On this day: The Tay Road Bridge was opened

Traffic queues in Dundee on this day in 1966, waiting to use the new Tay Road Bridge designed by architect William Fairhurst

1587: Virginia Dare became the first child born of English parents in the New World – on Roanoke Island, North Carolina – seven days after Sir Walter Raleigh’s second expedition landed.

1736: The earliest successful appendix operation was performed by a surgeon to King George II, Claudius Amyand.

1896: France annexed Madagascar, whose treaties with other states were annulled.

1911: Official Secrets Act first passed in Britain.

1914: US president Woodrow Wilson proclaimed American neutrality in First World War.

1920: British and Egyptian delegations conferred on ways to provide for recognition of Egyptian independence.

1932: Scottish aviator Jim Mollison made the first westbound transatlantic solo flight, from Portmarnock, Ireland, to Pennfield, New Brunswick.

1939: Soviet Union and Germany signed commercial agreement.

1941: National Fire Service was established in Britain.

1948: Lester Piggott, aged 12, rode his first winner on his seventh ride.

1960: The birth control pill was introduced in America.

1964: South Africa was banned from participating in the Olympics because of its racial policies.

1966: The Tay Road Bridge was opened.

1967: Cunard liner Queen Mary was sold to the town of Long Beach, California.

1973: Archaeologists in Greece uncovered evidence that man had gone to sea as early as 7,500BC.

1976: Soviet spacecraft Luna 24 landed in the Sea of Crises on the Moon and scooped up samples of soil.

1977: Democratic United States president Jimmy Carter’s administration denounced as illegal Israel’s decision to establish three new Jewish settlements on Jordan’s West Bank.

1977: Elvis Presley was buried in Memphis, Tennessee. It was estimated that 130,000 mourners paid their respects before the burial.

1990: President Saddam Hussein threatened to starve western babies in Iraq if Iraqi children suffered food shortages as a result of the blockade.

1992: Britain agreed to send 1,800 peace-keeping troops to Bosnia.

2008: Pervez Musharraf, the president of Pakistan who faced impeachment on charges drawn up by the governing coalition, announced his resignation.

BIRTHDAYS

Robert Redford, actor and director, 78; Brian Aldiss OBE, science fiction author, 89; Kris Boyd, Scottish footballer, 31; Richard D James, aka Aphex Twin, electronic musician, 43; Edward Norton, actor, 45; Roman Polanski, French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor, 81; Bryan Ruiz, Costa Rican footballer; Mohammad Sarwar, first ever British Muslim MP (Labour 1997-2010), 62; Christian Slater, actor, 45; Madeleine Stowe, actress, 56; Ross McCormack, Scottish footballer, 28; MIKA, singer-songwriter, 31; Rosalynn Carter, US First Lady 1977-1981, 87; Felipe Calderón, president of Mexico 2006-2012; Victoria Elizabeth Coren, writer, TV presenter and poker player, 42; Huw Edwards, journalist, TV presenter and newsreader; Just Fontaine, French footballer and record goalscorer in World Cup finals, 81; Ronnie Carroll, singer, 80; Gianni Rivera, Italian former footballer, 71; Ricky Villa, Argentine football coach and former player; Sandra Farmer-Patrick, Jamaican athlete, 52; Esteban Cambiasso, Argentine footballer, 34.

ANNIVERSARIES

Births: 1750 Antonio Salieri, Italian composer; 1792 John Russell, first Earl Russell, prime minister and champion of parliamentary reform; 1873 Otto Harbach, lyricist (Smoke Gets In your Eyes); 1878 Fritz Brun, Swiss composer; 1904 Max Factor, president of cosmetics empire; 1908 Edgar Faure, French prime minister 1952, 1955-1956, president 1973-1978; 1917 Caspar Weinberger, US secretary of defence 1981-1987; 1920 Shelley Winters, actress; 1920 Godfrey Evans, England Test cricket wicketkeeper; 1939 William Rushton, actor, author, cartoonist and broadcaster; 1939 Sir Robert Horton, businessman, chairman of BP; 1952 Patrick Swayze, actor.

Deaths: 1227 Genghis Khan, Mongol emperor; 1276 Adrian V, Italian pope; 1503 Alexander VI, Spanish pope; 1803 James Beattie, poet; 1809 Matthew Boulton, engineer and partner of James Watt; 1874 Sir William Fairbairn, engineer and inventor; 1940 Walter Chrysler, automotive executive, founder of Chrysler Corporation; 1969 Otto Stern, Nobel laureate physicist; 2004 Elmer Bernstein, film score composer; 2012 Scott McKenzie, singer-songwriter (San Francisco [Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair]).