Events
In 1829 the Metropolitan Police Act received the Royal Assent, creating a new metropolitan police force that became known as “Peelers” or “Bobbies”.
Births
King James VI of Scotland (reigned 1567-1625) and James I of England and Ireland (reigned 1603-25), 1566; Blaise Pascal, mathematician and philosopher, 1623; Douglas Haig (1st Earl Haig), field marshal and commander-in-chief British Forces, Western Front, 1915-18, 1861; Sir Nigel Gresley, designer of the steam locomotive Flying Scotsman, 1876.
Deaths
John Brown, theologian and author, 1787; Sir Joseph Banks, naturalist, 1820; Sir James Barrie, dramatist and novelist, 1937; Sir William Golding, author of Lord of the Flies, and Nobel laureate 1983, 1993.