Check out some of the events that took place on this day in history:

1604 Othello Performed For The First Time

William Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello was performed for the first time at The Palace of Whitehall in London

1755 Devastating Lisbon Earthquake

Lisbon was heavily damaged by an earthquake that killed as many as 30,000 people and caused widespread destruction of property

1848 First WH Smith Railway Stall Opened

WH Smith opened its first railway bookstall at Euston Station in London on this day in 1848

1956 ERNIE Selects First Premium Bond Winners

Premium Bonds first went on sale in Britain on this day in 1956 with the winning numbers being picked at random by a machine with the acronym ‘ERNIE’

1981 Antigua and Barbuda Gain Independence

Antigua and Barbuda gained independence from the United Kingdom

1997 Titanic's First Screening

James Cameron’s Titanic, the film about the doomed ocean liner, had its first public screening at the Tokyo International Film Festival.

BORN ON THIS DAY

  • 1887 – LS Lowry, the English artist renowned for his matchstick images
  • 1935 – Gary Player, the golfer
  • 1962 – Sharron Davies, the British swimmer and broadcaster
  • 1963 – Mark Hughes, the Welsh footballer
  • 1994 – James Ward-Prowse, the English footballer

DIED ON THIS DAY

  • 1700 – Charles II of Spain
  • 1894 – Alexander III of Russia