Happy Anniversary: Eruptions, west of Java

SOME of the anniversaries of the coming week that you might have overlooked.

Today:

1928: The nomination of Alfred E Smith for the US presidency becomes the first televised news event.

1960: Two Russian dogs return to earth safely after three days in space.

Tuesday:

410: The Visigoths sack Rome to end the era of civilisation.

1977: Bryan Allen makes the first manpowered flight of over one mile.

Wednesday:

79: Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae are destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius.

1946: In Torquay, Maisie Dunn becomes the first woman to wear a bikini on a UK beach.

1975: Annabel Hunt, singing the opening aria of Ulysses at Glyndebourne, becomes the first actress to appear nude on British television.

Thursday:

325: The General Council of Nicaea makes the rules for deciding when Easter falls.

1875: Captain Matthew Wells becomes the first person to swim the Channel. It takes him just under 22 hours.

1928: Opening of Anfield's Kop terrace, named after the Battle of Spion Kop in the Boer War. On the same day, Ahmed Zog becomes the first King of Albania.

Friday:

1346: First use of the longbow in a war on the continent, at the Battle of Crecy. The two-finger rude gesture, demonstrating bow-drawing power, also dates from here.

1987: An elephant, desperate to find a mate, is shot after running amok, killing two people and flattening a radio centre in Bangkok.

Saturday:

1883: Krakatoa erupted. Despite the film Krakatoa, East of Java, it is west of Java.

1900: The first long-distance bus service starts in Britain, running from London to Leeds. The journey takes two days.

1913: Russian Lieutenant Peter Nesterov becomes the first pilot to loop the loop.

Sunday:

1207: Liverpool is created a borough by King John.

1922: New Yorkers hear the first radio commercial. It is for an apartment block.