ON THIS DAY
■ The beginning of the Dog Days which last until mid-August. The hot, unhealthy days, so named by the Romans, were associated with madness in dogs.
■ 1608: French explorer Samuel Champlain founded the city of Quebec.
■ 1728: Robert Adam, architect of the classical style, was born in Kirkcaldy.
■ 1806: Michael Keen, of Isleworth, exhibited the first edible cultivated strawberry, which he called Keen’s Seedling.
■ 1863: The Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War ended with the Confederate Army routed and more than 50,000 dead or wounded.
■ 1920: The first RAF air display took place at Hendon.
■ 1928: A policeman’s helmet and a bunch of red roses were among the pictures shown on John Logie Baird’s first television transmission in colour at Baird Studios, London.
■ 1954: Food rationing ended in Britain. Smithfield market opened at midnight instead of 6am to cope with the demand for beef.
■ 1959: The first radio broadcast of Sing Something Simple with Cliff Adams and the Adams Singers took place, providing non-stop songs for half an hour.
■ 1969: Brian Jones, who had just left the Rolling Stones, was found drowned in his swimming pool. On the same day in 1971, Doors singer Jim Morrison reportedly died of a heart attack in Paris.
■ ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Co-op Funeralcare announced plans to offer ‘water cremations’ - a new form of burial as a sustainable alternative to traditional burials or cremation.
■ BIRTHDAYS: Sir Tom Stoppard, playwright, 87; Susan Penhaligon, actress, 75; Sir Richard Hadlee, former cricketer, 73; Sian Lloyd,
above, weather presenter, 66; Julie Burchill, writer, 65; Vince Clarke, pop musician, 64; Tom Cruise, actor, 62; Shane Lynch, singer (Boyzone), 48.
■ The recycled paper content of UK newspapers in 2021 was 65.7%