FEBRUARY 9

1540: The first recorded horse racing meeting in Britain was held at the Roodeye Field, Chester.

1855: The “Devil's Footprints” appeared in snowbound South Devon – 100 miles of cloven hoofprints, eight inches apart in a single line and measuring four inches by two.

1865: Mrs Patrick Campbell, actress with an abrasive wit, was born in London. She created several famous roles, including Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion

(1914), and had a well-documented relationship with George Bernard Shaw.

1891: Ronald Colman, English actor who became a romantic star in Hollywood, was born in Richmond, Surrey. His films included The Prisoner Of Zenda.

1893: The world's first public striptease took place at the Moulin Rouge in Paris.

1942: Soap rationing began in Britain.

1949: Robert Mitchum was jailed in Los Angeles for smoking marijuana.

1961: The Beatles made their first appearance at the Cavern during a lunchtime session.

1964: Beatlemania gripped America as around 70 million tuned in to see the Fab Four on the Ed Sullivan Show.

1981: Rock ‘n' roller Bill Haley died. He spearheaded the 1950s rock revolution with Rock Around The Clock.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: An image of willows reflected in a frozen Italian lake dedicated to a lost friend won the Wildlife Photographer of the Year people's choice award.

BIRTHDAYS: Janet Suzman, actress, 84; Carole King, singer/songwriter, 81; Joe Pesci, actor, 80; Mia Farrow, actress, 78; Gordon Strachan, football manager, 66; Sandy Lyle, golfer, 65; Glenn McGrath, former cricketer, 53; Darren Ferguson, football manager, 51; Tom Hiddleston, actor, 42.