Happy Anniversary: But the voice lives on

30 May:

Popular day for deaths of writers and artists: Christopher Marlowe (1593), Rubens (1640), Alexander Pope (1744), Voltaire (1788) and Boris Pasternak (1960).

1431: Joan of Arc burnt at the stake.

1908: Birth of Mel Blanc, the voice of Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny and countless other cartoon characters.

1911: Sir W S Gilbert drowns while giving swimming lessons to two schoolgirls in a pool near Harrow.

31 May:

1669: Bad eyesight makes Samuel Pepys end his diary.

1825: British inventor William James patents the first scuba-diving device.

1911: Launch of the Titanic.

1 June:

1935: Driving tests and compulsory L-plates introduced in Britain.

1938: First appearance of Superman in DC comics.

1942: TV licences first issued at pounds 2 each.

2 June:

1780: A new horse race at Epsom is named after Edward Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby.

3 June:

1937: Edward VIII marries Wallis Simpson.

1946: The first bikini, designed by Louis Reard, is seen at a Paris fashion show.

1956: British Railways abolish third-class travel.

4 June:

1798: Death of Giovanni Casanova.

1937: The first supermarket trolleys appear in Oklahoma.

5 June:

1963: John Profumo resigns after admitting misleading the Commons about his relationship with Christine Keeler.

1975: Britain votes to enter the Common Market.