582 – The charmingly named Maurice becomes emperor of the Byzantine Empire, the continuation of the Roman Empire in its eastern provinces, with its capital Constantinople, today’s Istanbul.

1650 – Colonel George Monck of the English Army forms Monck’s Regiment of Foot, which will later become the Coldstream Guards. It is the oldest regiment in the British Army in continuous active service.

1889 – Inventor and businessman William Gray of Hartford, Connecticut is granted United States Patent Number 408,709 for ‘Coin-controlled apparatus for telephones.’

1915 – The ‘Brides in the Bath’ murderer, George Joseph Smith, who drowned his wives in a zinc bathtub after ensuring that their finances were set up in his favour, is hanged.

1918 – Women enlist in the United States Marine Corps for the first time. Opha May Johnson is the first woman to enlist. She will later attain the rank of sergeant.

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