On this day: Mary Rose raised | First airline meals

Discovery, with its a crew of seven, takes off for the International Space Station on the 100th space shuttle mission in 2000

11 OCTOBER

1727: The Coronation of George II took place.

1797: Dutch fleet was defeated by British, under Scottish admiral Duncan, off Camperdown, Holland.

1887: The world’s first adding machine, the comptometer, was patented. It was made from a macaroni box, staples, elastic bands and meat skewers.

1899: The Second South African War began between Britain and the Republics of Orange Free State and the Transvaal.

1911: Earthquake killed 700 in southern California.

1919: The first airline meals were served on a Handley-Page flight from London to Paris. They were pre-packed lunch boxes at 3/– each (15p).

1923: Rampant inflation in German economy had the mark dropping to an exchange rate of ten billion to the pound.

1926: BBC Children’s Hour started; Uncle Mac (Derek McCullough) was the best remembered producer.

1956: A Test cricket slow-scoring record was set when Australia scored 80 and Pakistan 15 for the loss of two wickets in a full day’s play in Karachi.

1957: The radio telescope at Jodrell Bank, Cheshire, planned by Sir Bernard Lovell, went into operation.

1958: The BBC television sports programme, Grandstand was first transmitted.

1963: United Nations condemned repression in South Africa by 106-1 vote.

1968: Apollo 7 spacecraft was launched with Walter Schirra, Don Eiselle and Walter Cunningham.

1976: Reports from China said Chairman Mao’s widow and three others, the Gang of Four, had been arrested.

1982: Henry VIII’s flagship, the Mary Rose, was raised in the Solent where she had lain since she turned turtle in 1545.

1987: Indian peacekeeping troops, using artillery and mortars, killed more than 120 Tamil rebels in weekend offensive on Jaffna peninsula in Sri Lanka.

1992: Ion Iliescu was elected president of Romania with 60 per cent of the vote.

1994: James Kelman won the 1994 Booker Prize with his novel, How Late It Was, How Late.

2000: Nasa launched 100th Space Shuttle mission, using Space Shuttle Discovery.

2010: Pop star George Michael was released from prison after serving a four-week sentence for driving and and drug offences.

BIRTHDAYS

Sir Bobby Charlton, footballer and manager, 76; Maria Bueno, three-time Wimbledon tennis champion, 74; Emily Deschanel, American actress, 37; Sir Michael Edwardes, South African industrialist, 83; Dawn French, actress and comedienne, 56; Daryl Hall, American singer, 67; Rodney Marsh, English footballer and television pundit, 69; Baron (John) McFall of Alcluith, Labour MP 1987-2010, 69; John Nettles OBE, British actor, 70; Alan Pascoe MBE, British athlete, 66; Luke Perry, actor, 48; Michelle Wie, golfer, 24.

ANNIVERSARIES

Births: 1821 Sir George Williams, social reformer and founder of the YMCA; 1844 HJ Heinz, founder of “57 Varieties” empire; 1906 Bob Danvers-Walker, newsreel commentator; 1925 Richard Burton, actor;

Deaths: “Chico” Marx, piano-playing Marx Brother; 1963 Edith Piaf, singer and cabaret star; 1963 Jean Cocteau, novelist and playwright; 1993 Andy Stewart, entertainer; 2000 Donald Dewar, secretary of state for Scotland 1997-9, first minister 1999-2000; 2004 Keith Miller, cricketer.