On this day: The Flying Scotsman went into service

On this day in 1923 the Flying Scotsman went into service for the first time, retiring from regular service 40 years later. Picture: Getty

Events, birthdays and anniversaries for 24 February

1530: Charles V was crowned Holy Roman Emperor and King of Italy by Pope Clement VII at Bologna – the last imperial coronation by a pope.

1582: Pope Gregory XIII announced the introduction of the Gregorian calendar, replacing the Julian calendar. That was acknowledged by Scotland in 1600, and adopted by England in 1752, by which time a loss adjustment of 11 days had to be “fixed”.

1920: Viscountess Astor became the first woman to speak in the House of Commons.

1923: Flying Scotsman express went into service.

1932: Sir Malcolm Campbell world land-speed record of 253.96 mph on Daytona Beach.

1945: Egypt’s premier Ahmed Pasha was assassinated after announcing Egypt’s declaration of war against Germany.

1945: American troops liberated Philippine capital of Manila from Japanese occupation.

1946: Juan Perón elected president of Argentina.

1964: Henry Cooper beat Brian London to win his second Lonsdale Belt.

1966: Kwame Nkrumah, president of Ghana since independence in 1957, was overthrown by an army coup, and went into exile in Guinea.

1981: Prince Charles, 32, and Lady Diana Spencer, 19, announced their engagement.

1989: Several passengers were sucked out of a plane 22,000 feet over the Pacific when a hole the size of a bus was torn in a Boeing 747 soon after take-off from Honolulu to Auckland.

1991: In the first parliamentary Soviet elections under a genuine multi-party system, voters in Lithuania rejected Communist rule.

1991: Allies launched three-pronged assault deep into Kuwait and Iraq. At least 10,000 Iraqi troops reported to have surrendered.

1992: Australian prime minister Paul Keating was criticised for insulting the Queen with comments about republicanism.

2000: An independent inquiry was ordered into the cost of the Scottish Parliament building at Holyrood, reported to have risen from £40 million to £220m.

2007: Japan launched its fourth spy satellite, stepping up its ability to monitor potential threats such as North Korea.

2008: Fidel Castro retired as the president of Cuba after nearly 50 years.

BIRTHDAYS

Denis Law CBE, Scottish footballer and commentator, 74; Jean Alexander, actress (Coronation Street’s Hilda Ogden), 88; Kristin Davis, actress, 49; Paul Jones, singer (Manfred Mann and Blues Band) and actor, 72; Floyd Mayweather Jr, boxer, 37; Alain Prost, racing driver, 59; Derek Randall, cricketer and coach, 63; Walter Smith OBE, former Scottish football manager, 66; Dennis Waterman, actor, 66; Billy Zane, actor, 48.

ANNIVERSARIES

Births: 1786 Wilhelm Grimm, German collector of fairy tales; 1919 Betty Marsden, actress; 1921 Pat Kirkwood, actress; 1922 Richard Hamilton, abstract artist; 1929 Lord Caplan, Senator of the College of Justice in Scotland 1989-2000.

Deaths: 1815 Robert Fulton, steamboat pioneer; 1822 Thomas Coutts, banker; 1825 Thomas Bowdler, censor of “naughty bits” in the works of Shakespeare; 1990 Malcolm Forbes, billionaire owner of Forbes Magazine; 1993 Bobby Moore, footballer; 1999 Derek Nimmo, actor; 2013 Sir Denis Forman, chairman, Scottish Film Production Fund 1990-93.