Born on this day 7th January
1502 Pope Gregory XIII
1746 George Elphinstone
1844 Marie-Bernarde Soubirous
1870 Lord Gordon Hewart
1876 William Hurlstone
1896 Arnold Ridley
1898 Art Baker
1899 Al Bowly
1903 Alan Napier
1924 Geoffrey Bayldon
1925 Gerald Durrell
1937 Ian La Frenais
1941 Iona Brown
1941 John E. Walker
1942 Danny Williams
1943 Sir Richard Armstrong
1944 Mike McGear
1950 Malcolm Macdonald
1951 Helen Worth
1963 Clint Mansell
1964 Nicolas Cage
1967 Mark Lamarr
1967 Nick Clegg
1985 Lewis Hamilton
1985 Wayne Routledge
1986 Grant Leadbitter

Died on this day
1536 Catherine of Aragon
1988 Trevor Howard MC

Music

1954 R&B great Muddy Waters recorded his classic Hoochie Coochie Man at the Chess Studios in Chicago.

1970 Max Yasgur, on whose property WOODSTOCK was held, was sued for $35,000 for damage to neighbouring properties by festival goers.

1989 The Chart Show moved from Fridays to Saturdays.

Sport

1992 Former England football coach Don Howe was confirmed as the new manager of Coventry City Football Club.

People & Showbiz

1991 A TV phone-in poll whether Britain should keep the monarchy resulted in a 2-1 majority in favour, but with heavy criticism of Prince Charles.

General Events

1558 Calais, the last English possession on the mainland of France, was regained by the French.

1618 Francis Bacon was named Lord Chancellor of England.

1927 The transatlantic telephone service between London and New York opened, at a charge of £15 for a 3 minute call.

1958 Peter Thorneycroft, Chancellor of the exchequer and treasury ministers Enoch Powell and Nigel Birch, resigned in protest at the Government’s decision not to peg spending levels.