What happened this week in history

Actress Shobna Gulati celebrates her 50th birthday this week.
Actress Shobna Gulati celebrates her 50th birthday this week.

In 1533, Elizabeth I was born at Greenwich Palace, to Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.

1838 - Grace Darling and her father rescued the crew of the Forfarshire, a steamer wrecked off the Northumberland coast. She subsequently became a national heroine.

1880 - George Ligowsky patented a device to launch clay pigeons.

1896 - The first successful heart surgery was conducted by Ludwig Rehn

1910 - Marie Curie announced she had isolated pure radium.

1923 - Interpol was founded in Vienna.

1928 - The first automatic car passed a series of road tests.

1929 - Britain won the prestigious Schneder Trophy for air speed. The winner was Flying Officer Waghorn in a Supermarine Rolls Royce 5.6.

1931 - King George V announced he would be taking a pay cut of £50,000 a year while the economic crisis continued.

1936 - The last thylacine, a carnivorous marsupial named Benjamin, died alone in its cage at the Hobart Zoo in Tasmania.

1940 - The German Luftwaffe began the Blitz, bombing London and other British cities for more than 50 consecutive nights.

1945 - Cartoon chipmunks Chip and Dale made their debut in No Sail.

1963 - Sussex won the first domestic one-day cricket match.

1973 - Jackie Stewart became Formula 1 Champion for the third time.


1986 - Bishop Desmond Tutu was appointed Archbishop of Cape Town. He became the first black head of South African Anglicans.

1992 - Classic FM, Britain’s first national commercial radio station, went on air.

1995 - Lester Piggott announced his retirement from horse racing.

2005 - Egypt held its first-ever multi-party presidential election.