ON THIS DAY

1582: Pope Gregory XIII announced the new Gregorian calendar, replacing the Julian calendar. It was not adopted by Britain until 1752, when a “loss” of 11 days had to be made up.

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1825: Thomas Bowdler, who took out the “naughty bits” in Shakespeare’s work, died. He gave the English language the word “bowdlerise”.

1848: France became a republic for the second time, following the abdication of King Louis Philippe.

1887: The first two cities to be linked by telephone were Paris and Brussels.

1905: The Simplon Tunnel through the Alps, 12.3 miles long, was completed.

1920: American-born Nancy Astor became the first woman to speak in the House of Commons following her election as an MP two months earlier.