On this day: 66 killed at Ibrox disaster

On this day in 1971 at Ibrox Park in Glasgow 66 people were killed and 200 injured as the stair barriers collapsed. Picture: Allan Milligan

1492: Spain captured Granada from Moors.

1757: Clive of India captured Calcutta after it had been seized by the Nawab of Bengal, who imprisoned 146 British prisoners in the notorious “black hole” – only 23 survived.

1799: Britain joined Russian-Turkish alliance.

1839: First pictures of the Moon taken by Frenchman Louis Daguerre.

1870: Lady Gough’s Book of Etiquette published. It forbade the placing of books by male authors next to those written by female authors on any bookshelf – unless the authors were married.

1896: The Jameson raid into the Boer colony of Transvaal, to support British settlers, ended in failure.

1900: Open door policy in China was announced by United States secretary of state John Hay.

1901: The first municipal crematorium was opened, in Hull.

1905: Russians surrendered Manchurian city of Port Arthur to Japanese.

1909: Dismissal of Yuan Shih-kai placed Chinese administration in Manchu hands.

1932: Manchukuo Republic was proclaimed in Manchuria.

1933: Anarchist and Syndicalist uprising started in Barcelona.

1942: Philippines capital of Manila was captured by Japanese.

1943: Germans began withdrawal from Caucasus.

1946: Deposed King Zog of Albania fled the country.

1947: Much Binding in the Marsh, a radio series of a fictitious RAF station, started, starring Richard Murdoch, Kenneth Horne and Sam Costa.

1965: Ayub Khan won Pakistan presidential elections.

1971: Ibrox Park disaster in Glasgow as stair barriers collapsed – 66 died and 200 injured.

1976: Soviet Union hardened stand on emigration in spite of 1975 Helsinki Agreement to permit freer movement of people and ideas in Europe.

1976: Platinum hallmarks introduced.

1976: Internal self-government granted by Britain to Solomon Islands in West Pacific.

1987: The publishers of Enid Blyton’s Noddy books bowed to pressure groups and agreed to expunge all “racism” from them. Golliwogs would now become gnomes.

1988: Right-wing guerrillas ambushed train near Mozambique’s western border, killing at least 22 and injuring 71.

1991: Leftist rebels brought down Unite States Army helicopter in El Salvador. One crew member died from injuries sustained in crash, and two others were apparently murdered by rebels.

1998: The home secretary, Jack Straw, was named as the Cabinet minister whose son was involved in drug dealing allegations.

2001: Sila Calderon became the first female governor of Puerto Rico.

2002: Eduardo Duhalde was appointed interim president of Argentina.

2004: Stardust successfully flew past Comet Wild 2, collecting samples that were returned to Earth.

2006: An explosion in a coal mine in Sago, West Virginia trapped and killed 12 miners, while leaving one in a critical condition.

BIRTHDAYS

Kate Bosworth, American actress, 32; David Bailey CBE, British photographer, 77; Tia Carrere, American actress and model, 48; Lucy Davis, actress (The Office), 42; Scot Gemmill, footballer, 44; Cuba Gooding Jr, actor, 47; David Graveney OBE, cricketer and Test selector, 62; Shelley Hennig, American actress, 28; Sir Michael Hirst, MP 1983-87, 69; James Marshall, actor, 48; Christy Turlington, model, 46.

ANNIVERSARIES

Births: 1669 Thomas Yalden, poet; 1727 General James Wolfe, British soldier and hero of the Battle of Quebec; 1837 Mily Alexeyevich Baldkirev, Russian composer; 1868 Arthur Gore, Wimbledon tennis champion; 1897 Jimmy Nervo (James Holloway), comedian; 1905 Sir Michael Tippett, composer; 1920 Professor Isaac Asimov, American scientist and science fiction author; 1932 Richard Thorp, British actor (Emmerdale).

Deaths: AD17 Ovid (Publius Ovidus Naso), poet; AD17 Livy, historian; 1883 General Tom Thumb (Charles Sherwood Stratton), 31-inch American midget 1946 Eleanor Rathbone, social reformer; 1948 Edna May, actress; 1974 Tex Ritter, American singing cowboy; 1982 Sir Thomas Galbraith, MP; 1983 Dick Emery, comedian; 1994 Lord Maxwell, QC; 1998 Frank Muir, writer/broadcaster; 2000 Nat Adderley, jazz trumpeter/cornettist; 2007 George Macdonald Fraser, novelist (Flashman books) and screen writer; 2011 Pete Postlethwaite OBE, British actor; 2011 Anne Francis, American actress; 2014 Elizabeth Jane Howard CBE, British novelist.