On this day:

Huguenots and Catholics clashed when the Battle of Dreux was fought, 1562; Toulon was recaptured by Napoleon Buonaparte from Alexander Hood, 1793; during the American-British war of 1812, the Toronto parliament building was set alight, and Fort Ni agara was taken by the British, 1813; the United States recognised the independence of Hawaii, 1842; in the New Hebrides, over 500 people were killed following a volcanic eruption, 1913; the German luxury liner Columbus was scuttled by her crew after bei ng intercepted by a British destroyer, 1939; the British evacuated Penang, 1941; an air service between London and Moscow was begun, 1957; eight crew members were drowned from the Penlee lifeboat and eight people from the Union Star coaster, Cornwall 19

8

1; Ted Hughes was appointed Poet Laureate, 1984.