On this day: Lego | Lockerbie appeal | USSR

ANNIVERSARIES, birthdays and events for 30 December

Lego was named as 2010's most popular toy on this day three years ago. Picture: PA

1803: Sindhia of Gwalior submitted to British in India.

1879: Gilbert and Sullivan opera The Pirates Of Penzance was first performed at Paignton, Devon, and in New York. When Sullivan arrived in New York, he found he had left the only copy of the music at home. Through the nights of 28 and 29 December, he wrote it down again from memory. 1880: Transvaal Boers under Stephanus Kruger declared a republic.

1887: A petition addressed to Queen Victoria with more than one million names of women appealing for public houses to be closed on Sundays was handed to the home secretary.

1900: Flooding and violent gales hit Britain, causing 50 deaths.

1916: Rasputin, Russian religious fanatic who claimed to have magic healing powers, was killed aged 44. It was said that enemies poisoned his wine and put cyanide in his food, but he was unaffected. He was then shot and stabbed nine times to no avail. He was finally drowned.

1922: Russia officially became the USSR, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

1947: King Michael of Romania abdicated in favour of a Communist republic.

1962: The worst snow-storms since 1881 hit Britain.

1964: United Nations Security Council resolved to call for end to all foreign intervention in the Congo, a ceasefire there, and withdrawal of mercenaries.

1987: Iraq said its warplanes attacked ship in gulf off Iran as toll grew in worst month of the “tanker war”.

1988: The government announced it would give £150,000 to the Lockerbie air disaster appeal.

1989: Polish parliament approved reforms allowing formation of political parties, protection of private property and ending of Communist Party’s guaranteed monopoly on power.

1990: The government announced plans for common pension age for both sexes – 63 – that would cost £800 million a year.

1993: Israel and the Vatican established diplomatic relations.

1996: Proposed budget cuts by Benjamin Netanyahu sparked protests from 250,000 workers, who shut down services across Israel.

2010: The top-selling toy of the year in the UK was Lego, underlining it’s popularity for more than 50 years.

BIRTHDAYS

Tracey Ullman, actress and comedienne, 54; Gordon Banks OBE, footballer, 76; David Bedford, athlete, London Marathon organiser, 64; Michael Dods, rugby player, 45; Eliza Dushku, actress, 33; Jeff Lynne, rock musician (ELO), 66; Michael Nesmith, singer, instrumentalist and songwriter (The Monkees), 71; Charlie Nicholas, Scottish footballer and television pundit, 52; Nick Skelton OBE, showjumper, 56; Patti Smith, singer, artist and poet, 67; Stan Tracey CBE, jazz pianist and bandleader, 87; Sir David Willcocks CBE, conductor, director, Royal College of Music 1974-84, 94; Tiger Woods, golfer, 38; Peter Wright, rugby player and coach, 46.

ANNIVERSARIES

Births: 1865 Rudyard Kipling, poet and writer; 1928 Bo Diddley, rock’n’roll singer, songwriter and guitarist; 1933 Andy Stewart, entertainer, songwriter; 1945 Davy Jones, singer (The Monkees).

Deaths: 1460 Duke of York, Battle of Wakefield (father of Edward IV and Richard III); 1691 Robert Boyle, physicist who formulated Boyle’s Law on gases; 2011 Ronald Searle CBE, artist and cartoonist.