800 metres champion, 52.

Deaths: Che Guevara, guerrilla leader and revolutionary, 1967; Jackie Milburn, Newcastle United soccer legend, 1988; Lord Home (Sir Alex Douglas Home), Prime Minister, 1995.

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 11

1903 Emmeline Pankhurst set up the Women's Social and Political Union.

1961 The entire population of Tristan de Cunha in the south Atlantic was evacuated to Britain after a volcanic eruption.

1963 Prime Minister Harold Macmillan announced he was resigning.

1964 The Olympic Games opened in Tokyo.

1972 Sir John Betjeman became Poet Laureate.

1978 First edition of Smash Hits published.

Today's birthdays: Nicholas Parsons, presenter of Just a Minute, 84; Harold Pinter, dramatist, 77; Omar Sharif, actor, 75; Charles Dance, actor, 61; Chris Tarrant, host of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, 61; Midge Ure, singer-songwriter, 54; Amanda Burton, actress, 51; Martin Kemp, of Spandau Ballet, 46; Tony Adams, ex-Arsenal and England soccer star, 41; Matthew Pinsent, British Olympic rowing champion, 37.

Deaths: Sir Ralph Richardson, actor, 1983; Orson Welles, actor, director and producer, 1985; Yul Bryner, actor, 1985; Christopher Reeve, actor, 2004.

THURSDAY OCTOBER 12

1689 Peter the Great became Tsar of Russia.

1899 The Boer War began.

1957 The world's largest telescope at Jodrell Bank was switched on.

1958 First edition of Grandstand broadcast.

1968 the US spacecraft Apollo 7 was launched from Cape Kennedy.

1982 Henry VIII's ship the Mary Rose was raised from the seabed at Portsmouth.

2000 The South African cricket board banned Hansie Cronje for life after match-fixing revelations.

Today's birthdays: Bobby Charlton, Manchester United and England soccer legend, 70; Daryl Hall, musician, 61; Sally Magnusson, television presenter, 52; Dawn French, comedy actress, 50.

Deaths: Chico Marx, one of the Marx Brothers, 1961; Edith Piaf, singer, 1963; Donald Dewar, Labour politician and Scotland's First Minister, 2000.