On this day: Scotland fans tear up Wembley

On this day in 1977, Scots fans caused £150,000 of damage to Wembley after celebrating their sides 2-1 victory over England. Picture: TSPL

1694: The Merchant Maiden Hospital, later to be known as The Mary Erskine School, was founded by Mary Erskine in the Cowgate, Edinburgh.

1805: The first Trooping the Colour took place at Horse Guards Parade, London.

1832: The Great Reform Bill, an electoral measure which disenfranchised rotten boroughs, became law.

1937: The world’s first supermarket trolleys trundled down the grocery aisles. Sylvan Goldman of Oklahoma built his push-baskets by fixing baskets and wheels to children’s chairs.

1940: Winston Churchill made his war-time rallying speech to the nation: “We shall defend our island whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets. We shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.”

1940: The evacuation of Dunkirk, which had begun on May 27 was completed. Thousands of little ships, under heavy German attack, returned to the English south coast with 338,226 soldiers.

1942: Battle of Midway in the Far East began and US ships inflicted the first decisive defeats on the Japanese.

1943: Right-wing military coup, in which Juan Peron played an important role, overthrew Argentina president Ramon Castillo. Peron was elected to the presidency in 1946.

1944: Rome was liberated by the Allies.

1956: Egypt announced it would not extend the Suez Canal Company’s concession after expiration in 1959.

1958: The first Duke of Edinburgh awards were presented at Buckingham Palace.

1963: The war minister, John Profumo, resigned from Parliament, admitting that he misled the Commons about his relationship with call-girl Christine Keeler.

1970: Tonga or Friendly Isles became completely independent and a member of the Commonwealth.

1977: Damage estimated at £15,000 was caused when fans dug up the Wembley pitch after Scotland beat England 2-1.

1989: More than 2,000 died in Tiananmen Square, Peking, when troops opened fire on protesting students.

1991: The Defence Secretary, Tom King, announced cuts in the British Army, which would lose a quarter of its manpower.

1992: The Appeal Court in London cleared Judith Ward of involvement in the M62 coach bombing in 1974.

1995: Lightning killed 17 soccer fans at a match in the central American republic of Honduras.

1995: Footballer Paul Gascoigne joined Rangers from Lazio in a £4.3million deal.

1996: £565 million and ten years’ work ended in a hail of debris when a European Space Agency rocket, Ariane 5, blew up 45 seconds after launching in French Guiana.

1998: Terry Nichols was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing.

2001: Gyanendra, the last King of Nepal, ascended to the throne after the massacre in the Royal Palace.

2010: St Andrews shelved plans for a near-£50 million refurbishment of its library due to a lack of funds.

BIRTHDAYS

Angelina Jolie, actress, 39; Russell Brand, comedian, presenter and actor, 39; Bob Champion MBE, jockey and trainer, 66; Bruce Dern, actor, 78; Professor Joe Goldblatt, academic writer, 62; Andrea Jaeger, tennis player, 49; Geoffrey Palmer OBE, actor, 87; Sean Pertwee, actor, 50; George Reid, presiding officer, Scottish Parliament 2003-7, MP 1974-79, 75; Daniel Topolski, writer and rowing coach, 69; Noah Wyle, actor, 43; David Yip, actor, 63; Bradley Walsh, actor and TV presenter, 54; Ruth Westheimer (Dr Ruth), sex therapist and TV presenter; Chris Robshaw, English rugby union captain, 28); Oona Chaplin, actress, 28.

ANNIVERSARIES

Births: 1738 King George III; 1801 Sir James Pennethorne, architect; 1826 Stephen Collins Foster, songwriter; 1852 Mary St Leger Kingsley (Lucas Malet), novelist; 1861 Bob Fitzsimmons, world heavyweight boxing champion; 1879 Mabel Lucie Attwell, writer and illustrator of children’s books; 1907 Patience Strong, poet, journalist and “agony aunt”; 1908 Rosalind Russell, actress; 1910 Sir Christopher Cockerell, inventor of the hovercraft; 1945 Gordon Waller, Scottish singer/songwriter.

Deaths: 1792 John Burgoyne, soldier and playwright; 1798 Giovanni Casanova, Italian ecclesiastic, adventurer and romancer; 1913 Emily Wilding Davison, suffragette martyr (trampled to death after throwing herself under King’s horse Anmer during the Derby); 1941 Kaiser Wilhelm II, German emperor; 1968 Dorothy Gish, actress; 1968 Sir Walter Nash, New Zealand Labour prime minister.