A casual glance through the history books reveals April 29 to be a significant date in times past – even more so now for Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds following the birth of their son in hospital on Wednesday.
Here are some of the events to have taken place on this date in previous years:
The feast day of St Catherine of Siena
She rejected suggestions of marriage, took up a life of prayer and volunteered to nurse the sick in Siena’s hospitals, helping fight the ravages of the plague. She died on this date in 1380 at the age of 33 shortly after a paralytic stroke, and was canonised by Pope Pius II in 1461.
1376
In the dispute with Edward III, Sir Peter acted as spokesman for the Commons and their collective strength prevailed, but as soon as Parliament was dissolved, Sir Peter was thrown into prison and his successor Sir Thomas Hungerford presided over the “Bad Parliament”, which reversed most of the gains of the previous year.
1916
The Easter Rising was a military failure for the revolutionaries, who included poets, journalists and teachers, but it sparked a chain of events that ultimately led to the partition of Ireland and the creation of an independent Republic as well as Northern Ireland.
1945
1958
It was met with acclaim from punters and critics, although one review at the time noted the play contained “Americanised” flourishes from its time in New York and had not been “re-Anglicised” for its London audience.
1980
A famous example of his alleged insensitivity towards his big name stars involved Tippi Hedren in The Birds (1963) when, legend has it, she did not know so many real birds would be used and was traumatised for months afterwards by the terrifying scene. He was also the architect of the revered bathroom scene in Psycho (1960).
1986
The couple had met in 1931 although their relationship drew outrage within royal circles due to the American socialite being married at the time, leading to a constitutional crisis and the king’s eventual abdication in 1936.
2011
The couple, now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, have had three children: George, Charlotte and Louis.
