20 APRIL 1653: Oliver Cromwell dissolved the Long Parliament which had governed during the Civil War. 1657: The British Admiral Blake destroyed the Spanish fleet in the harbour of Santa Cruz. 1770: Captain James Cook discovered New South Wales. 1808: Birth of Napoleon III, whose efforts to emulate his uncle’s previous military glories, led to the collapse of his empire and defeat by the Prussians, whom he had goaded into war. During his reign, corruption flourished, and this fed republican and socialist opposition. 1841: The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe, considered the first modern detective story, was published in Graham’s magazine in the US. 1847: Runcorn declared as Port independent from Liverpool. 1887: The first motor race was held in Paris. Only one driver took part, Georges Bouton in his four-seater steam quadricycle. The following year he had just one rival to beat. 1889: Birth of Adolf Hitler, German dictator, whose real name was Schickelgrüber and whose original ambition was to be a painter. He sold postcard sketches in Vienna and drifted into politics, ranting against money lenders and trade unions, revealing his philosophy in Mein Kampf (1925). In 1933, he came to power in a Germany weakened by its defeat in the First World War. His ‘Third Reich’, which he claimed would last 1,000 years, ended after twelve years when he died in a Berlin bunker in 1945. 1902: At an exhibition in Paris, ‘Art Nouveau’ was introduced. 1931 Welland Canal, connecting Lakes Erie and Ontario, opens. 1913: The dancer Isadora Duncan’s two children, one by theatre designer, Gordon Craig, and the other by sewing machine magnate, Paris Singer, were the passengers in a chauffeur-driven car with their nurse when it stalled on a hill. When the chauffeur got out to crank the car, it began to roll downhill, finally crashing into the Seine, drowning Deidre, aged seven, and Patrick, aged five and their nurse. 1914: The will of Mr Brockelhurst, Liverpool shipowner read. He left $30,000 to local charities. 1929: The first parliament made up exclusively of Fascists led by Benito Mussolini, was opened by King Victor Emanuel III of Italy. 1931: Welland Canal, connecting Lakes Erie and Ontario, opens. 1968: Pierre Trudeau becomes prime minister of Canada. 1972: The Apollo 16 lunar module lands on the surface of the moon. 1981: Steve Davis became the world snooker champion at 23 years old, beating Doug Mountjoy at Sheffield. 1987: Starlight Express, a musical featuring actors and actresses wearing rollerskates, produced the best-ever opening week box office gross in Broadway history: just over $600,000. 1988: The world’s largest termite mound, around 21 ft high, was found in the Australian outback, it was claimed this day. The mound was located at Hayes Creek, 105 miles south of Darwin. 1992: Tribute Concert for Freddy Mercury at Wembley. --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.351 / Virus Database: 197 - Release Date: 19/04/02