What happened this week in history

In 1673, French playwright Moliere died on stage while playing an ill man. The audience thought the violent coughing fit that killed him was a particularly fine performance.

1854 - Britain recognised the independence of Orange Free State (South Africa).

1864 - The first successful submarine torpedo attack took place in Charleston Harbour. The force of the explosion was so great that the submarine was also blown up, killing everyone on board.

1876 - The first ever tin of sardines was made in Maine.

1883 - The vacant/engaged sign for toilet doors was patented.

1909 - Apache chief Geronimo died of pneumonia aged 80, while still in captivity at Fort Sill, Okla.

1920 - Police were told they could trade in their horses for cars.

1929 - The first in-flight movie was shown on a flight from St Paul to Chicago.

1938 - The first Baird colour TV was demonstrated at the Dominion Theatre in London

1949 - Chaim Weitzman was elected as the first president of Israel.

1958 - The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) formed in London, to put pressure on the government to abandon nuclear weapons.

1969 - Golda Meir was sworn in as Israel’s first female prime minister.

1970 - In West Germany, a woman called Anastasia lost her 50-year fight to prove she was the daughter of Tsar Nicholas II.

1971 - England regained the Ashes, with a 2-0 series win.

1972 - The House of Commons voted for Britainto join the Common Market.

1979 - China invaded Vietnam after weeks of tension and a military build-up along the border.

1996 - World chess champion Garry Kasparov beat the IBM supercomputer “Deep Blue” in Philadelphia.

2003 - Congestion charging started in London. Drivers entering central London had to start paying £5 a day.

2014 - The Saudi Gazette made Somayya Jibarti the newspaper’s editor in chief, the first woman to hold such a position in the country.