It happened today – this day in history – January 7

1536: Death of Catherine of Aragon aged 50.

1601: Robert, Earl of Essex, leads revolt in London against Queen Elizabeth I.

1610: Galileo Galilei discovers the first three moons of Jupiter: Io, Europa and Ganymede.

1618: Francis Bacon becomes Lord Chancellor of England.

1785: First balloon flight across English Channel by Jean Pierre Blanchard and John Jeffries.

1915: Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm approves strategic bombing of Britain, but forbids bombing London, fearing his relatives in the royal family might be killed.

1943: Death of physicist Nikola Tesla aged 86.

1964: English blues musician Cyril Davies died of leukaemia aged 32.

1980: Hugh Cornwell of The Stranglers is sentenced to three months in Pentonville prison for possession of heroin, cocaine and cannabis.

1989: Emperor Hirohito of Japan dies aged 87 after a 62-year reign.

1994: Oasis started recording their debut album Definitely Maybe at Monnow Valley Studio in South Wales.

1995: Death of comedian Larry Grayson aged 71.

1998: Former White House intern Monica Lewinsky signs an affidavit denying she had an affair with President Bill Clinton.

1999: President Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial begins in the US Senate after the House voted to impeach him for lying about his affair with Monica Lewinsky.

2001: Rhythm and blues and soul singer James Carr died aged 58.

2006: Pink married motocross racer Carey Hart on a beach in Costa Rica.

2007: Death of TV presenter Magnus Magnusson aged 77.

2015: A terrorist attack on the offices of satirical newspaper “Charlie Hebdo” in Paris kills 12.

2018: Snow falls in the Sahara Desert in the north west of Algeria.

2019: Amazon overtakes Microsoft to become the world’s most valuable listed company for the first time, worth $797 billion.

BIRTHDAYS: Mike McGear (McCartney) photographer/singer 76; Dave Cousins, musician (The Strawbs) 75; Jann Wenner, publisher, 74; Kenny Loggins, singer, 72; Erin Gray, actor 70; Katie Couric, journalist, 63; Kathy Valentine, bassist (The Go-Gos) 61; Nicolas Cage, actor 56; Mark Lamarr, broadcaster, 53; Ruth Negga, actress, 38; Lewis Hamilton, racing driver, 35; Caster Semeya, athlete, 29; Eden Hazard, footballer, 29.